Almost ten years after the UK voted to leave the European Union, Brexit remains a topic capable of sparking passionate debate. On 23 June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union by 17.4 million votes to 16.1 million. Middlesbrough was one of the strongest Leave-supporting areas in the country, with 65.5 per cent of voters backing Brexit.
With nearly two-thirds of voters supporting Leave, opinions in Middlesbrough remain sharply divided. Yet one corner of the town stood apart.
Linthorpe was the only ward in Middlesbrough where a majority voted to remain in the EU. The margin was exceptionally narrow, with 1,568 votes cast for Remain compared with 1,564 for Leave.
A decade later, residents in the ward are still reflecting on whether Brexit has been a success. Phil Hornby, who voted Leave, believes the project has not achieved what many supporters expected. “I voted Leave, but it hasn’t really worked,” he said.
Others remain convinced they made the right choice. Mark Williams said his decision to vote Leave was rooted in concerns about political sovereignty rather than economics.
“It depends what your reasons were for voting for Brexit,” he said. “I voted for Brexit because I didn’t want to be a part of a supranational institution that actively was opposed to democracy in terms of what happened in Greece and the Greek financial crisis.”
For others, Brexit has had a direct impact on family life and travel.
Sweeta Abdulrahimzai, originally from Afghanistan and now settled in the UK, said travelling to see relatives in Europe has become more difficult and expensive. “If I want to go to Germany and visit my family, I can’t, because I’m not British,” she said. “I need to apply for the visa and it’s a long time to wait for the visa and lots of expenses.”
The mother of two said she has not been able to visit family for five years, citing application costs, travel requirements and uncertainty over whether a visa would be approved. She believes that remaining in the EU would have reduced some of those barriers.
As the tenth anniversary of the referendum approaches, conversations in Middlesbrough suggest that Brexit remains far from settled in the public imagination. For some, it represents an unfinished project that never delivered on its promises. For others, it remains a decision worth defending.
What is clear is that, ten years on, the debate continues to shape how people view Britain’s economy, politics and place in the world.
