If you’d hoped that the bitterly divisive nature of the EU referendum was behind us, you are sadly mistaken.
The true ramifications of the Brexit vote remain to be seen. British holiday makers are already alarmed that they’re getting just €0.88 for your holiday pound, whilst the greater effects on sterling and the UK economy are hugely concerning, if expert projections are to be believed.
The Times’ report on leaked government papers predicting Brexit could cost the UK as much as £66bn a year (a 9.5% drop in GDP) did little to assuage a growing sense of panic. Indeed there have been many vocal calls to delay the triggering of a ‘hard Brexit’ via evocation of Article 50 in March.
But Wednesday morning saw both the Mail and the Express come out fighting in defence of Brexit…or rather on the attack against anyone expressing concerns or speaking out against it. The headlines and sentiments were strikingly similar – ‘Shut up and quit moaning – don’t say anything negative’.
Although some ardent Brexit voters may appreciate this hard line approach, others – who voted both for and against leaving the EU – are deeply concerned and troubled by the rhetoric. The consensus between the two papers seems to be that there was a democratic vote so that’s that – we don’t appreciate your freedom of expression.
Here are just some of the exasperated responses to the controversial headlines. As you can see, the fracturing nature of Brexit is not about to go away any time soon…
Our country will collapse into ugly, bitter, vicious division if this kind of rhetoric is allowed to escalate. pic.twitter.com/qgucKvUcNs
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) October 11, 2016
Toxic. Disgraceful. And super scary. pic.twitter.com/RpaDrRLhJB
— Cormac (@cormaggio) October 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/gregianjohnson/status/785977199731970048
Time to silence political dissidents. It's all getting pretty dark, isn't it? https://t.co/m5qQhbr0Hi
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) October 11, 2016
*some people express misgivings about a process which the govt can't define and which has pushed sterling off a cliff*
Daily Mail: pic.twitter.com/PzmTxjL5z6
— @mip22 (@otherwiseimok) October 12, 2016
Let's be clear, the Mail's idea of 'TRAITORS' includes every ex British PM, party leader, and every foreign government bar Putin's #Brexit pic.twitter.com/3NH9APsbOw
— Peter Jukes (@peterjukes) October 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/hrtbps/status/785965530633076741
https://twitter.com/UK_Must_Remain/status/785961841474273281?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
https://twitter.com/SoVeryBrexit/status/786079271609589760
The Daily Mail. So patriotic that the owner is non domiciled and pays his taxes abroad.
Terrifying. https://t.co/4mCzVpO4Ge
— Chris Davies (@nolog0onthefoam) October 12, 2016
