Unfair to brand Brexit voters racist
Yesterday I entered a cycling event around the beautiful Somerset and Wiltshire countryside in England. Wearing a New Zealand riding shirt was my ticket into a witty bunch of club riders from North Hampshire.
They quickly named me "cling-on Kiwi", as they never planned on picking me up and couldn't get rid of me once they had.
The banter was thick and fast and the symbolism of our nation's cling-on relationship with the UK was not lost. At one point I was scolded for talking in kilometres. All such metrics were banned after the Brexit vote.
The British still operate in miles and are proud of it. I was informed.
The last two weeks living in UK have been remarkable. It's not just a media frenzy. People around me have ranted and shouted. On the day of the result there were office environments where men and women cried.
They were arguing with colleagues and marriages were strained with each partner voting differently.
I admitted to a financial friend that I'd have voted "leave" if I was able to.
His advice was to keep my head down. In these posh parts of the South West they were calling it the "pikey vote" (slang for lower classes, but the word itself is associated with travellers and considered an ethnic slur). He went on to admit he'd made the same call and was lying low due to the outrage.
In our circle of friends, everyone else voted to remain – the two of us on the leave side had financial careers. We weren't shaken by the terror of a meltdown. For a real financial crisis there has to be rot in the system (like 2008).
Uncertainty has impact, but it's not financial rot. Imports will not rise in price overnight – importers with forward foreign exchange contracts soften that. But yes, prices rise eventually and will be offset by export opportunities from a lower currency. We know this game well as Kiwis.
Such was the force of the remain outrage, I started to question my imaginary leave vote. But down the road in Bristol, the founder of Hargreaves Lansdown (a FTSE 100 listed stockbroker) popped his head above the parapet of his Georgian Manor and said his wealth had dropped £400 million ($736m) in a day and he was still pleased he'd voted to leave. Of course he can afford to have any opinion he likes as it won't affect his ability to put food on the table, but the man is not stupid and he's not a racist as leave-voters have been hysterically labelled.
He continues to live in Somerset, didn't move to a tax haven and pays plenty of UK tax.
Another local businessman, Richard Dyson, makes a jolly fine hoover, but the EU wanted to stifle his innovation. The suction levels use up too much electricity. So we know why he voted to leave.
Then there's Andrea Leadsom – an MP in the running for Prime Minister. She had a career with Barclays and the funds management firm Invesco Perpetual. She sits in the leave camp.
From a financial perspective Europe has become unwieldy. Debt has blown out yet the usual economic cures for this (default, inflation or economic growth) haven't been allowed to occur. With no currency lever the southern nations can't devalue the Euro. It's too strong for their economies and they're now scarred by massive levels of unemployment.
The richer countries of the north have tried to soak up the mess, but it's questionable whether they can align long term. For a common currency the goal must be to have common attitudes to things like tax regimes. With huge levels of unemployment and desperation, can we blame the Greeks for running a cash economy?
Yet that mentality is bred into their culture and has become a vicious circle.
The government installs special cash registers in businesses, but I've sat in a Greek restaurant where part of our bill was printed and part was etched in pencil. I pay it and say nothing. But if I was a Brit, could I vote to keep the next generation in the scam? No I couldn't.
Countries continue to be added to the EU and the divergence gets more unwieldy. As a wealthier nation, the Brits are forced to keep throwing more money over the channel than they get back. Free movement of labour hasn't been detrimental. Immigrants with jobs are net contributors. But free movement of all Europeans is straining everything from the health system, to schools and housing.
On both sides of the argument there were people who voted for ridiculous reasons. For every leave vote based on Polish-plumbers and theLittle Britain mentality, there was a teenager who wanted to remain due to data-roaming charges or a family who thought they'd have to apply to the French embassy for a visa before half-term in Disneyland Paris.
It takes me two seconds longer to get into France with a Kiwi passport, than it takes my husband with his little red one. I get a stamp in mine and I quite like collecting them. And do they really think the Portugese will toss out all the British retirees from the Algarve? Seriously? The Portugese now offer ten years of not taxing your worldwide income in order to attract people. The accountancy firm PwC call it "Europe's best kept secret".
As for my new cycling friends, I suggested a post-race tipple from Marlborough or Martinborough, rather than Medoc or Mittelrhein.
There is a world outside of Europe waiting for Britain.
Janine Starks is a financial commentator with expertise in banking, personal finance and funds management. Opinions in this column represent her personal views. They are general in nature and are not a recommendation, opinion or guidance to any individuals in relation to acquiring or disposing of a financial product. Readers should not rely on these opinions and should always seek specific independent financial advice appropriate to their own individual circumstances.