The city that dared to fight has now dared to stand defiant. Liverpool was not alone in voting to remain in the European Union, of course, but it was one of the few that acknowledged what is set to be lost by leaving it.
Throughout the region and as far afield as the Wirral and Knowsley, the message was unequivocal. Only a Euro-sceptic St Helens followed the crowds across the country in backing the Leave vote – clearly memories are hazy in that part.
Within hours of the official result of the United Kingdom’s referendum being declared, the FTSE 100 plummeted, so did the value of the pound against currencies across the world – not just the Euro – and the current Prime Minister resigned.
More may yet to come in the weeks, months and even years ahead. It is unlikely to be pretty for any concerned, regardless of which way you voted.
And for what?
The answer, it appears, is a number of false, scaremongering claims which were dismissed off-hand by the victors once they had what they wanted.
As a city which has embraced multiculturalism for centuries, Liverpool is not somewhere that would ever wholly embrace the ugly undertone of ‘Brexit’.
Pockets exist – as they do in other areas throughout the country – but as a whole it does not yearn for a return to the bad old days of the 1980s, when casual racism and attempts at a managed decline went hand in hand.
It was backing from Brussels which ensured this city was kept afloat when Margaret Thatcher’s cut-throat Conservative government was preparing to let it wither and die. They were not willing to even attempt, in the words of then Chancellor Geoffrey Howe, “to make water flow uphill”.
Younger readers do not require access to the archives of the British Film Institute or Pathe News to see the pitfalls that Merseyside found itself trying to navigate three decades ago. YouTube is choc full of material, both fictional and factual, that shows the crumbling state of the region.
For those looking for a lesson in that unpleasant history, World In Action’s ‘On The Scrap Heap’ documentary and Alan Bleasdale’s iconic ‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ series are a good starting point in offering an indication of just how bad it got. It could happen again, here and across the country.
No one truly wants this city and the greater Liverpool area to regress 30 years. Businesses would not be the only casualty – the local economy and even the city’s two football teams face repercussions.
The majority in the UK clearly wants to do otherwise.
Katie Hopkins wishing us “only malice” after the result in support of Remain was announced – but oddly not extending it to the similarly outward-looking Manchester – was neither here nor there. People with marginally more morals have tried – and failed – to denigrate us.
Insult from a person whose CV of public life reads like it has been plucked from the most lurid Merseyside Police press release are an irrelevance. It was her invective worryingly encapsulated how the nasty thing may get with ‘Brexit’.
Philip Pullman, the esteemed author, has perhaps articulated it best today with his summation of the current state of affairs: “We have a headache, so we shot our foot off. Now we can’t walk, and we still have the headache.”
For Liverpool’s sake, we can only hope that the headache does not turn out to be the return of a tumour that had previously been removed.
Please note: This is a comment piece and the opinions expressed in this item are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the stance or opinions of the management and owners of Click Liverpool.