Following the vote to leave the European Union this morning, we asked our readers to tell us what they think. We asked:
We would like to know, in a sentence or two, what our readers feel about the result, and its possible effects for D/deaf people.
What do you think the possible consequences might be for D/deaf people in the UK?
The vast majority of responses so far are from people in the Remain camp.
On Facebook, D/deaf people said:
Am proud of Scotland’s high percent of vote to remain EU. But I can tell that my Facebook friends seem deepest anxiously for what’s will coming, what will it affect us (with our careers, disabilities, etc). The island of UK being to suck down within saddened and grief.
Simon Herdman commented on the European Accessibility Act:
Heartbroken that we will not be a part of the upcoming European Accessibility Act, that would have empowered us as Sign Language citizens of Europe to have access to information in Sign Language. The only thing I can do is to place our hopes on the new regime that will take us in a direction that protects our rights as Sign Language users.
Asher Woodman-Worrell:
I think we have to take it on the chin as the democracy has clearly spoken. I hope this level of engagement with politics can continue as it is the only way we can elect the right people in power to make right choices and to minimise the fallout much as possible.
Giles Bowman:
When we went through recession… deaf services were badly cuts. I have bad feeling that they would do the same for this situation. I don’t think we will be heard for awhile.
Richard Turner:
I think it could impact on the work we do. As the economy shrinks funding will go down.
Ben Leigh:
I feel optimistic and pessimistic at the same time the remain camp fought hard to vote remain but as the votes were coming in wasn’t enough to fight against the tide of leave votes the government must not forget that 48% of the population wanted to remain in Europe and hope the new agreement will factor that in this vote divided a nation let’s not let this divide family and friends. The next few weeks and months will have life changing consequences for all and I hope our new government will recognise the hard work done by the uk and Brussels in partnership with Europe would s government be foolish enough to tear up some great European laws and start again from scratch? It would be very foolish to do that.
Martin Griffiths:
Its a disaster for Deaf people because the European Accessibility Act will not apply to us. Also our Govt will surely press ahead now with plans to replace Human Rights and get rid of the Equality Act. Also as the economy shrinks less money and jobs for Deaf people. God knows its hard enough now but the future looks bleak for marginalised people.
Andy Mell:
I’m sad yes, but at the end of the day 52% voted leave. That’s huge and can’t be explained by simple xenophobia. There’s a massive section of the UK population politically disenfranchised here, and it ultimately has to be dealt with somehow. Blame Cameron for waking the sleeping dragon in a misguided effort to get votes and burning us all in the process. I suspect many other countries will do the same before long as the same issue exists elsewhere in Europe too.
Martin Griffiths:
52 per cent is hardly a landslide victory and means the country is not far equally divided. You are right about political disenfranchisement but I wish this anger came out at General Election time. We need new politics in the UK.
Devastated & fear.
Heartbroken that we will not be a part of the upcoming European Accessibility Act, that would have empowered us as Sign Language citizens of Europe to have access to information in Sign Language. The only thing I can do is to place our hopes on the new regime that will take us in a direction that protects our rights as Sign Language users.
Absolutely devastated. We have learnt no lessons from history. Like Hitler Farage appealed to the fear and ignorance of the nation. I am disabled and I have a Deaf son – the future does not look good
If anything to be seen done by the conservative party towards disabled from what they have done already. I am very relieved that Cameron had resigned. The message was strong enough and we said enough is enough. I hope that no government of the future will dare dismantle our rights and hard battles of decades past gained for the disabled and disadvantaged. I believe europe as a whole will once again look towards uk as a beacon of bravery and demrocracy and we will see major changes for the better for uk and europe too that works better for the people not the elites.
Shaun Sadlier:
Cost of my businesses gone up quickly and try make best of it. I heard David Cameron has resigned. I think Boris Johnson want to reform the EU to make it more democracy with people to vote for president elect. So, we hope for the best.
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Sahera04 @Limping_Chicken Shocking! Well what I am saying? I born here as a British Muslim. I believe one community all the world not just UK alone. 24/06/2016 08:26 |
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lifeofathinker @Limping_Chicken It was predictable, but it’s still worrying. We don’t have a clear exit plan, so now we’re plucking ideas out of the air. 24/06/2016 08:18 |
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cjfox21 @Limping_Chicken Potentially disastrous for CI users who are heavily dependent on NHS for free operations and maintenance. 24/06/2016 08:15 |
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lianne_herbert @Limping_Chicken I better learn how to live without my hearing aids in a world that the majority won’t learn sign language… 24/06/2016 09:05 |
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danalar @Limping_Chicken In non-swearing terms, we are screwed. Our rights to access, and ‘promise’ to discrimination has been wiped. 24/06/2016 08:17 |
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Splottdad @Limping_Chicken -we’re all going to hell in a handcart. 24/06/2016 08:14 |
I feel anxious for the future and embarrassed that we have spurned the friendship of our European partners
MW said:
Tragic, utterly tragic, We are at the mercy of those that want to leave. I feel we will lose the support of our human rights with EU. It feel much worse than the austerity program. I am living with fear now.
Very much saddened and my kids are too, as its going to affect their future for worse. The first bad news was that the pound has dropped to its lowest level in years and there’s more to come. People will complain about price rises, increase in mortgages etc. Government released information on expenditure and showed that only 0.37% is spent on EU, so little and we get so much out of Europe. We will miss the value that Europe bring to the UK and I may consider moving to Finland!
Melow Meldrew said:
I can tell you the Deaf were not even in the campaign for either side. Clubs here organised a day trip to the seaside instead,and most said they had no intention to vote too. Apathy has reaped its own reward, and the LC support for remain [Editor’s note: while we have posted articles from Deaf people supporting Remain, as a site we have not supported either side] shows they know nothing about the issue too. Time to join the real world and get real awareness. You spent far too much time with deaf issues and not involved enough in the real world, Time to come in out of the cold ? wasn’t that the ‘remain ‘ argument ? Sorry, the freebies and trips to EU deaf junkets look like being over….
Mr Meldrew – you are so very Welsh and it is them (my home country with shame!) that turn the tide against Remain. Look to Scotland and Northern Ireland they understood the importance of being partners with the World. d/D people did listen and understood the issues – newspapers and television with subtitles don’t you forget was available to us and no we didn’t take a day out to the seaside. You mock us so unkindly! For some of us it is a very upsetting day. I also shared Tim comment about being embarrassed. Cameron should never have done this referendum.
So you are unwilling to accept the majority opinion of your own people ? Typically EU attitudes I must say. This isn’t about making the issue aware to deaf people, it was the fact they never engaged with hearing about it. I was fully involved with hearing and the campaign, I saw no other deaf there. There was real evidence deaf people, despite access, were just not interested in voting. So having fought for access to the issue, no-one considered they aren’t interested ? Of course We are,but rank and file… Some truisms may be upsetting it doesn’t change the facts. Forget being embarrassed we all have a LOT of work to do. (Which doesn’t entail running off to Finland !).
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pennybsl
June 24, 2016
It was crushing to see the high percentage of over 60s and over 75s voting leave – we would understand that based on the past decade.
However, the result has a huge impact upon future generations, deaf & disabled people, vulnerable people and low income people.
We have to rebuild the Churchillian spirit in many ways, and to ensure the most important links with EU and the world are protected and maintained.
Cathy
June 24, 2016
I am so happy Brexit won! How we have managed with both an unelected and unaccountable elite in the EU for more than 40 years, I have NO idea, but that unaccountability now comes to an end.
We are now free to deport foreign criminals who have maimed n murdered in their own country then fled here and maimed n murdered here!! That “jolly” will come to an end! There will be no hiding place for them now!
Our economy will get back on track when we are no longer sending £55m a day to the EU, without anybody anywhere having the slightest idea where all the money has gone?! That ridicule will end!
As for those complaining over Deaf rights: we never had them in the first place! I have battled with the equality act 2010 and realise it has no teeth, whatsoever!! In the face of health n safety, the equality act is completely powerless!!!
I look forward to a new Great Britain that will start looking after its own people rather than shoving them to the wayside.
This referendum has been a massive wake up call!! In simple terms after all the contempt that Government have heaped on the people, they now have that contempt back……in bucket loads!!!
Toby Dawson
June 24, 2016
It’s not Britain that voted to leave but it’s England & Wales that voted to do so.
It’s inevitable that a second Scottish independence referendum will follow.
It will be interesting to see if Deaf people will come out and support it more this time around.
Many Deaf people said: “Stay in the EU for better Deaf rights” (Understandably so)
If they adopt a different stance when it comes tae Scotland and they won’t look good themselves.
Once a second independence referendum is confirmed, we will be re-launching ourselves to provide information to Deaf people and we have learnt a lot and we will be in a stronger position to convince the Scottish Deaf Community that an independent Scotland will be much more safer for them.
Jan
June 26, 2016
I am not deaf, but I am Level 2 BSL. I think that it is going to be a disaster for hearing to access BSL Courses in future, as Birmingham in Particular, have made it difficult to employ teachers so that many of us who would like to be able to meet with, and communicate with signers. We need people to be far more desf/disability aware now more than ever
mjfahey
June 26, 2016
It’s done now, so we need to suck it up and get on with it… I personally believe people have been taken in by promises to make things better by people who actually have no power to do so. I totally understand their reasons for voting this way. although voting on the basis off better migration control is like taking a step backward in our security, our border with France is much more at risk now France is under no obligation to have the British border in Calais.
Hartmut
June 27, 2016
3 Millions plus have petitioned to the Parliament already for another referendum to reconsider their votes. 3 Mill out of 17 Mill votes is a good portion for a referendum.
Many voters expressed their ignorance of the implications. Many even did not know what the EU is. Google reported that after the polls closed, Search requests asking to get more information about the implications of Brexit have skyrocketed and also the elementary question of what the EU is.
The leader of the Leave Party Nigel Farage now admitted to have suckered the public by misleading and false information. See:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/24/nigel-farage-350-million-pledge-to-fund-the-nhs-was-a-mistake/
Now citizens of the County of Cornwallis are regretting to have voted to leave: There are other poor counties who may lose those EU subsidies. The monies to aid the poor counties may not be forthcoming from the national government from its savings from not paying its annual 470 Mill contribution to the EU, since they are allotted to NHS and unemployment benefits. See:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/25/after-residents-voted-for-brexit-this-british-county-realized-the-e-u-might-stop-sending-them-money/?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
Negotiations with the EU and governments of member nations for separate trade treaties alone will be tougher and most likely more expensive for Great Britain, not to speak of renegotiating other treaties.
@Cathy, you would be a typical Trump voter, had you lived in the US. Your expounding inane stuff like Trump gives you away. The UK can always deport foreign criminals; they are not forbidden to do so by the EU. Immigration, migrants, foreigners, whatever, have been threshed to death by the Leave propaganda. Many articles point out that is BS and false. The UK does benefit greatly fom the foreign workers, working on jobs that no British citizens want to work. For example 300,000 Lithuanians are in the UK! A lot of Indian and Pakistanis are in the UK, working in technical jobs. I see several Indian-looking faces of Deaf actors in the British Deaf TV. The UK does get monetary subsidies from the EU for projects that your national government cannot or would not do, see the situation of Cornwallis for example.
Regarding to Deaf Rights, you need to be more sophisticated with your advocacy efforts to put more teeth into the Equality Act and utilize the EU and UN conventions that UK signed to uphold. Your problem is you need to put implementation regulation in your Act and push for speedy formulaton. Finally, you can go to the UN Human Rights Court, if everything else fails.
Great Britain ain’t become new with Brexit. but It will revert to the traditional insular conservatism.
The bigger concern is the globalization of individual businesses and the extreme wealth and income inequality within your country (also a big concern in the US). You folks should boycott large global and ubiquitous corporations. Your governments should levy more tax on them and their highly paid executives.
JR
June 27, 2016
After Brexit vote, we are all going to be fine. Look at Switzerland, Norway, and some others are doing very well with EU. Many years ago, China take over Hong Kong from British Sovereign and their business are booming and they becoming so wealthy. The last pull out from EU was Greenland and they are now doing well with their own way.
British will thrive the economy and expand a free movement to the whole world. It is better tp trade to the world rather than interfered, bureaucracy, red tape and so on from EU. It’s all rubbish and we do not need EU to control us!
About deaf community, it will be fine as long the economy grow in the future. Please do not let your fear from the media. Its all the propaganda and illusion!
Simple in that way…We will be all fine and manage our own way. No need to panic!
JR
June 27, 2016
My mistake….It should be ‘Look at Switzerland, Norway, and some others are doing very well without EU’