WITH a few notable exceptions I believe most Brexiters are good people who are not racists or extremists.
My Leaver friends want the best future for their families within a tolerant United Kingdom which includes Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
My Remainer friends want the same thing. They all share something else in common.
They are shocked and dismayed by the destructive consequences of the referendum and would love to turn the clock back four years to when most people, apart from politicians such as the Brexit Party’s unelected dictator, Nigel Farage, rarely gave the EU a second thought.
One of my friends married a French au-pair almost 50 years ago since when they have lived in this country, paying their taxes and raising their two daughters.
They have now been told that her NI record is not proof of residence and she has to undergo a more rigorous vetting process which is making her feel like a second class citizen.
Another pensioner who has lived here since 1975 is refusing to apply for settled status out of pride while two caring Romanian nurses I know in Spennymoor recently sold their house and moved away because they no longer feel welcome.
At least the Labour Party, if elected, will ask Leavers to confirm whether this is really what they expected.
Stephen Warren, Durham.
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