Brexit is not an excuse for bigotry

As Rosie Duffield stated in her maiden speech to the Commons, Canterbury is closer to Paris than Sheffield. The MP for Canterbury and Whitstable was making the point about the importance of the EU to the local economy and the challenges – and dangers – of Brexit. She will have been referring to the real changes from the UK’S departure, such as trading arrangements and movement of people, free or otherwise.

But there is another serious factor that needs to be considered. It’s called perception. However the legal changes are framed, it will be difficult to address the notion among many people that we’ve pulled up the drawbridge to all foreigners and are in the process of getting rid of the ones already here.

After all, we are told that the overriding issue that led people to vote Leave last year was immigration. Of course many of the 52% simply wanted control of borders, but for many others the result of the referendum has led to the view that, if not hostile, the UK can afford to be a little less hospitable than it was when a committed member of the bloc.

And it is that attitude that has led to Murielle Stentzel feeling she has no future here and return to her native France. That is desperately sad, and extremely worrying.

Last week we ran the story of Raul, the Portuguese fruit picker facing a life on the streets, and just two weeks after last year’s vote we carried the report of a Cathedral guard who told an Argentinian woman: “Dover’s that way, love.” Last week it was reported that there will be a crackdown on unskilled foreign workers, presumably taking jobs from Brits and driving down wages. What tosh. We doubt very much that there will be an army of UK nationals suddenly emerging to rush out and pick apples in Kent’s orchards or to wipe the bottoms of our grandparents in care homes after 2019.

If Brexit is to work, both Remainers and Leavers must ensure that people like Raul and Ms Stentzel feel that Britain is an open and welcoming place, and not a shut-off and small-minded island. Bigots have no place in Brexit.