Yes. Brexit is racist.

Of course it is, how is a movement geared around closing our borders and vetting all foreigners before we allow them in anything other than racist?

It is also, insular, inward looking, small minded and tied to a past which, at best didn’t exist and at worst is seated in nostalgia for a time when this country ruled the world by committing atrocities worldwide!

Brexit for anyone living somewhere beyond the reach of the British media, is Britain’s bid to leave the EU. It is a heinous concatenation of the words Britain and exit. I hate the word almost as much as I hate the concept (well not really, but it is still a horrible word).

The UK voted 52 – 49 % to leave the EU in 2017

This far from conclusive majority has left the country with an increasingly ridiculous situation were the remain supporters are increasingly backed up by experts saying that brexit is going to ruin the UK economy and is extremely likely to restart a war in Ireland, and the leave supporters go around shouting “shut up you lost!” at everyone!

It is racist.

How could it not be.

The incidences of race related crime increased dramatically the day after the brexit vote. Literally the day after. I found the statistics to back this up, but I have lost the link, but they are out there.

People openly state that we don’t want immigrants. They state we are full, we are overloaded, that people come here to take advantage of the NHS, they steal out jobs…

None of this is true.

All of this is racist and xenophobic.

The worst offenders of brexit related racism, openly equate the post brexit restrictions they plan to enforce on people entering the country, with restricting the entry of people of colour into the UK. This abhorrent view is prevalent throughout the ruling institutions of our country as well as in society in general. The prime minister has been captured on camera referring to immigrants as people of colour. Although for the sake of fairness he disputes this and says he said “people of talent”. All I can say is it didn’t sound like that to me…

Even if he didn’t explicitly say it, he has made numerous overtly racist comments before, and he is in charge. He has control of the government and the country which means that a significant proportion of the people who get to decide things are racist or support a racist.

Yes, I will concede that not everyone who voted to leave the EU is consciously racist. But by voting for a racist, xenophobic, insular and imperialist policy, you have legitimised those views and perpetuated, if not enhanced a racist system.

People now walk the streets thinking it is ok to tell people to go back to where they came from.

People now believe it is ok to complain about all the foreigners taking our jobs.

People now believe it is ok to spout nonsense about refugees and immigrants being freeloaders and the like.

People feel it is ok to say these things, and they think they are speaking for the country and that they are just saying what everyone is thinking!

They aren’t.

They don’t speak for me.

They don’t speak for my friends.

Brexit is not the will of the people, it is the will of the uninformed ignorant parts of society who were given a voice by the complacency of reasonable people.

The only chance we have to change any of it is if we vote the conservative government out of power in tomorrow’s election.  The alternatives, it has to be said, are pretty poor too and the only one of them I even vaguely trust to run the country stands no chance, but voting is the only option we have.

So vote tactically, vote against the racists, vote for a chance to prove we are not imperialist idiots!

Most importantly…

Vote!