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Opinion

A reader responds to Joe Lycett

For our Christmas issue, Joe Lycett skewered Brexit and the revolving door of prime ministers in 2022. Reader Steve doesn't entirely agree

Joe Lycett

Joe Lycett reviewed the year for our Christmas special. Joe Lycett photo: Matt Baker. Illustration: Andrew Bell

My name’s Steve. Not that this fact is relevant and you probably won’t be interested since, I’m sorry to inform you that I’m one of the stupid people referred to in Joe Lycett’s recent Big Issue article. Sorry Joe but it gets worse. I still don’t regret being part of the stupid majority that voted to leave. You see I did vote to join the Common Market all those years ago but nobody told us that it would morph into the overlarge, bureaucratic, badly managed monster run by people I’d never heard of and don’t remember having much say in the decisions they made that actually impacted on my life.

Mind you, my partner (I’m supposed to call him ‘husband’ now but we’re ‘old school’ and neither of us can take to it) is German by birth and we are regularly in contact with his family. Here’s the strange thing, Joe, Germany is experiencing exactly the same as us in regards to the spiralling cost of living, shortage of staff and goods in many areas and they are still in the EU. Friends who have retired to Spain and France tell the same story and their countries are still in the EU.

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I must say Joe, that I have a lot of sympathy for your point of view in regards to how Brexit was handled and the people who we stupid people relied on to achieve the necessary outcome, but I still can’t subscribe to the idea that a decision is a wrong one because it was ultimately badly managed. Anyway Joe, I know I’m not going to change your mind. I hope this won’t be further bad news for you Joe, but I’m going to remain a fan and admire your stand on many (well, most) issues you stand for.
Steve

Do you have lived experience or burning opinions to share about this story? We want to hear from you. And we want to share your views with more people. Get in touch and tell us more.


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