The country I want for our children

But this letter isn’t about me, it’s about what I saw and heard on the streets of Oswestry on the afternoon of Saturday, September 29, while helping out at the local People’s Vote street stall.

"Nobody knew what they were letting themselves in for" one of the first passers by told us as they signed our People’s Vote petition. This could well have been aimed at the previously unknown (to myself and millions of others) complications of the Single Market or the Irish Border. Or maybe just at the lack of competence shown by the Government in dealing with a Brexit for which no plans had been made prior to June 2016.

"They lied" said one woman loudly, and I could sense the anger steaming out of her. She shared a few more opinions as she signed the People’s Vote petition.

"Politicians have lied to us" said another passer by at the stall. It is politicians’ paid job to do their best for us and our country, not lie to us for their own benefit.

“I was denied a vote (in the 2016 referendum). I filled in all the paperwork in plenty of time and heard nothing. I’m livid,” one man told us. He had been based in Spain at the time and had the right to vote, but somehow the paperwork just did not go through. He reckoned there were one or two million affected like this.

Another passer by who has food allergies expressed big concern over potential food deals with the USA. She told me it was EU regulations which currently protect her and us from unsafe food additives which are freely used in the USA.

Overall, a clear majority of people who took part wanted a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal, with most of them making it clear they wanted to remain in the EU.

There were of course several who disagreed. The vast majority of them took part and engaged with us politely. There were very few who got ‘shouty’. It was a very small minority, and they didn’t do themselves or Oswestry any favours.

For me personally it was the quiet voice near the end which drew a tear from behind my sunglasses... "I’ve lived here for 30 years and I’ve never felt more of a foreigner".

And that’s one of the reasons I choose to squeeze my already limited time to stand in the street (out of my normal comfort zone) talking to passers by. Because I want our children to grow up in a country which appreciates and welcomes those who were here before them and those who have made our country their home.

Heather Bridgland, Llanymynech

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