NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Brits still arguing with relatives over Brexit

By Lisa Fleisher
Bloomberg·
27 Jun, 2016 10:34 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A demonstrator wrapped in the EU flag takes part in a protest opposing Britain's exit from the European Union in London at the weekend. Photo / AP

A demonstrator wrapped in the EU flag takes part in a protest opposing Britain's exit from the European Union in London at the weekend. Photo / AP

Natalie Collins wanted peace at her brother's 30th birthday party on Sunday in Manchester, England.

So she suggested that the crowd be divided into two groups like families at a wedding:

Those who wanted the UK to Remain in the European Union, and Leave supporters, who had won a historic victory.

Alas, Collins, 31, was plopped down at a table in between her two sisters, who peppered her with questions about why she voted for the UK to stay.

"I felt just totally annihilated," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It felt like I was in The Matrix, and I was the only one who had swallowed the red pill. Or the blue pill. Whichever one it is."

Around the UK, people said they spent the days after the result bickering with their relatives over Brexit, a decision that heavily split along generational lines and revealed deep divides within political parties.

The division between prosperous London, which voted to stay, and pretty much the rest of England and Wales brought even further conflict. Scotland and Northern Ireland wanted to stay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Younger voters overwhelmingly fell into the Remain camp. But older Brits, who voted in greater numbers, were more likely to support an exit, according to survey data from polling outfit YouGov. So the result left a globally minded youth with the desires of their parents' and grandparents' generations.

Markets hadn't finished digesting the consequences of the decision by the time the weekend came around, and families got on trains or piled into cars to visit relatives.

Matthew Gartland, 41, said the conversation got heated when his family travelled to a weekend wedding. Feelings were about evenly split between the two camps, he said.

Gartland, a procurement manager from the South Yorkshire area, said he had to explain that his issue was trade, not immigration.

Discover more

World

UK minister suggests second Brexit referendum

28 Jun 01:23 AM

He took it personally when his wife's cousin said on Facebook that everyone who voted to leave was a racist and bigot. "In the next couple of months, I'll be seeing him," he said. "And then we'll have it out. We'll have a good, frank conversation about it."

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, 33, said he tried to avoid talking politics when his Leave-supporting mother-in-law came to Newcastle upon Tyne for a visit. The detente didn't last long.

"Within an hour of talking, we had to agree that we wouldn't raise it any more, and hug and make up," he said. "Family unity for my wife."

Some found out for the first time that they held different political views from other members of their families.

Pippa Lowthorpe, a 22-year-old economics student from Kingston upon Hull, said she discovered the divide when her great-aunt started posting pro-Brexit messages on Facebook.

"I've never seen her so active on Facebook," Lowthorpe said. "She usually only posts Candy Crush requests."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It's almost like somebody's died, and I know they've died and it's really terrible. And he's not convinced that they've died

Natalie Collins

After Lowthorpe realised that her pro-Remain views placed her on opposite sides of the debate with other friends and family, she started questioning some of her closest relationships.

"I just wonder how many other issues we fundamentally disagree about that will just never come up in conversation," she said. "If my family can have such differing views, can my best friend?"

Collins said she was particularly conflicted when talking about it with her husband, who voted to Leave and tried to convince her that the country would be okay.

"It's almost like somebody's died, and I know they've died and it's really terrible," she said. "And he's not convinced that they've died."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Leaked audio: Trump says he told Putin he would ‘bomb the s*** out of Moscow’

10 Jul 06:17 AM
World

European court to rule in Semenya sports gender case

10 Jul 05:00 AM
World

Former leader in solitary cell after being arrested again

10 Jul 02:36 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Leaked audio: Trump says he told Putin he would ‘bomb the s*** out of Moscow’

Leaked audio: Trump says he told Putin he would ‘bomb the s*** out of Moscow’

10 Jul 06:17 AM

The US President told a private gathering of fundraisers that Putin ‘believed me 100%’.

European court to rule in Semenya sports gender case

European court to rule in Semenya sports gender case

10 Jul 05:00 AM
Former leader in solitary cell after being arrested again

Former leader in solitary cell after being arrested again

10 Jul 02:36 AM
'One-in-a-million miracle' twist in search for missing Australian surfer

'One-in-a-million miracle' twist in search for missing Australian surfer

10 Jul 02:23 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP