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> most of England outside of London have a dim opinion of the EU Nah. Can't simply blame it on stupid Northerners. It was far more nuanced than that. There wer

> most of England outside of London have a dim opinion of the EU Nah. Can't simply blame it on stupid Northerners. It was far more nuanced than that. There were multiple reasons for no votes, not all of which had anything to do with the EU at all. Plenty of remainers in the Northern colonies like Scotland and Manchester. Plenty who recognise their deprived town or region has significant EU funding. Deprivation of course brings other issues, like some blaming minorities for their woes. Brexit delivered a campaign blaming minorities and free movement. :p The saddest one to my mind is those who apparently wanted to give the govt a bloody nose for years of austerity and under-investment in the regions. That's quite some disconnect!

dijit 8y ago
>Can't simply blame it on stupid Northerners. As one myself, that was not my intention at all. 30+ years of anti-EU propaganda, lots of lies leading up to the referendum. Catchy soundbites like "project fear" to dispel any attempts at reasoning potential downsides. It all adds up, and even then it was a very slim vote to leave. But my original post still stands; EU has pretty poor PR in the UK (and likely elsewhere) but an attempt to improve it would likely give ammunition to the very tabloids who despise the EU today.
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  > As one myself, that was not my intention at all. My bad. :) There's certainly been some attempts to land blame on the provinces. > 30+ years of anti-EU propaganda ... EU has pretty poor PR Quite. One of the most telling things is there has been almost no EU PR over the decades. Just the odd logo on a development or in a region receiving aid. Most governments put out ads, or leaflets from time to time. The EU should perhaps have done a little too - maybe a "your region has got £xxm in development funding" message could have registered the thought they're not all bad in a few minds. Barely anything positive to be heard from pro-EU MPs and parties.

dijit 8y ago

>Can't simply blame it on stupid Northerners. As one myself, that was not my intention at all. 30+ years of anti-EU propaganda, lots of lies leading up to the referendum. Catchy soundbites like "project fear" to dispel any attempts at reasoning potential downsides. It all adds up, and even then it was a very slim vote to leave. But my original post still stands; EU has pretty poor PR in the UK (and likely elsewhere) but an attempt to improve it would likely give ammunition to the very tabloids who despise the EU today.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago
> As one myself, that was not my intention at all. My bad. :) There's certainly been some attempts to land blame on the provinces. > 30+ years of anti-EU propaganda ... EU has pretty poor PR Quite. One of the most telling things is there has been almost no EU PR over the decades. Just the odd logo on a development or in a region receiving aid. Most governments put out ads, or leaflets from time to time. The EU should perhaps have done a little too - maybe a "your region has got £xxm in development funding" message could have registered the thought they're not all bad in a few minds. Barely anything positive to be heard from pro-EU MPs and parties.