So, Brexit day is upon us. At 23:00 GMT today, the UK will leave the European Union after 47 years within. Whilst I’m (still) vehemently opposed to Brexit, a part of me wants to see this whole ghastly business behind us. British society is more fractured today than I have ever known and I can only hope that people will start to come together now that the waiting is over, but I have my doubts. The BBC has an article about how people will be marking the day and I find pretty distasteful the idea of the leavers celebrating while millions of people lose rights they have had since birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There should be little or no effect for me personally as I have both British and French nationalities and I have few financial ties to the UK (although the value of my future private and state pensions from the UK is a mild cause for concern) but I am concerned about the effects on family and friends. I don’t doubt that the UK will weather this storm, but at what cost?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m curious to see how I will feel about my native country in the coming months; for the last few my sentiments have been pretty negative and I have been saying I won’t bother renewing my British passport when it expires next year (as an expat this is an expensive process).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today would also have been my dad’s 87th birthday and I’ve been wondering how he would have felt about Brexit. He was a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative and would have rallied against EU red tape but I don’t remember him as a vociferous Eurosceptic. I think that as someone who experienced WW2 and it’s aftermath as a child, he was profoundly attached to the idea of European cooperation as a force for peace and, whatever the failings of the current model, would have believed the UK was better off as a member of the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miss you, Dad.<\/p>\n \n \n