"In 2016 an overwhelming majority in Ramsgate on the UK's southeast coast voted to leave the EU. Given the ongoing chaos, how do people in Brexit-heartland feel now?"

Brexiteers in Ramsgate: 'Just get on with it' | DW |

Threatening clouds over Ramsgate harbor gradually give way to a crisp blue sky as the coastal town in eastern Kent comes to life on a chilly winter's morning. Street sellers erect their market stalls and begin their trade of wares from bric-a-brac and shoes, to flowers and fruit. Vintage shops and record stores open their doors alongside pound shops and barbers on the quintessentially British high street that snakes down to the boat-stacked water's edge, with pubs and fish-and-chip shops lining the way.

Two-and-a-half years ago people here voted overwhelmingly in support of Brexit: Thanet constituency, which includes Ramsgate, voted to leave 46,047 to 26,065 -- a 64 percent majority based on a 73 percent turnout, one of the highest in the UK.

Immigration and job fears

It doesn't take long to find those who will proudly share they voted for Brexit, or to hit upon some common reasons why, often reminiscent of the mantras of the vociferous Leave campaign of 2016: immigration, jobs and border control.

"We get too many illegal immigrants, they take over everything. Why should they get our housing and services?" retiree Les Shewery asked rhetorically. Frustration with the perceived corruption of the EU institutions and a lack of British political clout to influence EU laws often boils over. "The EU's got 44,000 different legislation over things from straight bananas to stopping us digging out our rivers to prevent floods. It's just crazy. It's corrupt. Unelected people in power telling us what to do," Paul Dolton, a 52-year-old former soldier, told DW.

In a region hit hard by economic downturn over recent decades, austerity measures have tugged at the threads of the social fabric of such communities. The port, formerly Ramsgate's thriving economic center, sees very little trade. Levels of fishing are in decline,  jobs are few, low-paid and insecure, and affordable housing is hard to come by.

[...]
Thirty-year-old Lucy Monks, a remainer who works in a Ramsgate record store with her father, believes "leaving is kind of going backwards" but recognizes not everyone in the region feels the same. "There are a lot of UKIP-ers around here, we found that out when Nigel Farage came around. They all just came out the woodwork, if you will. As my dad says, there's a generation who are old-fashioned and have their bubble here they live in and don't want that disturbed. I think it's a fear of change really."

○ Bluntness on division in annual address by the Queen

Well #Trump should be ashamed of how he behaved in front of the queen. No respect for protocol or even decent manners. She's an elderly lady and the way you behaved is arrogant and disgusting. #TrumpVisitsUK

— Sarah Jane Roots (@sarahrellyboo) July 13, 2018

Trump breaks protocol during Royal visit as he keeps Queen waiting 12 minutes and walks in front of her...causing her to shoo him out the way.

'Sapere aude'