Over the past week, I have seen many aspects of the political sprectrum at its worst. The deception, the propaganda, the outright lies. A population torn, a cabinet destroyed, a currency devalued and a future undecided. 

Neither campaign particularly covered themselves in glory, using all too familiar tactics to persuade, scare and grovel (I’m pretty sick of battle buses). The Leave campaign predicably appealed to the lowest common denominator, so why the Remain camp tried to apply the same strategy, rather than promulgating empirical evidence, is beyond me. Instead, it was down to local press and independent social media channels to divulge information about the European Regional Development Fund, regeneration investments and of course, ‘what has the EU done for us?’

We – as a society – should not have allowed the Vote Leave contingent to brush their false promises under the rug, but the deceit already seems like old news. With the nation’s media attention firmly fixed on Labour infighting, no confidence votes and disintegration, it is exactly the kind of distraction they would have desired (help of course by an atrocious English footballing display and another ISIS attack). In the same week that the ASA cracked down on Aldi for their spurious pricing activity, where is the accountability for orchestrators of a malicious campaign, whose misinformation was enough to tip the scales and change the political landscape of this country forever?

Many feel that Corbyn needs to go. His party has failed to buy into his ‘radical’ notions, and he in turn has failed to represent those who backed him. In his short and uneventful tenure, he has refrained to act as a buttress for the party, categorising MPs by levels of loyalty rather than looking for consolidation and unity, and allowing personal agendas to overshadow party policy. What a shame. What a damn shame that the situation has come to this. Give the man a soapbox and have him front a takeover from the streets, because it is not going to happen via parliament. He is too honest and does not carry the distinguishing characteristics of your common politician. As a result, the Labour Party is about to lose its leftist stance to a faction who are tired of being marginalised.

The referendum has exposed the true face of Britain; a nation with growing inequality, immigration anxiety and a general confusion of what is causing these issues. The young are becoming more disillusioned (reflected in another relatively low turnout), while the old hold tight to a skewed sense of sovreignity. The empoverished turn their anger towards Brussels, citing propagation by central government, while the rich continue to push for the long-standing pursuit of libertarianism.

Where does that leave those who do not fall into the above? Despite everything that has happened, I am still upbeat and continue to have an open mind. It is our responsibility as civilians to encourage debate, embrace integration and challenge fascism. This is now the start of a new way of thinking, and a fresh approach to our virtues.