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What’s the real message of the EU referendum?

THE losers must accept the verdict of the people: that the UK voted by 17,410,742, votes to 16,141,241 – by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent for Brexit.

The essence of democracy is that the losers accept the message from the electorate with good grace. But then what is this message? It seems to be a very mixed one.


This is that the UK leaves the EU, while allowing Scotland, Northern Ireland and London to remain. Here the votes were 62 per cent, 60 per cent and 59 per cent in favour of “Remain”.

The problem is the result was not even throughout the whole of the UK. In Lambeth, for example, Remain won by 111,584 votes to 30,340, and in Lewisham by 86.995 to 37,518.

That is because London is a multicultural, city. In Leicester, Re- main beat Leave by only 70,808 to 67,992, which suggests a disturbing Asian white split.

The win may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory if it leads eventually to the secession of Scotland. Brexit could also lead to the reimposition of border controls between the Irish Republic, a member of the EU, and Northern Ireland, now a Brexit candidate, thereby reigniting sectarian violence.

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Martin Parr

Martin Parr death at 73 marks end of Britain’s vivid chronicler of everyday life

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Martin Parr, who captured Britain’s class divides and British Asian life, dies at 73

Highlights:

  • Martin Parr, acclaimed British photographer, died at home in Bristol aged 73.
  • Known for vivid, often humorous images of everyday life across Britain and India.
  • His work is featured in over 100 books and major museums worldwide.
  • The National Portrait Gallery is currently showing his exhibition Only Human.
  • Parr’s legacy continues through the Martin Parr Foundation.

Martin Parr, the British photographer whose images of daily life shaped modern documentary work, has died at 73. Parr’s work, including his recent exhibition Only Human at the National Portrait Gallery, explored British identity, social rituals, and multicultural life in the years following the EU referendum.

For more than fifty years, Parr turned ordinary scenes into something memorable. He photographed beaches, village fairs, city markets, Cambridge May Balls, and private rituals of elite schools. His work balanced humour and sharp observation, often in bright, postcard-like colour.

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