London spends the summer lost in a post-Brexit haze

"Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that yet wesleep, we dream " So says the character of Demetrius to Hermiain Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

And so London feels this summer, lost in a post-Brexit haze.Nearly 60 per centof the British capital's residents voted to remain in theEuropean Union in a referendum on June 23.But the rest of the U.K.disagreed, with the exceptions of Scotland and NorthernIreland,as well as several cities not far from London.

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The anger on the streets felt in those early days after the votehas dissipated somewhat, aided by the fact that most politiciansexited stage left on holiday shortly afterwards and that the startdate for exit talks with the EU remains unfixed.

"I was really surprised by the decision when I woke up onthe day after the vote," says Tim Streeter, a banker who works inLondon's financial district. "But, you know, life hasn't reallychanged so much at the moment, so I think people are pickingthemselves up after the vote, and the next step is going to be allwith the negotiations that might happen."

It's a vote that sticksin the craw of most Londoners, runningcontrary to their own sense of identity in a city that has prideditself on its cosmopolitan and multicultural outlook. The fact thatLondon is the engine fuelling the economy for the rest of nationmakes the decision bite all the more.

'Alot of anger'

"I think it's 23 per cent of the economic growth in the U.K. isgenerated in London," says Guardian newspaper columnist DaveHill. "There was a recent study [published by the Centre forCities] which said that about 30 per cent of the taxes raised inLondon go to the rest of the U.K., so there is a sense that Londonsubsidizes the rest of the country.

"So, there was a lot of anger."

An online petition calling on the mayor of London todeclare independence from the rest of the U.K. was launched shortlyafter the votecalls for a citystate that reportedly garnered over170,000 signatures.

The mayor, Sadiq Khan, elected last May, is clearlylistening. Maybe not on independence, but he is leading a charge
for more powers for the British capital in the wake of the vote.

Mayor of London, England, wants more power

8 years ago

Duration 0:45

Sadiq Khan tells the CBC's Margaret Evans he wants more power for city in the wake of the Brexit vote

London's future depends upon it, he says, and he wants aseat at the table when Britain starts negotiating its divorce fromthe EU.

"It's really important," he said in an interview with the CBC. "London is the powerhouse of our country, and the governmentrecognizes that for the country to do well, London needs to do well, as well."

Khan says he's working on a proposal for a "work permitsystem" to ensure London employers can still hire EU citizenseasily.

The worry is they'll have trouble with visas in the future andthat Britain won't be able to negotiate access to the single market,making it less attractive for major international companies toheadquarter themselves here.

Khan is also working hard to counter any negativemessaging from the Brexit vote. He's launched a campaign called
"London is Open." It's almost impossible to turn on the televisionin London these days and not see him out flogging the message atvarious events around town even in the midst of the recentblanket Olympic coverage.

He was worried, he said, that the results of the vote wouldleave an impression that "London would not be anymore an open-minded, outward-looking city, that we may become insular."

That view would have been helped along by a jump in hatecrime across the United Kingdom since the vote. A spokesman forLondon's Metropolitan Police Servicecalled it a "spike" but saidincidents of racist abuse are still higher than average.

"We normally expect to see between 25 and 50 offences perday," he said. "Since the referendum, this has increased tobetween 57 and 78."

Some Londoners draw a direct line between those figures andthe heavy emphasis of the Brexit campaign on stopping
immigration, as if it gave people a licence to discriminate.

"Post-Brexit, people are a lot more they think it'sappropriate to say horrible things about skin colour and where a
person's from," said Khadeen O'Donnell at a recent event wherethe mayor was out announcing London's fall culture lineup.

"None of us voted to leave;we all want toremain," saidO'Donnell, a fundraiser for London's Southbank Centre. "Thereis definitely still a buzz and a little bit of fear and uncertainty, butit's such an amazing city to live in.If we decide to leave one day,we'll probably move to Canada!"

London's the capital of thecountry so it should really march in step with everybody else.- JeffreyMaisey, Londoncab driver

O'Donnell and her husband, Mark, are originally fromYorkshire, and they worry about the divide between those who've
chosen to live in London and those who live in other parts of thecountry.

"London does need to embrace the rest of the country," saidMark. "We don't want to be isolated here and for the rest of thecountry to think we're a bit elitist."

And some 40 per centof Londoners also voted to leave, includingcabdriver Jeffrey Maisey.

"We don't know what's going to happen now we've left," hesays, "but at least we've got control of our own destiny."

"It was a national vote, wasn't it?" he says when asked if hefeels out of step with the city he was born and raised in.Even hisgrandchildren voted to remain. "London's the capital of thecountry so it should really march in step with everybody else."

A divide exposed

It's a testament to just how many layers have been stripped back here to expose a divide between London and much of the rest of the country and a resentment currently going both ways.

And some here are quick to point out that the message of the "London is Open" campaign must also be heard within the UnitedKingdom itself.

"I think it was important that we let the rest of, not just theworld, but the rest of the U.K. know that nothing's changed," saidJames Mullan.

Mullan isthe managing director the National Theatre's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It's one of dozens of West End plays to join the mayor'scampaign, along with celebrities, athletes and other artists.

"We're still here. We may have voted differently than the restof the country, but so what? There's still theatre going on, comeon down!"

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And as much as some Londoners say they wish they couldwake up and find it all a dream, reality will start to creep in soonenough, along with the short days as the summer ends.

Khan says he has no secret plan to try toroll backthe vote.

"I'm a firm believer in the rules of the game," the mayor said. "You play thegame and you abide by the result whether it's a sport or anelection. And the reality is, the country chose to leave the EU. Thatsaid, what we can do is ensure London has a stronger voiceabout our own destiny."

Sound familiar?