“What kind of nation we become will be decided by us”

To the astonishment of most pollsters and pundits, more than 17 million people voted last week to end Britain’s 43-year relationship with the European Union. Here, nine Brexiters explain their reasons for leaving

For a better standard of life I want a stable nation where people from all counties across the UK are heard and not fed scraps from the South. I don’t want to fear that when my daughter has children, there’s no room in schools due to overcrowding. We should feel safe in our jobs and not feel as though if we’re not willing to work seven days a week, ten hours a day, someone can quite easily be drafted in from abroad, and subsequently thrown on the unemployment pile, further straining the local economy.

We, the little people, or even the big boys that apparently run the country, haven’t got full control over what happens, and if suffering a downturn in wages due to a weaker economy over trading deals is a price to pay to make the country and its people better educated and in a full bill of health then so be it. The image of racism is far from true and shouldn’t be used as a smear against the voiceless that live day-to-day with the consequences of the decision makers that reside in a London borough away from real life and constantly roll the shit downhill. What the writers in a swanky London office or sat at home at a fine oak table with an Apple Mac drinking espresso from Starbucks don’t realise is that the Leave voters from wherever they’re from aren’t afraid of rolling up their sleeves and putting in the graft that will make the country great.

Danny Lancaster, 30, Barnsley

Because the EU is unaccountable The bosses love foreign workers. They are non-union, cheap and pliable. The British people who used to do those jobs have not gone on to university, they have gone on the dole or worse. There is also an issue over the conditions that the foreign workers have to endure, and the housing situation in the UK is abysmal. Elite media types and people like Bob Geldof have failed to understand the concerns of normal people. They look down on us and call us racist, but they are the ones guilty of bigotry. Britain became a socialist country after the Second World War through the sacrifices of ordinary people. A welfare state was their reward. Now, to be poor is a sin and you are attacked from every direction, so there was an element of a “stuff you” protest vote.

The EU sacrificed cohesion for expansion that seems to be run by Germany. Angela Merkel decided to allow one million migrants into Germany, breaking EU law and not consulting the Bundestag. Germany broke Greece and is offering expedited negotiations to allow Turkey into the EU. They do not consult and it is not a union. Britain seemed stuck on the fringe of the EU and our path to greater assimilation wasn’t clear. There is no plan for creating a Europe with the same taxes and minimum wage, so the movement of people adversely affects those countries with

better conditions. The EU is monolithic and so hard to understand. Where is it going? It just rumbles on.

Angus, 52, Norwich

To encourage reform The arrogance displayed by politicians, here and all over Europe, who suggest citizens are not “educated” enough to be left to decide is conceited and undemocratic. Chief among these is Jean-claude Juncker. I am very sad we are leaving the EU, but the administration of both the EU and the UK need fundamental reform. Immigration would not be such a problem if the UK built homes and infrastructure and trained adequate doctors, nurses and essential workers, but politics is deliberately creating scarcity. Take housing, where landlords are being helped to turn everyone into tenants, while demand for homes continues to be stoked by immigration, pushing up rents and making us poorer every year. These are moves towards a return to 19th century serfdom. Although I know the Government and the Bank of England are the ones pushing people down, this vote was the only way to really hurt them. Kerry, 51, Essex

For a fairer immigration policy I voted for a fair immigration policy. My wife is a non-eu citizen from Thailand and we are discriminated against. If I didn’t earn £20,000 or more – the required figure – the choice would be to claim benefits, and then when it came to my wife’s visa renewal, she would have to leave. Her visa costs almost £1,500 every two-and-a-half years.

Cameron has only himself to blame. He thought he could bully the electorate, the same as in the Scotland referendum, but forgot that nobody is enthused or patriotic about the EU, and millions hate him. I also don’t like to be told by governments and businesses how to vote, that’s why we have a secret vote. I think any xenophobia and racism is stirred up more by the Remain side, not the Leave side. I am very much in favour of a fair immigration policy. The Australian points system was a big deciding factor for me. I’m not sure if it would be any easier for my wife under the points system. But I would hope that as a British citizen, I wouldn’t be discriminated against. I’m very happy with the result, it should keep all of them occupied for years, with less time to start picking fights around the world.

Andrew Riches, 54, graphic designer, Midlands

To take back control from non-elected bureaucrats in Brussels For me, it was all about sovereignty; the ability to make our own decisions and not be ruled by the faceless, non-elected bureaucrats