Saturday 1 February 2020

Having your say

So we've done it. We have brexited.


BermondseyVicar is a non-political blog so I haven't commented on the referendum and the months of debate and controversy that have followed it or the ones that preceded it.

In Bermondsey itself there are remainers and Brexitteers and the borough as a whole, like the whole of London, has been firmly on the remain side.

A class analysis of voting across London and Bermondsey would be interesting, because there is a lot of evidence that working class people are particularly well-represented nationally amongst  Brexiteers. Here's the bit that really troubles me: they have been particularly singled out to be insulted, mocked, and patronised for their decision.

It has been suggested that there were either mislead, misguided, or simply too thick to come up with the 'right' answer.

That's what I find offensive:  the denigration of millions of working class people who have as much right to express their views as anyone else.

Back here in Bermondsey, when I went to cast my vote in 2016 there was a family in front of me: mum, dad, and two teenage kids. They looked like a typical Bermondsey family. 

Of course, I have no way of knowing how any of them voted, but what struck me was their quiet dignity and their determination to have their say. They knew they had as much right to vote as anyone else. And they knew that their vote counted as much as anyone else's.

The Government had asked them their views and they were giving them.

There's one thing that Christians should love about referenda;  every single person, made in the image of God, counts, and everyone gets exactly one vote. I love that biblical equality.



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