Brexit Voices: Who Wins, Who Loses?
Jun 23, 2016
As Britain debated whether to leave the European Union, Initium Media collected voices from across society to reveal how Brexit was experienced in everyday lives.
Originally published by Initium Media
By Lianchao LAN, Zhang Jun, Jiang Zhen
As Britain debated whether to leave the European Union, Initium Media collected voices from across society to reveal how Brexit was experienced in everyday lives. University lecturer Steven Cowan argued passionately for “Remain,” seeing higher education as a global commons that thrives on openness and mobility. In stark contrast, veteran fisherman Divrad Modris supported “Leave,” convinced that EU quotas had sacrificed Britain’s fishing industry and betrayed coastal communities.
Generational and regional divides also surfaced: Chris, a 24-year-old Scot, celebrated EU freedom of movement and feared losing the ability to study, work, and travel across Europe with ease, while entrepreneur Dan Clarke saw Brexit as an opportunity. From his vantage in Singapore, he believed leaving the EU could attract global talent by leveling the playing field for non-EU workers.
Together, these personal accounts capture the hopes and anxieties behind the 2016 referendum: a clash between nationalism and cosmopolitanism, local grievances and global aspirations.