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| Referendum day: rain, floods – but at least the shouting was over Referendum day: rain, floods – but at least the shouting was over | |
| (4 months later) | |
| Torrential rain and flash floods in the south; the weather had been as apocalyptic as many of the politician’s more outrageous predictions. Maybe the EU referendum really was the end of days. It was certainly the end of the campaign. With the polls opening at 7am, the shouting was over. At least until they closed at 10pm. | Torrential rain and flash floods in the south; the weather had been as apocalyptic as many of the politician’s more outrageous predictions. Maybe the EU referendum really was the end of days. It was certainly the end of the campaign. With the polls opening at 7am, the shouting was over. At least until they closed at 10pm. |
| In between time there was only silence and the news bulletins had to come up with something other than Boris calling Dave a liar and George calling Michael a liar. It was most unnerving to have no Oxford on Oxford attacks. Whatever the result, England’s most self-regarding university was going to have a lot to answer for. | In between time there was only silence and the news bulletins had to come up with something other than Boris calling Dave a liar and George calling Michael a liar. It was most unnerving to have no Oxford on Oxford attacks. Whatever the result, England’s most self-regarding university was going to have a lot to answer for. |
| With little to do but pace around the house, tentatively reacquainting themselves with their families – Dave meet Sam, Sam meet Dave - the campaign leaders only ventured outdoors to cast their votes. Despite a late opinion poll suggesting remain had a narrow lead, the prime minister looked tense as he walked towards his polling station. A curt, “Good morning’ was the best he could manage for waiting photographers. | With little to do but pace around the house, tentatively reacquainting themselves with their families – Dave meet Sam, Sam meet Dave - the campaign leaders only ventured outdoors to cast their votes. Despite a late opinion poll suggesting remain had a narrow lead, the prime minister looked tense as he walked towards his polling station. A curt, “Good morning’ was the best he could manage for waiting photographers. |
| Jeremy Corbyn was more talkative. Some remain supporters would have preferred him to be this chatty during the campaign, rather than after it had ended. There was also the nagging suspicion among some of his apparatchiks that Jeremy might have used the secrecy of the ballot to mark his X in the leave box. | Jeremy Corbyn was more talkative. Some remain supporters would have preferred him to be this chatty during the campaign, rather than after it had ended. There was also the nagging suspicion among some of his apparatchiks that Jeremy might have used the secrecy of the ballot to mark his X in the leave box. |
| Yet while the bigger guns chose to keep a low profile until after the polls closed, Leave.EU, the Ukip wing of the Vote Leave campaign, decided to party at the same venue in Westminster where Tony Blair had celebrated election victories in years past. Having had their June Birmingham rock concert, starring East 17 and most of Bucks Fizz, cancelled when some of the acts realised the gig was in aid of Brexit, Leave.EU were determined to go out in style. Win or lose, the EU will never be the same, the invitation promised, so let’s party with Kenny Thomas, Rose Royce’s Gwen Dickey , Still Drifting ft Ray Lewis and Alexander O’Neal. Irresistible. | Yet while the bigger guns chose to keep a low profile until after the polls closed, Leave.EU, the Ukip wing of the Vote Leave campaign, decided to party at the same venue in Westminster where Tony Blair had celebrated election victories in years past. Having had their June Birmingham rock concert, starring East 17 and most of Bucks Fizz, cancelled when some of the acts realised the gig was in aid of Brexit, Leave.EU were determined to go out in style. Win or lose, the EU will never be the same, the invitation promised, so let’s party with Kenny Thomas, Rose Royce’s Gwen Dickey , Still Drifting ft Ray Lewis and Alexander O’Neal. Irresistible. |
| The 29th floor of Millbank Tower may offer some of the best views of London, but by 9.30pm there was precious little sign of a party that was meant to have started an hour earlier. The walls and tables were draped in union flags and there was a large cake in the shape of a champagne bottle on its own plinth, but next to no one there. It had the feel of a street party for the Queen’s 90th birthday without either the Queen or the street. | The 29th floor of Millbank Tower may offer some of the best views of London, but by 9.30pm there was precious little sign of a party that was meant to have started an hour earlier. The walls and tables were draped in union flags and there was a large cake in the shape of a champagne bottle on its own plinth, but next to no one there. It had the feel of a street party for the Queen’s 90th birthday without either the Queen or the street. |
| By the time Alexander O’Neal had finished his set before an audience of about three, it was all about Nigel. Even by his own standards, his performance when the polls closed was bizarre. First he conceded defeat, then he unconceded. Next he re-conceded before un-reconceding yet again. All within the space of an hour. He was due to turn up at his own party at 11 but like the rest of the evenings turns was half an hour late. To fill in time TV crews spent their time filming other TV crews who were filming an empty doorway | By the time Alexander O’Neal had finished his set before an audience of about three, it was all about Nigel. Even by his own standards, his performance when the polls closed was bizarre. First he conceded defeat, then he unconceded. Next he re-conceded before un-reconceding yet again. All within the space of an hour. He was due to turn up at his own party at 11 but like the rest of the evenings turns was half an hour late. To fill in time TV crews spent their time filming other TV crews who were filming an empty doorway |
| Nigel eventually arrived surrounded by bouncers. “I’m not conceding but if we lose it’s because David Cameron rigged it by letting too many young people vote but in any case it’s a victory for something,” he said, looking a tad sweaty. He then went to the bar for a drink, the first of many. On top of the many he appeared to already have had. His body language didn’t look great and heads went down among his entourage; a few drifted off to watch Ukip’s only MP, Douglas Carswell, rubbish his party leader’s style of campaigning on TV. | Nigel eventually arrived surrounded by bouncers. “I’m not conceding but if we lose it’s because David Cameron rigged it by letting too many young people vote but in any case it’s a victory for something,” he said, looking a tad sweaty. He then went to the bar for a drink, the first of many. On top of the many he appeared to already have had. His body language didn’t look great and heads went down among his entourage; a few drifted off to watch Ukip’s only MP, Douglas Carswell, rubbish his party leader’s style of campaigning on TV. |
| Then the results from Newcastle and Sunderland came in. Leave were back in the game and the party suddenly came to life, though no one was predicting anything other than it wasn’t good news for either the Conservatives or Labour. At which point the surreal became the normal. Just as Labour’s Chris Bryant was calling Ed Miliband a tosspot on one of the news channels and other Labour MPs were rounding on the SNP for being a bit crap, Lindsay Lohan began tweeting her delightful apercus about the referendum. If only she had intervened earlier, David Cameron wept as he rewrote his winning/losing speech for the next day. | Then the results from Newcastle and Sunderland came in. Leave were back in the game and the party suddenly came to life, though no one was predicting anything other than it wasn’t good news for either the Conservatives or Labour. At which point the surreal became the normal. Just as Labour’s Chris Bryant was calling Ed Miliband a tosspot on one of the news channels and other Labour MPs were rounding on the SNP for being a bit crap, Lindsay Lohan began tweeting her delightful apercus about the referendum. If only she had intervened earlier, David Cameron wept as he rewrote his winning/losing speech for the next day. |
| Just to round things off, Corbyn’s brother, Piers, appeared with a wide smile on his face. “I’m only going to talk to Russian TV,” he said before going on to talk to any Cbeebies microphone put before him. Nigel had been right, after all. A victory for something was taking place, but no one knew exactly what. | Just to round things off, Corbyn’s brother, Piers, appeared with a wide smile on his face. “I’m only going to talk to Russian TV,” he said before going on to talk to any Cbeebies microphone put before him. Nigel had been right, after all. A victory for something was taking place, but no one knew exactly what. |