Brexit breakdown: a big day in the north | Anywhere but Westminster
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- Опубликовано: 20 мар 2019
- Some hardcore remainers think they have heard enough from leave-voting northern towns, but people in those places are still desperate to be heard: about poverty, cuts, and how and when we might leave the EU. As Theresa May's deal hits the skids, Anywhere But Westminster hits Wigan: 64% leave, and still waiting for the answers
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#anywherebutwestminster #brexit #wigan #uk #politics #europeanunion #eu
Watch more in the series:
Brexit breakdown: fear and anger on the Irish border ► www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2019/feb/13/brexit-breakdown-fear-and-anger-on-the-irish-border-video
Brexit breakdown: southern discomfort ► www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2019/jan/24/brexit-breakdown-part-5-southern-discomfort-video
@@saxglend9439 10 years of austerity will do that to people and the country, i think Theresa May should meet those homeless kids and repeat to them face to face what she said at the Tory conference back in October that austerity is now over...
So you went to a leave town and talked to remainers...... You are the morning star, the daily worker of mainstream UK newspapers.
You are not a very good journalist.
I assumed you are a journalist, but journalists shouldn't poison the well like that while doing interviews. Your job is to help the subject say exactly what they want to say. There own specific and concise words will be what's judged by the public, not "You don't think we were lied to?".
I notice a lack of pre/post Brexit statistics cited as well. Curious.
Also what that amazon guy and those itinerant teenagers would be doing instead, if anything?
@J and M The way the lead the questions was crazy too, you are already talking to people who agree with you Guardian, did you really need to tall them what to say also?
What I still don't understand who those people are. I can understand why austerity measures are hard on them, but they don't seem to understand the Tories are the reason for it. They have the poor in an iron grip. The man complaining about May while JRM and his band of brothers taking benefits away and now the few jobs if Minford plan succeeds. Who are those people?
A normal cook from Wigan talking about Maslow's hierarchy. Love it, she's spot on.
Malenky
'A normal cook' isn't supposed to know week 1 basic sociology?
@@alftupper9359 Most working class people don't do much sociology, especially the older they are.
Also the pyramid is a discredited concept, so... :D but it's good people consider those things.
She really is spot on isn’t she? Does fall on the working class to turn things around.
Not enough money around is there?
patronising. working class people arent real people are they?
There is something broken when jeff bezos is worth $130 billion, but people work for amazon cannot earn enough to live on.
That is how you become a billionaire
@@sofrknasm "Every billionaire is a policy failure"
Nothing is broken, there's no reason why any of his employees can't start their own version of Amazon. What's stopping them? That's how it works in the USA. Anyone can go from nothing to a billionaire with a little hard work. Come here and try it and you'll see.
Also, who works for Amazon and doesn't make enough to live on? New York just turned down 25,000+ jobs paying $150,000 a year. How much do you make a year?
@@billybatson8657 Is this some kind of joke? Because I don't get it
Always amazes me how much class distinction there is in the UK.
And so many of the working class still bow to a posh voice! It's in the genes!
It's the lack of nazi and communist dictatorship. :D It swept away the rests of feudalism and classes on the continent. And of course social democracy - the labour party isn't the right party for the poor workers anymore.
The British pepole will not give up
@@malahammer it's not in the genes, stupid. It's in the culture, a culture they need to break the chains of it they are going to become wealthier
@@StephanieTihanyi They've been bred for the yoke.
This series might be one of the most profound takeaways about the whole brexit story. Keep it up!
I concur.
I hesitate.
Pingolingo for *Remoaners, sure.*
Profound takeaways
Profound
Takeaways
God you are awful.
Unreal.
The man at 9:01 saying "How can I be poorer?" really hit me, sounds like a man that feels like he has nothing left to lose, so is willing to take a big risk for the sake of change.
The class inequity in this country is truly saddening.
Sadly unless you're homeless on the street in the UK you can always be poorer. The really sad part is some of these people who have been promised things that will never happened and been told to point blame at a foreign enemy for their circumstances even now still don't see the real problem.
@@sibience I agree, so perhaps the only thing that will make them acknowledge their misguided fingerpointing is for us to be without the EU. It's a harsh lesson, but if it gets people to see that the problem is internal, maybe there can be some good from it.
@@tomwilliams8591 The trouble with that reasoning is all it will do is redirect the hate at these people . There will be no attempts to try and solve the issues but the blame will go elsewhere .
No lessons will be learned no matter what
@@sibience Been told to point the blame you are kidding? they see it with their own eyes the immigrants get more help than our own and that is the truth!
@@mysticpizza02 That's the "truth" you read in entertainment papers like the The Sun or The Daily Mail. These people obviously didn't vote out of the EU because of EU migrants. They voted because they believed the lies about how things would be better and that their problems were being caused by the EU. They felt like they had nothing to lose either way.
This is exactly the kind of journalism this problem needs.
Does it? Nobody cares.
Some boomer type wanna be going around pulling faces at people he disagrees with is the "journalism we need".
LOL
Read Orwell's account of 1940s Lancashire. Not much has changed.
@@sirhenrybiglingtonsimmerso1579 Bingo. Nailed it one.
@@mark heyne Ah, class bigotry alive and well I see - but it's all good as they are only working-class, and northerners too, so it's fine to dismiss them, being as they are the very bottom of the greivance pyramid. Right?
12:53 the look on the lads face says so much. If you see this Good luck mate. Keep going.
Exactly what i thought. He looked like he felt worthless, which is a shame. People dont realise they are worth more than they think, and dont realise their potential. Hope he's ok.
If you see this, we believe in you man! You've got such a lot to cope with right now (my dad went the same way) but I'm sending you love from far away.
Heartbreaking
Keep going brother. God guide you. Bless.
@John Buffalo I am 97 I think the point we were making was nothing to do with Brexit, the guy lost his father not long before, and him talking about his situation, and the look on his face revealed he's going through a desperate time. He even said he has no clue about what's happening with Brexit. He's got bigger problems at the moment. Sometimes it takes a bit of security and feeling of self worth before people even try to understand issues outside of their immediate situation. I hope he gets that, good luck to the guy
By watching this I understand far better why people voted for Brexit. As a foreigner I basically had the image of London when I think of UK.
Really you understand why somebody throws away a lifebelt, why they throw the insuline? Their very self interest is stay in EU.
That is the main problem with how the UK is viewed abroad, people see London and in films they see all the public school educated toff actors portraying Brits. Britain is neither of these things, the sooner more people realise that the better.
@@marusak72 It's easier to blame the nameless faceless European government thousands of miles away then your local MP.
When growing up in the 80's and 90's it felt like the rest of the UK did the work but London & the south east got all the credit and the wealth. And when it became cheaper to import goods or outsource the labour we just got ditched. I was too young to properly understand the miner's strike but I understood the effect it was having. Even today, mentioning "That Woman" still draws scowls.
Nowadays, I understand it all much more and I even accept things had to change back then but the fact remains much of the UK was sloughed off so the money in London could be spent more profitably elsewhere.
What's occurring in this video is just a continuation of what happened back then.
Best of wishes to everyone.
Heart & Soul
Thank you. There are millions of us my friend and we are not all rabid, racist anti-Europeans. I am a proud European. I just have had enough of the high-handed treatment from Brussels that seems increasingly to have the interests of a select few at heart.
Look at the comment section!
It warms my heart to see so many people express genuine compassion and understanding for their fellow humans; That's what we need.
Reading all these comments has made me so optimistic that we can do so mucb better than the current political climate leads us to believe.
Didn't stop older people selling out their children's and grandchildren's future just to make themselves feel better by attacking the EU when it's the people behind Brexit who are _actually_ shafting them. While we're talking about the North, let's not forget that Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle _all_ voted Remain.
The lad's dad who committed Suicide - One of the UK's biggest tragedies is suicides of middle-aged men. Huge challenges ahead. Let us all play our own part in trying to fix Britain.
yes I sense a story there that may be related to the economic condition of the town as well
Nobody cares about white, middle aged men. Despite it's them who have built this country.
Working class too.
Rees-Mogg is white and middle aged and the Government can’t get enough of what he says or wants
@@AgentSmith911 It really isn't. White middle aged man myself and we weren't left with much to work with by the time Thatcher had taken everything to bits. We tried - but it wasn't fixable.
That’s because we are too busy keeping others happy and not our own
Those kids at 12:00 absolutely broke my heart.
Dreadful, and shameful. If there’s meant to be a safety net surely it should catch these people?
Mine too :( How many 10,000's more are like them. Good luck kids x
It's happening here in America too. I see them around Seattle, Washington. They live in cars or tents and they basically beg for money on the streets with signs. So sad.
Very sad. They still have some hope through. One held onto dreams of a enterprise in landscaping and the other in childcare and migrating to Australia. I hope they make it one day
@@walden6272 The difference in America though is that there are plenty of job opportunities. Even if it's minimum wage jobs, which many of them aren't. The trades are hurting for tradesmen, the trucking industry is facing a shortage, there's still plenty of manufacturing occurring. Hell, we're in the middle of an oil boom. Many individuals simply don't want to put in the effort to gain an education, and/or find a job. I've heard this numerous times from homeless individuals, both in person and from videos.
The reporter's face at 9:00 says it all.
"We can't have it poorer."
*...oh my God*
The guy playing Jonathan Pie said it. If you have nothing you will take your chances with change, any change, because you do not believe it can be worse.
I can feel the reporter there. I'm from mainland EU... that's my basic reaction to what's going on wih brexit.
Exactly one of the main reasons Brexit happened. The remainers simply didn’t put forward a strong enough case to these people
They are shown being fed. They are clearly not emaciated and I doubt any of them have been yet driven to the very edge of literally starving to death.
Therefore they are being complacent and naive in assuming 'it can't get any worse for us'. It can - very much so.
@@rickoneillable - That's true but also, leave campaign had a 30+ year run up to this as right wing press ridiculed everything european (looking at you Murdoch) and cheered on nationalism whilst both political parties found a usefull scapegoat to blame for their own failings. People have been conditioned to think like this. I call it the Sun mentality.
@@bbbf09 How can it get much worse for them, considering they are a short journey from one of the richest cities in the world?
did he just say "how can we get poorer??"... dear lord almighty.. the tories will show you ways you thought were not possible in this day and age..
With a no deal brexit, they soon are gonna find out.
Over 30 years now of getting year on year poorer. SO you think threatening them with being poorer will work? You just show how out of contact you are with the working class.
They'll remember that when they're deciding what child to eat.
@@Brzuszek12 who is threatening?. No one. You are out of touch with the comment. Please read it again. You should try to read bettween the lines to understand the difference between a lament and a threat.
@Amanda A ahh yes when people dont have the money to even feed themselves, but fear not! NEXT will be cheaper. you complete and utter moron.
Every conversation in this broke my heart. I genuinely feel ashamed of my country and its leadership.
I do feel sorry for people who fall on hard times, but a lot of people complain they are poor when really it’s their lifestyle choices
As someone from OS , the problem is not the EU, it's the laws and set up in this country that essentially discriminates against and fails to protect the lower classes. Simple stuff like being forced to pay the real estate fees and land rates for rental properties, elsewhere the landlord pays for that, it's their property. Pay day loans with extortionate rates, elsewhere these are illegal. Road taxes are high, insurance costs are high; people need a car to work but can't afford to have a car. Fix the basics and empower the poor and the country prospers...but I'm guessing the upper classes wouldn't like that???
Christ, you empower the poor! Something may actually get done.
Totally agree with you!!!
Things you mention are the way gov pay for social benefits people enjoy everyday. It is expensive but so does every country with huge welfare expenditure
@itchygonads why? please expand on this. what are they doing that makes your life in the UK worse? If you are going to harp on about immigration then wake up, the UK does NOT implement EU migration laws for some strange reason which would make it a lot harder for EU migrants to stay in the UK. There is an EU guideline that a new EU migrant to a country can stay 3 months without getting a long term work contract...dont get one, you must leave. UK is the only place not enforcing that
@@shalahuddinsuryobaskoro9790 The Country doesn't pay for the "social benefits that people enjoy everyday", it's payed for by the people out working and paying high poll and council taxes to subsidise the welfare state.
3rd world destitution and hopelessness. Just shocking. The UK is in a very very bad place, and it has nothing to do with Brexit.
@@criticclips1560 It's hard to get a decent education when the system is under funded
@@criticclips1560 it's hard to see a sence in working if you don't get paid for it. Your zero houre contracts make just the statistics look good.
@@haruc If only you could spell
@@hannahdyson6391 Underfunded ? looool please
Don't beat about the bush been in decline since we allowed millions of unchecked foreign immigrants in legal or otherwise and will only get worse 💩💩💩
Those last 20 seconds with the radio update of the vote playing over the choir rehearsal got me emotional. Started tearing up. I think it's because of the disconnect it represented between politicians and these real, living, toiling class of people somewhere in a town up north. Fantastic work in this series.
I cried at 12:00 because I have been at that point. I hope they find their way. I don't think voting leave or remain is the issue any more, I believe all this was a symptom of a much deeper rooted problem and it's that we have governments both domestic and EU that genuinely in their hearts do not care about the ordinary people. So sad.
I disagree. I'm no fan of the EU, but to say they and government simply don't care is ridiculous. The reality is that there is no quick and easy answer to these problems. They require a much wider view of the causes, and long term planning. Not unsustainable populist quick fix solutions.
@@awesomeavenger2810 The UK government don't care about these people . We have MPs defending austerity and saying that this isn't real suffering or children sleeping on the streets isn't really being homeless .
Cutting councils finding in the regions that don't vote for them shows how much they care .And that's 0%
Awesome Avenger I do see your point, but I have got to the point in life where I make judgment on people's actions rather than their words. The political class do come to live rather extravagant life styles in comparison to the people they apparently care about, of whom are living on the bread line, who's taxes are used to finance the lifestyles of the political classes, hence the rise of populism. Populism isn't just some ill thought-up project designed to ruin everything, it is an organic happening as a direct result of poor political leadership.
I am an advocate of leading by example and we appear to be lacking in this type of integrity in our political leadership. It's in out very nature to be connected to the people we trust and without that connection, trust has no foundation. The Oxbridge halls of parliament have created this not us. They could all do with a little humility, rather than just play for the camera. Bread and circus as the Roman Senate used to say, and we all know what happened.
History keeps repeating it's self, let's hope this time we can overcome this, but I am afraid intuitively there are much more nefarious force at play behind closed doors, especially when you read into UN replacement migration initiatives and agenda 21. Only time will tell. Humans hey, "we didn't start the fire, it was always burning since the world was turning". All the best.
@@hannahdyson6391 When labour left power, the UK had a deficit of £200 billion. That means the UK government was spending £200 billion more than it was making. As much as we all wish otherwise, that is clearly not sustainable - Its all very well recognising the effect, but if you dont tackle the cause you will never solve the problems. And things will get worse.
Yes, and the main problem is completely pointless austerity. There needs to be strategic investment.
1:47 Maslow's hierarchy. Amazing bit of oratory. Just goes to show that we are smart up north. Smarter than the Tory's think.
If you’re so smart why did most people vote for Brexit?
'How can I be poorer?' Heartbreaking what these monsters in charge have led us to.
This is one of the more sobering "Anywhere but Westminster" episodes in the series. A lot of the people very articulate in their reasoning for whats going on, and what can be done to help Wigan.
I completely agree. I grew up in the North West and now live abroad. But if someone blames the EU for the effects of 10 years of Tory cuts?
If you look at social inequality and label 'liberal elites' with economic power they earned as the problem, as opposed to the actual old money westminster Tories who have political and economic power they inherrited..... I don't get it.
@@adamcol2270, in my opinion the much-discussed 'liberal elites' are simply different legs of the same table from the 'actual old money Westminster Tories' that you mention.
@@xman090909 having spent time with both and being educated but poor myself, there's a huge difference in outlook, motivation and politics between people who make their way, and those who's ways are made easy for them. It's huge and you can spot it a mile off. The Tories generally serve the latter because they are the latter.
@@xman090909 do you really agree polish lettuce pickers or frrnch customer service agents are to blame for the uks issues? Or 10 years of cuts by theresa as home Secretary And pm?
@@adamcol2270 well, it depends how you define 'liberal'. As with 'progressive', it's rather clichéd nowadays unfortunately. I'm sure that people such as Nick Clegg and Keir Starmer would say they are for instance, but I would beg to differ. Many politicians really are indistinguishable from each other, regardless of which party they're from and what identity politics they take up. Perhaps the only real exceptions in parliament today are people like Dennis Skinner. And yet the Labour Party of old was of course full of them. Three guesses what they would have made of the EU were they still alive 🤔.
It would be ridiculous to blame Polish fruit pickers as individuals for the current malaise. However, do you think that they would be here in such huge numbers if they didn't provide cheap labour for rich (and I'd presume often Tory) farmers? I know that many of them also work in industries such as hospitality and yet have university degrees that they obtained back home. It's a shame that, for a good reason I'm sure, they can't put those skills to use in order to better their home countries where they would surely be better utilised, as opposed to here, to save some hotel boss some cash. The undercutting of wages here and the austerity you mention are I suspect linked. I'm no supporter of either.
I want this series to come back. Incredibly powerful and important. Great work
Those young people on the street are heartbreaking, showing the start of their personal cycle of poverty taking them to down a worse level
But just take away all the benefits and social security and they'll find a job soon enough.. Right?
grincetown
Yes indeed. And all of it on the EU's watch.
its austerity. The removal of housing benefit for under 25s. sanctions benefit cuts. zero hour contracts. jobs that do not pay rent. No safety net or social support. Homelessness only grows year on year with no way out. Food banks working people rely on.. skipping meals to feed children. This is our governments failures blamed on the EU.
@@hannahwells9930
People keep harping on about how things would be worse outside the EU. WE ARE IN THE EU AND PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE! WHY? The EU have presided over the UK's decline to this level - managed us into not having enough manufacturing to employ these people.
We can only trade with the countries that the EU allow us to. We are unable to do what needs to be done, due to the EU's strictures.
@Hannah Dyson To blame for what?
Thank you Guardian for going around the UK asking people about Brexit. Thank you talking to the working class. It is so nice for international viewers to see this.
LOVE the woman in red speaking some truth @1:50
@Hamilton Moses exactly. now good luck my British friend you in it
@Hamilton Moses I think people voted for a change, it's the only way they could let their voice be heard. I think they voted leave out of desperation...
@Hamilton Moses what I dont understand is you said they fell for the lies..?? Like England is still in the EU, and by the looks of it will remain in the EU and nothing has changed.. You know I'd agree with you if you left and there was mass unemployment, extreme poverty, etc. Dont presume something that hasn't happened until it happens.
Which truth? first she derides 'feeding people' (i assume a response to the journalist asking for an opinion on food banks) so shes attacking a charity, then says people should take responsibility and shouldn't be forced to rely on others, again anti-charity but this time in favour of personal responsibility. Then she reasons that people cant exercise personal responsibility if they're hungry, debatable idea but she's now excusing food banks/charity. Then says people on benefits are blamed for their own circumstances when people 'at the top' should be blamed, this then excuses any personal responsibility. She also claims people were daft and tricked into voting Leave with funding promises, i wonder where she could have got that idea? It was nothing to do with political disengagement from the EU then ? perhaps the Guardian think these people aren't sophisticated enough to make that judgement
Telling people that Brexit will make them poorer is never going to work because that's the life they already live. The whole reason places like Wigan voted out is because any hope for change, no matter how tiny, is better than the destitution they already know.
But how is more expensiv food gonna help them? in case they thought there is hope in brexit
Unfortunately Wigans biggest employer is food manufacturing - one of the things Patrick Minford (Economists for Brexit) says will have to be run down like they did with coal and steel to achieve the Brexit they want. It could get a lot worse for my town.
But you are correct: you can't tell people here that as they don't believe it can get any worse.
@@carlbirchall6869 It _could_ get a lot worse - some of these people have never lived in a house without a bathroom, a phone, a freezer and a TV. In the 1960s that wasn't called being deprived, it was called being middle class!
yes decided to make GE out of Referendum, worked great in sending us all back to 2008
@@Akita538 it was normal, didn't change much until the 80s/90s. The amount of money we spend these days on material possession's and what would have been called luxuries in my younger days is quite amazing. We take it all for granted now, but surely it can't last?
The three homeless kids absolutely broke my heart, the two beautiful Girls and the boy at 12:00. I hope and pray to God she can immigrate to Australia and pursue her Midwife career, and I hope the boy who lost his father and the other girl find foster parents who love and cherish them. They deserve so much better, my heart weeps for them.
“Here you come upon the important fact that every revolutionary opinion draws part of its strength from a secret conviction that nothing can be changed.” “We are living in a world in which nobody is free, in which hardly anybody is secure, in which it is almost impossible to be honest and to remain alive.”
George Orwell - The Road to Wigan Pier
As I'm watching this, these are beautiful people that care enough about the ones that go hungry and try *so* hard.
The gentleman who works for Amazon, he was upfront about his income. Where I reside, it's a taboo topic.
Big hearts all around.💗💗
Wigan looks like a nice town full of art, and lovely little buildings that are beautiful too. 😳
Thank you *so* much for posting.
Peace! ✌
Funny thing is that fella who works for Amazon is my mates step dad.
High Street local shops closing down and Amazon keeps growing while paying their "fair" share of taxes with their bank accounts in Switzerland. Then you just wonder where all the money is going...
“It can’t get any worse.” I return to this doc every so often and wonder about that bloke.
‘How can I be poorer?’ 😔 The UK is broken.
To paraphrase Bob Dylan, 'When you ain't got nothing you ain't got nothing to lose'.
It broke my DAMN heart when the homeless kids popped up and the young man said he wants to get into landscaping but hasn't been able to pursue it because of his Dad's recent suicide.
As an American from Los Angeles, I want you guys to know we support our brothers and sisters in the UK no matter how Brexit turns out.
@TheChosenOne that's a very pretentious viewpoint of people being born into it.
@@Reel___Very condescending too. Of course they realise they live in a class-based society. That they aren't on the streets demanding another kind of change than Brexit is because the ruling classes and their associates in the press have made sure they don't consider it as an option.
Most people are upper working class, rather than middle class
I think it would be interesting to give people a sheet of paper with policies on it and ask people whether they think it's UK government policy or EU policy. See if people can tell what the EU actually does or if they still believe the lies told by Politicians and rag newspapers
@ZeeZee Zputnik That's just balderdash.
@ZeeZee Zputnik What would I ask them?
ZeeZee Zputnik You can say that about any country.
The weirdest thing is that they all think the EU is "forcing" regulations on the UK, but the UK has veto powers in the EU. If the UK government was strongly against a particular piece of legislation they'd just can it.
SPOT ON, THEY HAVE NO CLUE
What a great piece of journalism. It is heartbreaking to see how Westminster hysteria has left politicians deaf, dumb and selfish.
Now let's take it to another level... go to Rotherham. Rotherham used to be a bustling town centre when I was a child 30 years ago. Now, it's a hellhole, like Luton.
meadowhall and parkgate have a lot to answer for aswell but yes you are correct
I grew up in Rotherham and it had a lot to offer, great night life, close to the Derbyshire countryside, affordable housing, the best public transportation anywhere, nice people. It all fell apart in the early 80’s. I still miss it.
@@truckerg96 I think the word you are really looking for is "Thatcherism". That's what happened. Britain and particularly this area (where I also grew up) has been broken ever since.
That's a mean to say to people who live in Luton. There are worse places up and down England. I think Luton has become a symbol and an obvious target. How sad....
@@muggedinmadrid I'm not being mean. It's an observation. Indeed my own hometown is a hellhole too along with many other towns and cities in the uk. It needs shining a light on so we can sort it out. I'm not one for false niceties as it just silences the problem. Let's just be honest. We're all suffering from lack of investment since the 80's. Many places have become breeding grounds for crime and poverty. Lets just sort it out instead of wasting time on being fake!
Seeing this from Portugal. This is an incredible and broken heart story. We always try to see the reasonable and pragmatic point of view and forget the personal stories behind the scene. For me brexit is the most stupid decision that an european country have made since ww2 but, of course, I look the general picture. The individual reasons are amazing. Sorry about my very bad english and good luck either to leavers and remainers.
The UK gives more to the EU than they give back. May is part of the global elite that is the EU, that wants to control us in the New World Order. Creating austerity and pitching people one against the other is their way to divide and rule. It’s a totalitarian tiptoe. The EU plans a European army to control any dissent, with compulsory conscription for our young people and further treaties to trap us ever further in this evil dictatorship of unelected bureaucrats who have never had their account passed off. Furthermore the EU will collapse. Italy is financially in a very bad way which is likely to topple this what Corbyn called, a Frankenstein of an organisation. Far better off out. I have studied this for many years and it’s all coming true
@@sarapalmer2069 You´re right! And the Earth is Flat, too.
@@sarapalmer2069 The UK only started paying more than they get back in 2003. You're ideas of the EU after that are so stupid I wont answer them as a search will show you the truth. The EU army everyone is afraid of is just that every country uses standard equipment and bullets to make logistics easier. Italy is not in a bad way really. The problem is they have a culture of bribery and mafia corruption. The EU wants Italy to sort that out, which they are doing, but its slower than the EU expected.
@@sarapalmer2069 🤔??? Studying? I have no doubt you did. Understanding and seeing the whole picture? Mmm...
Hows Portugal doing?
This is a wonderful insight...excellent piece...heartwarming and heart breaking
Karen you saying you didn't know? as for heartwarming and heartbreaking it's not fiction!
I have family in Wigan, they voted for Brexit and passionately want it to happen.
They traditionally vote Labour, but the ONLY reason they voted Labour in the last GE was Labour promised to leave the EU.
I tried telling them that Labour had no intention of leaving the EU, but they thought there was no way of stopping it so it was safe to vote Labour again.
The very same month Labour got elected on a Brexit supporting manifesto, Labour MPs started the conversations to frustrate and delay Brexit, Labour MPs openly calling for second votes and reversal of the original referendum.
Had MPs been honest about their intent, a lot of current MPS would now be out of a job.
We need to make manifesto pledges legally binding, and any deviation from them should be punishable by de-selection and instant by-elections.
The vast majority of current MPs got in by lying to their constituents about their true intentions.
Wigan wants to leave I can assure you of that.
And by wanting to leave they have signed their own death warrant . Farage and leave will dump them and turn on them once Brexit goes bad
Brexit would be under threat under labour and Lib Dem’s, conservatives have failed too, but hopefully Boris will sort it out
I could burst into tears sometimes. I'm do sorry our country has turned to this... But there's always hope.
Mad Respect to the Guy for giving us a view into the life of People who's government Fail them the best like really 12:00 was the most painful thing i find out about the UK this year!
It was such a heart hollowing moment...
And when their own government failed them, they gave it _exactly_ what it wanted - Brexit. Expect lower real wages for years.
the zero hours economy so loved by rees mogg
The lady in red is fantastic. :)
really? She contradicts herself at least 3 times in 50 seconds
That woman at the community kitchen was one of the most level headed and put together people i've heard from about brexit in years.
Wigan pier in the 90s was amazing. Sad its gone.
Stephen Butler even better in the 80’s
guess we blame it on the EU this one too XD
@@StevePeel maybe so, but before my time.
The irony, The Road to Wigan Pier
I feel for the young people. It’s heartbreaking to see this!!
The most tragic thing about all this Brexit nonsense is that it'll most likely not change a thing for all these towns up and down the UK, we've ended up in a Dickensian nightmare with no end in sight.
Críostóir Mac Ghabhann it’s already started all big companies leaving its fucked up
the hope is by making our own ministers more accountable it will cause change. you may be right it might not but its got to be worth trying rather than accepting our fate
i don't think the people outside of London even know others exist.
now everything will be blamed on brexit, even though these issues existed since the 2008 crisis.
fatBoy not everyone in London is rich. Lots of people in London are broke and suffering like these northerners.
@@ffi1001 There are poor people in London however the resources available to those in London is much higher than small cities, towns, or those living rurally.
@@ffi1001 The suffering is different, towns who's main income was men working in a factory, or women working in an industrial scale with clothes, when those factories close so does 80% of employment opportunities.
If you have been a metal worker since 16 & suddenly loose your job at 46, your skills are incredably limited & you end up working a random minimum wage job. Or moving across the country.
Teenagers & young people used to be apprentices & join in jobs young to get trained up, they'd climb the ladder & have a job for life. There was a support system & community, now they have low self-esteem & choose to muck about because they can not see a sucsessful futute for themslves.
Not that a job solves all problems but an enormous percentage of jobs that people used to do in the North simply aren't there anymore. It is either not a living wage or more likely the factory has been sent abroad or they import cheap items we are unable to compete with.
Problems in London like knife crime or gangs, is well covered by the media, the struggles of those who live in the North or in small communities is not.
these issues will get lot worse , so yes they will blame it on Brexit, i don't live in London and I will blame brexit
@@tomashre7896 How so you explain this issue getting worse for the past 20 years when we were in the EU?
I agree Globalisation is hitting the working/local class too much. We need to build up British industry again and companies rather than outsourcing everything. The balance is tipping too far.
Ok but what does the EU have to do with that? If anything it provides more funding
@@sv-bd5em The EU is the turbine of globalisation. British industry and the property wealth created by the City of London has allowed investment to Europe and indeed developing nations. Is this a good thing if it has been done at the cost of selling off all of our national assets and brands? It is by design. This idea that the EU provides funding that we will lose by leaving, nonsense, it is Britain that has provided that finance!
@@@sv-bd5em"If anything it provides more funding" The UK is the SECOND biggest contributor to the EU... they take from US! Jeez, you're an idiot. XD
Globalisation would be fine - IF you held all businesses to the same standards. Businesses seek the cheapest labor. When slavery was legal, they used slaves. (and still do when they can). Child labor when they could. When slavery, child labor, unsafe working conditions, exploitation, environmental wreckage and other forms of callous exploitation were banned, business went to where they ARENT banned... and government let them get away with it. Corporations want slaves. Corporations want to exploit. Corporations want to externalize costs onto the worker, the commons and the environment. There is only ONE answer, and the answer must be GLOBAL - to stop corporate exploitation. This is a moving target, because evil always seeks an out, so eternal vigilance and constant re-regulation is needed. LIberals and the left may not always have the answer, but you can be sure of one thing - conservatives ALWAYS serve the evil.
Globalism is the inevitable end stage of capitalism. You cannot be anti globalism but pro capitalism.
I like when the Guardian do docs on third world countries.
Camcolito 😂😂😂
😅😅😅
You're wrong for this 😂😂😂😂
This is the UK mate, albeit the North. Not exactly 3rd world is it, it's at least on par with the rest of Europe , for now.
@@user-pd6bd7ir4z Actually it is not. 19 of the 20 poorest counties in the original EU15 countries are in the UK. Anything outside London is piss poor and left behind, especially the North of England.
Thank you for this series. It's changed my views on many issues and really opened my eyes
This is an awesome series. Thanks so much for getting the insights of regular people rather than generalising or demeaning them. Great work!
This series has been some of the most remarkable video journalism I've seen in a time where it is so desperately needed.
Bot
'How can I be poorer?'
Says it all really.
What clever people you can find in all places.
You sound surprised?
...and patronising one's in comment sections. Quite remarkable
"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." - Stephen Jay Gould
@John Buffalo I am 97 why on earth are you surprised? You must be pretty stupid to think only southerners can be bright.
Yes - surprising they can even string a sentence together those 'thick northern types' eh?
Guardian did you tell Wigan 1.5 million Germans per week use foodbanks compared to 350,000 according to the Trussel Trust here? In France? Total, around 3.5 million people rely on food banks in France. One provider, the Banque Alimentaire has over 100 branches in France, serving 200 million meals a year to 1.85 million people. And when leaving the EU is NOTHING to do with economic issues around the country, which of course still need to be addressed, WHY are you conflating the two? EU membership has been a DISASTER for many EU countries. How has the EU helped Italy to grow? Or how has Greece been helped with a national debt of getting on for 200% of GDP? How has Spanish unemployment been helped? Well?!
Yes people are focusing so much on slagging off the UK they're neglecting to see that the EU is far from a fecking utopia!!
@@mogznwaz I agree completely. If this was such a bad country, we wouldn't have 300,000 a year trying to move here!
As a northerner who has lived down south pretending he's a southerner for the last decade, I feel I speak with some authority on this: the class divide in this country is so acute and rarely given the focus it deserves. Outside London and the home counties there are countless ghost towns where there is bitterness, unemployment and resentment - and understandably - people have been left behind and abandoned by the social elite. hate Brexit and all it stands for, but you have to understand that it is the (ILLOGICAL) conclusion of this social inequality.
It's logical. We don't want World Government which means a Global Plantation to benefit Billionaires. Humans are the most inferior animal on the planet who have the gift of being able to learn quickly but they sacrifice the ability to think for themselves in nature. Civilisation is denaturing. And the Sheeple cannot see it. Four Legs Good Two Legs Better. The EU slogan. Hail Merkel and Juncker!!
How utterly depressing, I am literally in tears. But it's a great film, thank you.
The country isn't falling apart-it's being torn apart by Tory austerity.
I am not really a fan of the Guardian newspaper, so I don’t usually post positive comments about it, but I just wanted to say that the Wigan video was an outstanding piece of journalism. It identified some of the very real issues which underlie how working-class folk feel not just about Brexit, but about their lives in general. Top piece of journalism. Many thanks for crafting this piece of work , I was humbled watching it...some of the voluntary work carried out by members of the community was truly uplifting to watch.
Well, it might help if London didn't keep sucking the financial lifeblood out of the rest of the country. It is way past time that all regions of the UK should receive the same money spent per capita (per person) as anywhere else.
it would help if MPs stopped pushing money to London you mean
This is brilliant John and The Guardian. Keep it up.
I can relate a lot to the Amazon driver. I work in something similar and all my colleagues voted leave and I voted remain. However I completely understand why they voted like they did.
I voted Remain too but I hate the way Leave voters are slandered and vilified. It is a legitimate choice even if I don't necessarily agree with it.
mogznwaz Definitely mate, it’s just unfortunately a small amount and it is a small amount that Start talking about WWII Like its some sort of comparisons. Those idiots tarnish the rest people who voted with good intentions.
amazing video/ reporting, well-done to the guardian!!
It's obscene how much the upper classes look down on those who actually work for their money in the UK. No where else seems to have such clear and vile division amongst the classes.
I don't get the problem with a second referendum. Politicians, the experts in decision making, are allowed to change their opinion if new facts came up. Mays deal was in the house two times in a row, ignoring the fact it was devastated the first time. But people should not be allowed to asked a second time, after 3 years? Even if the first questioning wasn't even worked out properly and purely based on lies and emotions? Yeah... sure thing buddy.
I genuinely hope you're being sarcastic, with this whole statement especially the....
"Politicians, the experts in decision making"
Leavers are worried that they will lose a second referendum, so they claim it's anti-democratic to have a democratic vote....
@@jimsy5530 well it is, if you have a vote, you have a vote. You don't act like pissy children when it doesn't go your way, before you make the assumption I never voted for brexit but a vote, is a vote.
@@Mr_Makina Just in a way. Actually, they should be, shouldn't they? It is their job, to get informed about the things they vote(they can't know everything theirselves) and then make a vote on their best knowledge. THAT IS THEIR JOB. So, yeah, they are supposed to be experts. (although they suck sometimes)
@@Mr_Makina This is such a poor argument. It's been three years. This argument can be used against general elections. The people already voted in the previous election why do we need another one it's only been four years the people have spoken it's anti democratic. We can't just keep having elections just because "your side lost", respect the will of the people.
It's assign. It's wrong. And it's not how democracies work.
I suppose, if there's one potentially useful thing that is to come from Brexit, it's that people in this country will finally have no-one but the UK to blame for everything we mess up. No more EU scapegoat.
No they will blame people like this for voting for Brexit . And will say they deserve to be punished
Tom Williams no they will say that the globalist elite are trying to bring them back into the eu by making their situation worse.
Tom Williams no they will say that the globalist elite are trying to bring them back into the eu by making their situation worse.
No, they will still blame the EU for sabotaging the UK economy out of pure spite and vengeance, I guess. People always find someone to blame even if it is absurd.
@@RYFAMO wi9th statement made by thoose in the eu and people like macron they might have a point
Love this series, please keep it up!
sorry if this might seem irrelevant given the subject matter, but does anyone know the name of the song at the end? .... thank you in advance
Tory foodbank uk - 2019 what a country ?
Tony Blair did the most damage and his Globalist Puppet Masters.
@@llewbach77 It started occurring far before Blair.
And yet the Tories poll at 40%...
Westminster governments have invested in the south east of England over a long period of time to the detriment of the rest of the country.
Torys bailed out there friends the bankers and made the working poor, disabled, unemployed, children and public services pay with austerity. With a massive increase in the number of food banks and homelessness.
Europe has been the scapegoat of the rich right wing Tory supporting media owners and the Tory government.
Westminster is totally to blame for the massive gap between the rich and the poor areas and people of the UK.
@@martindornan1667 laber want fix this there both in bed with each other tory laber bascally the same people
I am a german woman , I feel very sorry for the people in the north of England , being in such a desperate situation , that it gave them the feeling that brexit could change their life.
Half of my family is from Lancashire , the accent is like music to my ears. Brexit is not going to change anything , it will make life much more difficult.
The whole of the North of England is not poverty stricken. Some places are still very affluent. It is old industrial towns, like Stoke and Wigan that are struggling.
They get no damn tax money back. It all goes to London for the umpteenth road renovation. Nothing ever comes back North.
@@Taylor1997 Stoke is the toilet of the UK
I dont think the eui is going to last anti eu parties are getting stronger in europe we have to secure our borders and millions of people from the third world cannot be allowed to stream in by the way i am from lancashire too i live in north liverpool now
@@12presspart We sorry to tell you that is up for the British government to sort out . It could have been sorted out while we were in the EU.
Very good journalism.
I always support Guardian when possible and really thankful for their work
These ladies at the beginning are the British people I want to associate with. People with compassion and humanity, with the ability to admit a mistake. Real decent English people.
Damn...! is this what’s going on up North, unbelievable!
Mike Dadvar this is not representative of the entire North, obviously.
Not only up north, have a look around the working class areas everywhere!
@@TheRobstargames It is for the vast majority of it, my towns falling to pieces.
Not happening everywhere up North, but this situation will be become more common if we keep going down this route.
TheRobstargames sorry but if the majority is alright as you are indirectly implying, that doesn’t mean it is Okay for the minority to be in this dire condition
Good for the Guardian to go back up North occasionally. Bet most have forgotten where they came from.
Thank you for a piece of quality journalism. As long as there are resilient and positive people such as those you’ve given a voice to, there’s hope for the future yet.
Thank you John Harris, all your documentary-stories are hugely human, indeed very sad and heartbreaking stories, still preserving the dignity of people and their choices! Great journalist!
Oh the Guardian is so neutral and unpredictable.
...and condescending.
I watch all of your videos. This one is a special one, I think you have finally found the true sentiment behind the Brexit Vote. People want change. The status quo, within the EU has polarised wealth holders and has left our National Government and Civil Service as puppets to a bigger, less understandable political and economic system. It does not work for the majority and I consider myself a middle class professional (who most remain voters would consider to have benefitted from the opportunities that the EU has provided us with in return for being part of a more centralised model) who is concerned that unless a major shift in how our society works is undertaken, that things will only get worse.
Brexit, as the gentleman who used to work for ASDA as a team leader said “Things can not get worse, I am already poor” , was a wake up call to the politicians, as was 2008 to the financial community, that things have not been well for some time.
The sad reality is that 350 million for the NHS is smaller than the 39 BILLION that May is about to give away to the EU for the permission to transition of the EU. Why not save that money and reduce town centre retail property rates for the next 20 years and start investing in our country?
exactly my reasons. but for 2 years people have just said we are all thick racists
@@mawdeeps7691 YOU ARE
@@anakolarova930 what a cogent argument that really addresses the points in the OP and look it only took you 2 years to come up with well done.
@@mawdeeps7691 2 years?
I've said it before, but these videos are fantastic. Thank you for posting.
Amazing job as ever. Thank you!
It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
Mark Twain
That was absolutely harrowing, those poor people were genuine and just wanted their community and livelihoods back. Farage and Co. took them for a ride. I can't imagine Mogg enforcing Amazon to pay a living wage
The Rees Mogg way isn't right either but EU free movement and not allowing any kind of 'protection' for national industries is neo liberal capitalism personified. It is not the answer either.
This is a great, and very revealing series - takes you out of your bubble!
This guy has been doing best reporting on Britain for a while now - actually listens and prepared to be surprised
I wonder how many people would have voted Tory in 1979 if they could have seen the consequences 40 years later ?
I left the country in 1979 and returned in 2015, not liking what I'm seeing pal
@@norman7527 What on Earth persuaded you to return to this GOD FORSAKEN LAND!
Personally, I blame the traitorous SNP and that rotten fish Alex Salmond and his renegade colleagues, if he hadn't sided with the Conservatives instead of old Labour in 1979, the poor working class would never have been lumbered with Thatcher the Milk Snatcher and her Insane policies.
@@insanityrulestheday Thinking of buying a little property in Spain if I'm honest, never to be seen again. Thanks for asking, your not the first :)
@@norman7527 Good luck with that. You obviously got the chance to keep the money you worked for unlike myself, who was robbed in high poll and council taxes of all my hard earned money to fund the Collective Freeloader EU Leprachaun pot of gold, so that I have no hard earned savings for a rainy day.
Up to now from the outside (I'm belgian) I only heard for motivations from the UK politicians in Westminster (which is nonsense and simply made me question their sanity) but up to now I didn't see any real motivation for why the UK people voted to leave.
Now I see two things, Westminster has lost touch with its people and those people are desperate.
Their current state is desperate and they are willing to take any risk to get out of their current misery, no wonder they follow such liars as Farage, Mogg or Johnson, they don't have anything to lose anymore.
Really feel sorry for you guys :(
Jacobs Xavier, I am not surprised that you are a Belgian. Same attitude as the psychopath Verhoffstad. Brexit is not about economics although started off in the 70s as an economic club. The present EU is not an EC but a dogmatic , authoritarian undemocratic bully passing laws, rules and regulations to fulfill the treaties introduced by the backdoor. It is just an ambition to become a power amalgamating half the world to flex muscles against U.S. China and Russia. Anything and everything in everywhich way to stick to the objectives set out in the treaties simply steam rolling the countries into submission. It is extremely protectionist , not for free trade!! It may suit the 27 countries which have decided to surrender their soverignity , but U.K. has decided enough is enough , no more giving up their independence hence the brexit. Remember there are countries outside the EU which are more prosperous. I would rather be a darling of the poor than a slave of the rich. EU may suit the 27 countries which are to some extent landlocked with each other. Majority of the countries are net beneficiaries except, Germany, France , N.L. and Itlay.
Germany is ruling the roost. It dictates EU policies. What it could not achieve by military(Nazism) it is now trying to achieve by economic might and bullying.
@@venkataramansomasundaram5905 Concerning the EU you're lying or at least very badly informed. I could go through the EU parliament and council or talk about the mutual interests that net beneficiaries have in the common market to put your empty rhetoric aside. But let's stick to the point of interest: there are many people in your country who are in an economic miserable state, they're desperate enough to vote for anything that proposes something that even might look like a solution so yes, it is economic, not the macro-economic of the country but yet it's internal structure and how wealth is subdivided amongst its people.
@@jacobsxavier6082 You are missing the point. Britain does not want to lose its independence and be ruled from Brussels, end of. This is a legitimate choice to be made. The Common Market was a great idea and it should have been left at that but if you think globalisation and supranational bureaucracies are a good thing then I suggest you open your eyes a bit more.
Jacobs Xavier I think most Brexit voters simply know that things are going wrong and want change. Leaving the EU is simply the first stage - getting decision making back in the UK. The next stage would be getting a government in power in the UK that will put ordinary Britons first. That will not be either the Tories or Labour as both are globalist pro rich elite parties. I think it would be a government that drastically reduced immigration and adopted nationalistic economic development policies similar to those you see in Asian countries. Personally I would prefer to remain and work towards those policies with allies in the EU but I can understand why so many grabbed the opportunity to vote Brexit when given the chance.
While I personally am a remainer, people need to realise that people voted for brexit to get change and have their voices heard. These people have been ignored, and it’s shameful. It’s a symptom of a larger problem.
11.02 I keep thinking about this encounter near The Orwell in Wigan and I feel the spirit of the man was glancingly there.
“Let’s rebuild the country, there’s enough industry here”
Wtf does the EU have to do with that
They'll blame EU immigration for litirally all of the UK's problems.
To the young Lad with the bottle of Vodka in his backpack. I run a business in Australia Landscaping & Property Maintenance. I'm looking for staff.. apply for a visa and migrate to Australia - i'll give you a job! I love England but the best thing i ever did was leave the place. and that's really sad to say, the Government have screwed our country. England went to the dogs years ago for the working class who struggle to keep the place going week in week out.
Good on you
Where is the business.I live in Salisbury Downs SA
I always do my Christmas shopping in Wigan despite living in the centre of Manchester. So much less of a crush, with most of the shops I need.
Excellent insightful interviews
Did you see the foodstore? 80 percent of the products ,they have, come from the EU.
Yeah but hopefully soon it will come from our own country
@@kennethperry7782 Sure: Bananas, tomatoes..
Which is why the EU should probably give us a free trade deal or we could pound them with high tariffs or go elsewhere in the world, do you understand economics ?
@@brettharter143 That they can not because of WTO rules.
There are real people suffering and struggling with life partly due to the horrible cuts by the Tories, but dont be confused folks Labour dont care about us either, Brexit has taught us that, both parties are trying to kill off what the people voted for; but its MPs like Rees-Mogg that really annoy me, and those like him that pretend to be Christian, when they have no love, no compassion, they dont like showing mercy or giving grace, they pretty much hate the poor when they are supposed to love the poor and help them, to take care of those who are in pain and suffering; well no MP is anything like that. Brexit has also taught us the will betray the voters whenever they can and make it look as if they are doing us a favour.
Can't work you out . You seem to be very much pro-brexit - pro-leave and yet angry with Jacob Rees Mogg somehow. This is the guy who is guiding you to leave you know ? Him and all the other bunch of rich elites - Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Michael Gove, are pushing day and night for leave. You can't at least take that away from them. they are on *your* side. (if I have understood what your side is??)
Of course to them brexit is nice ticket to enrich themselves further and scrap any EU rules or regulations that might interfere with them abusing people who work for them further and make them more money (like slashing pay, leave, safety). All this - and more- much more - is coming post brexit.
What is that you want/ wish for? If I were to conclude anything so far I would suggest that you are as fake a Christian as Rees-Mogg is. But not enough info...now have your say...
Brilliant journalism, completely cutting through the B S and displaying the reality on the ground. Keep it up!
Enough to make you cry.
I feel very sorry for the people
A big part of how the economy works is that industry would only go to places where cost are cheaper... leaving the EU would never bring the industry back...
You know people are dire for a chance when they voted for Brexit... that problem is there...
Thanks for a brilliant piece of journalism you speak to varied members of the communities you visit and speak to allowing everyone a chance to speak there mind some really great individuals doing a sterling job thanks