A tale of two High Streets: So much information and not enough facts

Genevieve is a young Spaniard who wants to travel around Europe. When discussing the EU referendum vote she “feels so sick” that she cannot express herself before leaving the room.

But beside her, her co-worker said is scared to tell her young friend her own views.

“She’s young and beautiful and from Spain but she wasn’t that bothered about it until the vote came in,” she said. “I couldn’t tell her what I think.

“I feel really quite worried about telling anyone my views. If 17 million people can’t be listened to then it’s not fair.

“I went to a pilates class in Hove on Friday and felt like I would be lynched and these people are my friends.

“It’s important young people have their say but it’s not just about young people.

“I saw football fans behaving badly in France but I’m not those people. It’s the same thing.”

The nervous antiques dealer is surrounded by Remainers in Lewes.

Glynis Nye, 59, voted to stay and is now worried about what the future holds for her grandchildren.

“One of them wants to go to Germany to be educated,” she said. “Now he’s thinking he’ll go to the States instead.

“So many people are saying ‘I voted to go and now I’ve been let down’ and now they are regretting it. It’s all mad.

“I can’t see Boris running the country – that would be ridiculous – it’s a scary thought.”

Fear, lies, deceit and confusion surround all sides of the debate.

In Lewes young mother Katie Coulson, 29, did not vote.

“There was so much information and not enough facts,” she said. “I didn’t vote because I didn’t really know what I felt. But when the Leave vote came out I felt quite annoyed.

“The problem is it’s hard to know what is true. The stuff about all that money going to the NHS was a lie. I feel like they were all telling lies.”

Ian Newman, 68, did vote. He voted to stay in but agrees the facts were “very woolly” on all sides.

“I feel people voted thinking it was about immigration and it’s the financial implications that we didn’t consider,” he said “In a few weeks’ time we are going to see it in our shopping baskets in a big way. The pound has fallen so far, will it recover?

“It is very difficult for people to have any idea what this means. I know financial experts were warning about this but the stay camp didn’t manage to make enough of an impression. Now I’m going into retirement with the prospect of a recession.”

Steve Herbert, 35, another Remain voter, said: “It’s like throwing a ball for a dog. They were selling this vision that you could have a UK with no immigration issues and now they’ve won they don’t know what to do with it.

“I’m 35 and trying to get myself sorted in a relationship and get a house and all this uncertainty can’t be a good thing.”

In the Lewes district, which includes Newhaven and Seaford, 52 per cent voted in favour of remaining in the EU.

Just eight miles down the A26, Newhaven paints a different picture to Lewes.

Those milling around the almost derelict town centre of boarded-up shops and discount stores are Maria Caulfield’s hearts and minds.

They know Brexit is not ideal but feel their own prospects were so limited in the EU they might as well try the alternative.

Vera Talboys, 67, said she knows she was lied to by those she voted alongside.

“They are all full of rubbish,” she said. “I tried not to read too much about it and to decide on my own. I just hoped things could go back to how they were before we joined the EU.”

The general consensus between those who voted to Leave in Newhaven is one of limited optimism.

Things were already bad so surely they can only get better.

Glasgow-born George Cairney, 49, of Newhaven, is defiantly still “delighted” with his vote to leave despite the unforeseen consequence of Scotland possibly voting again for independence.

“I work on off-shore oil rigs and the business was already plummeting,” he said.

“The danger is about 70 per cent of oil rig workers off Scotland are English. The one thing I hadn’t even thought about was this divide with Scotland. That would be really bad.

“I hadn’t seen that coming. I don’t think anyone had. Otherwise I think this will be good for the country. It will take a bit of time. The first five years or so will be tough but things were already bad.

“Even though I voted to leave I didn’t really expect it to happen.”

Lewes was the first district in the South East to declare in favour of remaining in the EU, with 28,508 votes for leave and 30,974 for remain.

But Wealden – parts of which also fall within Ms Caulfield’s constituency –, chose Brexit, with 52,808 voting to leave and 44,084 voting remain.

Talking to The Argus earlier this week she said: “It is daunting now,” she said, “because even with the Wealden result, a significant number of my constituents voted to remain and my job now is to make sure their concerns are also addressed.

“It is obviously going to be a very bumpy time over the next few weeks and I understand people who voted for Remain are very, very upset at the outcome.”

She said she would be unhappy with any deal with the EU that allowed for free movement of people, given that immigration was such a key issue for voters in her area.

However yesterday German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the UK would not be allowed to be part of the single market without accepting free movement.

The issue of immigration was a deciding factor for Newhaven taxi driver John Cox.: “Immigration was my main concern. I disagree that asylum seekers should still be allowed to come here and economic migrants should have been gone a long time ago.

“I hear the guys who work down at the port talking about how all these immigrants are coming in and there is nothing they can do but process them. Their hands are tied.

“I have nothing against people coming here but they shouldn’t be trying to change things.

“I’m on about those people who have committed crimes and we can’t deport them. Rapists and murderers. That’s absolute rubbish.”

Across both sides of the district those who seem to regret their choices the most are those who did not vote.