We comment in The Independent on Brexit & Blaenau Gwent

Bevan Foundation Director, Victoria Winckler, has contributed to an article in The Independent on why people in Blaenau Gwent voted to leave the EU.

Independent journalist Adam Lusher’s article on the Brexit vote in Blaenau Gwent was published as an Independent ‘Long Read‘ on 12th February.  The article looks in depth at the question of whether voters in the area were ‘turkeys voting for Christmas’ – as some have alleged – or whether the vote reflected deep disenchantment with the state of the economy generally and the lack  of impact of EU funding.

In the article, Victoria comments that:

“The EU has been wrongly blamed for all the ills that have affected Blaenau Gwent and other areas like it. There was a failure of UK government policy, from all parties, a long-term restructuring of the UK economy in which, to generalise very crudely, the regions were left to wither and die, while London and the south prospered. On top of which came a thick layer of austerity”

In the article, Adam Lusher finds few Ebbw Vale residents regret their vote. What also stands out is the lack of hope – for all those interviewed want Brexit they don’t see it bringing the area better times. People’s disengagement from politics is also striking – and troubling.

Read the full article in the Independent here.

The Bevan Foundation’s original commentary on Brexit and Blaenau Gwent is here and our paper published immediately after the referendum is here.

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