John Perkins has lived in Canada for over 60 years, but the British native has very strong feelings about the results of the Brexit vote that took place on June 23, 2016.
“I get so emotional when I think about this,” he said. “I just feel it was a bad decision that I hope like hell will be reversed.”
Much of that anger is toward Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, and others involved in spearheading the ‘Leave’ campaign and the misinformation the campaign shared with voters.
One claim was the United Kingdom (UK) paid over £350,000 a week to the European Union (EU). This claim has been debunked numerous times.
Other claims: Immigrants were responsible for undercutting British workers, EU were being forced on the British people, and international aid was unnecessary and should be cut from the UK budget.
Born in Yorkshire in 1929, Perkins came to Canada in 1957 during the Suez Crisis. Because he is now a Canadian citizen, he was not eligible to cast a vote.
One thing he finds particularly frustrating is the seeming ignorance of those who voted to leave.
“There are so many politically ignorant people in Britain that I cannot imagine them saying ‘Let’s get out of Europe,’ then thinking when it’s too late ‘Do we really want that?'” he said.”It’s a bad, bad decision and I congratulate Scotland. The vote in Scotland was a much greater percentage of staying.”
All 32 council areas in Scotland voted to remain.
Though he is now Canadian, Perkins has been affected by the vote. He worked for Scotland Yard for 10 years and as a result is entitled to receive a small British pension.
The first pension payment he received after the referendum was 20 per cent lower than the original amount.
“The fact that my pension has gone down is no big deal, it just gives some indication of what the situation is like,” he said. “I’m sure that anyone getting a pension from Britain has a similar experience.”
Though Article 50 has now been triggered, Perkins still hopes there’s a chance the UK will remain part of the EU, and thinks leaving will adversely affect the UK for many years to come.
