We traveled hundreds of miles and spoke with dozens of people, here’s what the North had to say about Brexit. And don’t be fooled, we met only one person that regretted the vote, but he voted to stay in anyway.

July 20

Home of the Geordies and we go on a mission to find out why everyone in the UK says we must go to Newcastle and what makes the Geordies such good people.
Ironically we meet a lot of quite unfriendly people and find it hard to get many people to talk to; and then we’re directed into the Grainger Market by a tall friendly local lad.
The Grainger market is a joy, like a page out of an old lost book of what England used to be like.

As we’ve travelled around we’ve noticed there are few if any local butchers, greengrocers, bakers etc.; the whole local high-street retail sector seems to have be subsumed by giant supermarket chains. Until we come in here – it’s like the last stand.

We chat to friendly shop-owners, who feel a little under siege. ‘Ten years ago there was one supermarket, now there are 4 within 100 metres – it’s very tough for us. Four more butchers have closed in here just this year.’ They are justifiably proud of the quality of their local produce. Meat is brought in on the bone and prepared on-site with no packaging. 

I hope their last stand is long and they remain viable for many years.

July 19

We head to York and take some time to visit the Cathedral and climb the almost 300 stairs to the top of the tower on a very hot and sticky day. We chat to some rough local lads, meet “Goldie” (a 150kg body builder with 2 gold teeth) and then get back into the now very hot car and push on. The road signs are clear – “THE NORTH’. It feels rather Game of Thrones as we take this choice. 

We drive deep into the North Yorkshire Moors National Park to the Mallyan Spout Hotel. This really is a remarkable part of the world. Sheep with long tails roam freely. There are no fences; they just go where they like.

We walk for about 2 hours through the purple flowering heather of the Moors and on this hot sunny day if I close my eyes and smell the wind I can swear I am in Australia – on the cliffs of Peterborough near the 12 Apostles. I smell warm salty air with the herbal scent of coastal heath in the sun.

We had a wonderful walk, slightly haunted by the huge omnipresent structure on the horizon at an Airforce base. We wondered a lot what it might be; an intercontinental ballistic missile silo, or radar maybe. We concluded that whatever it is, it can’t be that innocent or they wouldn’t have stuck it out here in the middle of nowhere.

July 18

One of the joys of this trip is the unlikely diversions and the things you stumble across just following your nose. We got caught in heavy traffic on our way to Leeds and took some side-streets; we stumbled across the delightful hamlet of Ilkley.

A walk around shows us this town is very “comfortably off”; pearls, twin-sets, big houses and nice shops.

We had lunch at Carluccio’s, a very chic little café restaurant. We were surrounded by beautifully-dressed women with perfect blonde hair, designer sunglasses and white Mediterranean daywear; the boys were in short-sleeved buttoned-up Polo shirts. There was lots of talk of playing tennis.

We talked with a group of 3 women with beautifully-done hair. They were all mums, about my age; two voted “out”, one “in”. What was interesting, and we saw this everywhere, was how comfortable people were to discuss their different views. There were husbands and wives who voted differently from each other, and the closest of friends with opposite viewpoints; and all this causes no trouble between people – just a respectful difference of opinion.

I don’t think Britain is divided, I think the media made this up. I think people have different views for different reasons, and now they’re just getting on with it.

Leeds impressed us; it’s got the busy hum of a successful business centre. Big old buildings and wide streets show the prior success of the city. Tidy renovations, new buildings, lots of flash cars and well-dressed business people show that it’s still going strong today.

I feel we’re more south now than we were. People’s views have softened; more people we talked with voted “in” and more are worried about the plight of the refugees and the economic impact of Brexit than further north.

July 17

After our action-packed night in Carlisle, we headed off into the Cumbrian countryside. Beautiful rolling hills covered in impossibly green lush grass and dotted with frequent huge wind turbines, strongly and effortlessly powering away.

We came to the coast at Maryport, a small and seemingly poor seaside town. It was windy and a bit cold, with a churned-up dirty ocean held back with huge fortifications to protect the port.

Here a big bold Brexit flag proudly flew on a fishing vessel. The fishermen – of all the people I’ve met – seem to have lost the most with the EU, due to the fishing regulations. Here, they are proud and happy they’ve been heard and there is even some hope that what’s left of their industry may be able to re-group and grow again. 

People live small here. Small houses, small pubs, small towns, small streets and small shops. There doesn’t seem to be much employment apart from farming and fishing and what supports those, but the people are happy and warm-hearted and good to talk to. My challenge is that it’s really hard to interview someone when you can’t understand what they’re saying; so I awkwardly laugh along with them when they laugh and I ask a staccato run of questions, unable to find the natural segues due to my lack of comprehension.

We head into the Lake District and the rolling hills become steeper and the forests more impressive. The houses become bigger and detached and you feel the affluence of an area fuelled by holiday-homes and tourism, although it’s pointed out to me that the Cumbrian tourism industry rides on the back of cheap eastern-European labour. While so many people were happy to vote “out”, I’m told they might be in for a shock when they lose access to the cheap labour doing all the dirty work.

Into Windermere, the home of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit. We walked up onto Brandmere, met a lot of very friendly sheep and some campers, and enjoyed a spectacular view over the lake.

Britain is gripped by a “heat-wave” with temperatures over 30. The Times reports “experts say the roads may melt’, with temperatures of 34 forecast. I think of our 44-degree days at home and doubt that to be the case.

July 18

My definition of my job on this trip is: to ask, to listen and to learn – and not to judge. But if I’m honest with myself – I can turn the judging down but not off. Our whole adult lives we are trained to ask, listen, think, weigh up options, evaluate and ultimately make judgments. So as you read this, try not to ask ‘What does Ed think? Is Ed trying to persuade me one way or the other?’ Just try to hear what the people I spoke with think. Assume that they are good people who want the best for their family, friends and country. Assume that they are no less well-intentioned than you and no less educated or informed. Let self-doubt seep into your mind. What if they are right and you are wrong?

Have you ever watched the TV show “Goggle Box”? What blows me away with this show is how every family from every background can see through TV and marketing tricks and come to the same conclusions. A piece of branded content produced a TV show called “Life on a cruise ship”. ‘This is basically one long ad’, cries one family after another; and so it is with most issues – behind a veneer of rough accents lie some very thoughtful and clear views on the future of the UK and its place in the world.

We spoke to a guy today; strong build, ruddy face, missing a few teeth and looked like he’d be great in a fight. He’d had a couple drinks and had such a thick accent I could hardly understand him. He was unemployed and had recently badly injured a finger with a saw, as he’s re-training to be a carpenter. I was taken aback by the clarity of his position.

The EU has been great for the Germans – the Euro has given them a currency weaker than their own would be, so they can sell more of their stuff. Then countries like Greece get into debt by using money borrowed from the Germans to buy all the German stuff. Angela Merkel now wants to run the whole show. No thank you.

Germany thinks politicians tricked the UK into voting “out”. No-one I’ve spoken to has buyer’s remorse. That was made up in London by people that didn’t want to leave in the first place. The people I’ve spoken to up here, and tourists from places like Kent, don’t regret their decision. They, like everyone else, are a little anxious about what the future holds, but they want a future of self-determination and they are clear that the path away from a centralist European government, even if this comes at some economic cost, is the right path.

So here are their arguments.

The EU has 4 pillars; which Angela Merkel says are inextricable: free movement of people, goods, services and capital.

The “vote out” people say, we are a more affluent and safer place to live than many EU countries and we don’t want free movement of people because there is too much EU immigration (don’t judge, just listen).

The EU common market is great, but it’s now becoming too political and we’re moving toward a United States of Europe. We don’t want this. We want political independence and self-determination.

We understand there may be an economic cost to this. We don’t think much will change, but if there is a cost we’re ok with that.

Immigration rates play a role for many people. They feel there has been too much immigration too fast from former Eastern Bloc countries. I don’t feel any hate or xenophobia – just genuine concern that the education, healthcare and housing infrastructure can’t cope with the rate of immigration. Also they fear that – coupled with Syrian refugees and the possibility of Turkey entering the EU at some point – things like the NHS will buckle and collapse under the weight of demand for services.

The “vote in” people are saying immigration has nothing to do with the EU, that this can be controlled separately and that the issues shouldn’t be linked. They are saying that we are stronger economically in the EU.

What’s interesting to me is that neither side really believes much will change in their day-to-day lives, either way.

So now the judgement – what do I think?

I would have liked the UK to stay in the EU. I’d prefer not to have this period of uncertainty and I think the economic benefits for families and kids growing up today are important for their future employment prospects.

But I think the immigration debate is important and I don’t see why it’s wrong for people to have different views on how much immigration is the right amount.

I also understand why some people find the gradual creep toward a centralist European government, made up of people that aren’t voted in and can’t be voted out, unattractive.

So here we are. Isn’t democracy wonderful? The people have spoken.

But “remain in” voters – especially from London: even though you are put out, don’t underestimate the thoughtfulness, good intent or intellect of those who voted “out”, just because Nigel Farage and others you find unattractive were the face of the “out” campaign.

July 16

It’s great to be back on the road again. We caught the Virgin East Coast train up from London to Newcastle and picked up our rental car. There was a slightly awkward conversation at the Europcar desk, with one guy a Brexit “Inny”, the other an “Outy”. The Outy loudly explained why he wanted out, while serving a German couple that were his customers. We got in the car giggling and kicking ourselves we didn’t film this.

We had a Geordie guide by text – an old ski buddy I was meeting in Carlisle for dinner – so we headed to Corbridge for lunch on her suggestion and had a chat with Joe, a strapping young tree surgeon. He’s an Outy. ‘It’s not working is it, we need to change something.’ We met two young girls by the bar, “mortalled” (drunk) from a night out in Newcastle – they still hadn’t slept; one voted, the other didn’t. She voted “out” on the basis of ‘eenie meenie minie mo out’ she said, but voting was difficult because she walked in on a funeral thinking the funeral parlour was a voting station, LOL.

At a county cricket game in Lanercost we came across a very well-reasoned Outy: ‘I’m old enough to remember becoming part of the common market, I support that, but I don’t want to become part of the United States of Europe. It’s got too political; I’m all for a common market, but I’m not for us losing our political autonomy. I understand that, and it’s nice to hear a sensible reasoned argument for “out”; but to be honest some people up here voted out just to send a ‘Fuck You’ to London, or because they think it’ll stop, or slow down, immigration.’

Carlisle was fun – what a crazy wild place on a Saturday night.

At the Lanercost church and ancient cathedral ruins we learned about Reivers, the lawless raiding parties from the Scotland/England border region. My guide for the night, a Geordie, warned me, ‘Carlisle people are descended from Reivers; they love a fight – they can be really nasty’.

Then the show started. Two men chased a 60-year-old out of a pub and smacked him in the head, sending him crashing to the pavement at Max’s (my cameraman for the trip) feet. Horrified, Max was texting me while giving a statement to the police.

Walking around Botchergate on Saturday is like a circus meeting a war zone: hen nights, stag nights, and everyone “mortalled” by 9.00pm. By midnight there are running street brawls, with small groups of youths being chased from one end of the town to the other by a heavy presence of police. It was quite something to watch, but I kept my head low; people who like to fight love to pick a tall guy to take on.

On the way home we found about 20 goth/gamer misfits all together. I was texting and one called out ‘Pokemon?’ We’d stumbled upon a “Lure”; these guys had never met – one in a wheelchair had pushed almost a kilometre to get there. This morning it’s been upgraded to a Pokemon “Gym”, so we’re going to head back to check it out.

 

 

 

June 1

When you’re approaching people on the streets in areas with heavy immigration from third-world countries, high crime-rates and a lot of drug- and alcohol-abuse, it’s hard to filter the alarms going off in your head; when is it a prejudice you may have and when is it your brain rightfully doing its job to keep you safe?  That was Birmingham today.  Of course it didn’t help – on the way to Stratford Road Sparkbrook – having Scotty read ‘Dodgy areas of Birmingham’ from the Virtual Tourist; recounting all the muggings and bashings people have enjoyed, as he listed all the destinations that matched the ones that had been chosen for us.

May 31

We arrived early as it was only a short train ride from Liverpool. It was another beautiful warm sunny day and another really nice budget business hotel – the Innside by Meliá.  I liked them even more because they let us check in so early.