Help us reunite divided nation by meeting up for a good natter
AS the third anniversary of Brexit approaches, nothing is resolved, Britain is divided.
Some 82% of people feel our country is divided, with 73% saying division has increased since the referendum, a Survation poll for the Mirror reveals.
One in four people say they feel angry with people who voted the opposite way to them on Brexit, and more than half (55%) say people have become less tolerant since the vote, while 79% of people have lost faith in British politics altogether.
The good news is people want to come back together, 82% wishing the UK was more united. And 60% would like to be able to chat to someone with an opposing view without anyone shouting at each other.
That is why today, the Mirror and the Daily Express and dozens of Reach PLC regional newspapers are launching ‘Britain Talks’ – a plan to bring the nation back together.
The Mirror and Express are very different newspapers, with different readers and diverging views over Brexit and who should lead our country. We are poles apart on a host of issues. If we can do it – so can you.
We want you to sign up to agree to meet someone with different views. All you have to do is fill in a questionnaire, and we will do the rest. We will match you with someone who lives locally to you and who has different views. Then, we are asking you to meet up – in a safe, public space – to have a chat.
Meetings will take place on the weekend of June 23, the third anniversary of Brexit. It is the same weekend as the Great Get Together – when Britain comes together in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox for street parties and picnics. This year, we are partnering the Jo Cox Foundation to try to bring people together.
Reduced to the shouting of short, angry tweets and the childish yelling of the House of Commons, it is as if we are forgetting how to talk to each other. Being polarised is paralysing not just our politics, but our nation. So, on June 23 we are asking you to have a difficult conversation. We do not want you to agree with the other person, unless you want to. We just want you to really listen to each other.
Whatever happens, you will have shown the courage it takes to step outside of your bubble. ■ For more information visit mirror.co.uk/britaintalks WHICH THREE ISSUES ARE MOST DIVIDING THE UK?
Divide over Brexit 75%
Divisions over immigration 41% Divide between left and right wing politics 36%
Wealth divide 33%
Divide between London and the rest of the UK 25%
Religion 19%
North/South divide 18% Austerity 16% Class divide 15% Social media 9% LGBTQ+ rights 6% Other 1% Don’t know 2%
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS CLOSEST TO YOUR VIEW?
Since the EU referendum, people in the UK have become more tolerant 7%
Since the EU referendum, people have become neither more nor less tolerant 30%
Since the EU referendum, people have become less tolerant 55% Don’t know 9%