The outcome of the EU referendum vote has caused a panic in Britain, with markets fluctuating and protests taking place across the country. However, one of the biggest shocks came just hours after the announcement was made that the Leave campaign had won, when UKIP leader Nigel Farage, said that he could not guarantee that the US$463 million that had previously been given to the EU each week, would now be used for the NHS.
It is for this reason that some Remain voters, as well as those who opted to leave the union feel they have been lied to.
We've left the EU based on lies and misinformation. The PM has resigned, and yet the media has spun this to make it all about Corbyn. Unreal
— Tez (@tezilyas) 27 June 2016
if you ever feel stupid just remember that 17 million Brits genuinely thought we would kick out immigrants and give £350 million to the NHS
— Tia (@tiaisanoob) June 27, 2016
Some UKIP politicians disagreed completely with the narrative that the Leave campaign had lied to voters. Roger Helmer, UKIP MEP, believes that the public should be patient — it will take time before any money is attributed to public services.
"The thing to bear in mind is that the US$350 million we get back from being out of the EU won't appear immediately. There will be at least two years before we start seeing funds. If people are expecting US$463 million tomorrow then they are in for a shock, it just won't happen," Helmer told Sputnik.
We won't let @BorisJohnson & Co forget their pledges "Let's give our #NHS THE £350 million the #EU takes every week https://t.co/0Uu9DJ5s29
— Bianca Jagger (@BiancaJagger) 27 June 2016
However, as the reality of the vote starts to kick-in and fear fills the minds of Brits, the idea that the Leave campaign have no plan in place to take the country forward is a narrative that few can ignore. Questions are being asked as to whether they have a contingency plan.
.@RuthDavidsonMSP and the team made the case to #VoteRemain with real passion. Leave had no plan and are asking us to leap in the dark.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 21, 2016
"Of course we have a plan; this is just propaganda from the Remain camp [the we don't]. The plan is to trigger Article 50. You see what Remain have done, is made plans with numbers and they have done guesswork as well as made the most negative assumptions about the Leave camp, which are untrue," Helmer told Sputnik.
Addressing the issue of fear, MEP Helmer believes that this feeling has been spurred on by the Remain campaign in order to frighten markets and spook people. But he said that "soon people will look around and realize the sky hasn't fallen and that everything is good."
The general feeling that Britain has made a massive mistake by voting to leave the EU has been shared across social media.
Only thing that unites the vote.leave #brexit campaign is xenophobia and illusions of grandeur. Where's the plan?
— Eurotrash Lasance (@lasancmt) June 18, 2016
This nervousness around leaving the EU has led to over 3 million people voting for a round two on the referendum debate. William Oliver Healey, who campaigned to Leave started a petition who believed the vote would go the other way and Britain would remain in the EU.
Sadiq Khan held the Leave Campaign to account in tonight's #BBCDebate — for having no plan for Britain's future pic.twitter.com/425qzw1B6y
— Stronger In (@StrongerIn) June 21, 2016
Helmer said that a second referendum will not be happening and that this type of noise is just a trick from Brussels.
"This is the oldest trick in the Brussels playbook. If you vote Remain, it's okay, but if you vote against them, they come back in and say 'let's have a second referendum and keep voting,'" Helmer told Sputnik.
Helmer mentioned how Brussels had allegedly tried to do a similar thing with Denmark and Ireland.
"The Prime Minster was clear, we would have one referendum vote and that's it, regardless of how wide or narrow the margin was we would just have one vote there will not be another one," he added.
