Pathé newsreel footage shows black men and women dressed in their Sunday best (though it was a misty Tuesday morning), elegantly disembarking the SS Empire Windrush after 22 days at sea. Not all votes to leave had racist connotations; indeed, a sizeable number of black people voted to exit the EU. The fact remains that, across the UK, if you are xenophobic and racist, then if you voted, you voted to leave. This works so well because of the crumbling of two big stories in the imagination of Britain: empire and capitalism. But unlike the story of the Empire Windrush, which was built on hope, plurality, working-class connection and cross-cultural goodwill, the stories you can find passing through places such as Tilbury now are those built on anger, intolerance and resentment.

Source: The Guardian June 22, 2019 04:52 UTC