LETTER: Don't let Brexit just rip our community apart

Less than a year since the EU referendum vote and the Prime Minister is naively assuming that the entire country is coming back together and now want a hard Brexit.
PM Theresa MayPM Theresa May
PM Theresa May

Nonetheless, we must appreciate this opportunity that we will once again get to go to the polling stations and place a tick in a box that could potentially be a life changing decision on June 8th and for the two years of Brexit negotiations to come.

In Open Britain, we have taken this opportunity to call on candidates on all sides to be both vigilant and flexible in their views of the country’s direction and how they pitch them to the public.

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Likewise, this will be a good opportunity for the public to hold these candidates’ views to account.

Nearly everyone knows that Brexit will be the main issue debated in this election.

Peterborough voted 61 per cent to 39 per cent in favour of leave back in June 2016.

Whilst we in Open Britain might not have liked results like this we accept that we are going to leave the EU and that there is no turning back.

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However, that does not pave the way for a hard, destructive Brexit-at-all-costs vision for our country.

If we really are going to “Take Back Control” then this will require lenience from both Leavers and Remainers in the community and an attempt to scrap these terms altogether.

We need to consider that there were 34,176 who voted remain in our area and many others who could not vote back then and now have opportunity to do so in this election.

It is with this in mind that you must consider that there is also a great capacity and mandate for a wider appeal then just a simple “leave means leave” approach and ripping us apart from the rest of the world and therefore ripping up our own community.

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As Europeans leaving the European Union, we must play our part in these two year negotiations by accepting the result that occurred on 23rd June 2016, but also ensure that maintain the closest possible ties to our European neighbours and allies.

Only then can the country truly come back together.

Joseph Wells

Volunteer

Open Britain

Peterborough Group