Brexit voters see ‘total mess’ in muddled poll outcome

As Britain gets to grips with another shock election result, in northern England pro-Brexit voters’ sympathy for the beleaguered Conservatives was in short supply. “I think we’re in a total mess,” said postman Eric Peters, 58, dashing through the city of Wakefield.

“For me, I don’t know where we go. I think she’s a waste of time and the other bloke [Labour leader Jeremy] Corbyn’s an idiot. I just think we’re in a mess,” he concluded, rushing off on his rounds.

Thursday marked the second time in a year the Conservatives’ choice to hold a vote had backfired, firstly with the public voting to leave the European Union.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to bring Britons back to the polls in a national election also ended badly, with her center-right party seeing its majority vanish, having to form an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party.

“It hasn’t worked in her favor, really, has it? It’s a shame, because I think she would’ve done well,” said a 74-year-old woman who declined to give her name.

As she sat talking in the morning sun next to Wakefield’s cathedral, the Conservative voter mused on how Corbyn had led a campaign focusing on national issues such as funding the beloved National Health Service.

“People are crying out for help and he’s been working on that, he hasn’t really been working on Brexit,” she said, while locals browsed bric-a-brac displayed on her daughter’s stall.

May’s focal campaign message was her “strong and stable” leadership that would take Britain through divorce proceedings with Brussels.

The Conservatives banked wrongly on winning seats in traditionally Labour seats which voted Brexit, such as Wakefield.

Brenda Kershaw, a lifelong Conservative, was exasperated at the prime minister’s performance, calling her “wooden” and “controlling.”

“I just thought what a rubbish campaign that Theresa May ran, quite honestly, I really did. It was no surprise last night when I saw the exit poll, absolutely no surprise, in fact it was just surprising that it wasn’t worse than it was really,” she said by the town’s modern shopping center.

“I saw Jeremy Corbyn, he was out with the people and they were all coming. I think he was transformed,” said Kershaw, 72, who voted Conservative despite her reservations and last year voting to remain in the EU.

The Tories may have also underestimated the lasting anger in the region against the party, cemented with Margaret Thatcher’s decision to close coal mines in the ’80s.

“I’ve never voted Conservative, I’ve never trusted them. Thatcher put me out of work when she closed pits,” said Jim Smith, 74, who lost his job at a mining machinery firm.

While the glass-fronted shops and cafes of Wakefield are far from the city’s industrial past, the city’s coal mining museum is a testament to Wakefield’s proud history.

Smith would undoubtedly surprise those in Westminster with his voting choice – despite being a committed Brexiteer, he opted for the pro-EU Liberal Democrat party.

“I’ve always voted Labour, but these past couple of times no, so I’ll give Liberal Democrats a chance. I’ve lost hope, simple as that,” he said.

With the Lib Dems picking up just 12 out of Parliament’s 650 seats, Smith was convinced his stance against the dominating parties would not block Britain’s EU departure.

But despite May’s dire result, her message did resonate with some Brexiteers in Wakefield who wavered from the Labour party.

“I think she’s a stronger leader, and I think she’s leading the country in the right direction. I think she’s got stronger policies,” a 50-year-old woman said.

Whichever party residents of Wakefield picked, Friday morning the prospect of a hung Parliament left many wondering what on earth was happening nearly 320 kilometers south in Westminster.

Some suggested the prime minister would resign, while others contemplated yet another election later in the year.

Few have a better temperature of the city’s voters than pro-EU Labour voter Debra Elowe, serving a steady flow of customers out of her food van in the city center. Friday morning, she appeared as perplexed as the rest of the locals at the state of the political sphere. “I don’t know what’s round the corner, really,” she said, pouring a piping hot cup of tea.