His country sent shockwaves across the globe after it voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in June. Those backing ‘Brexit’ said they wanted control back from Brussels, especially over migration.
"We have trouble filling in forms. They don’t like us putting English anymore. We have to put British. People from Scotland say Scottish and Wales say Welsh and yet we’re not allowed to say English anymore. ... There are so many of us but we’re getting to be a minority in our country now. …
"I’m from Southhall and I’m in Hayes now, which is west London near to Heathrow Airport. I’ve lived there all my life since 1938. Even during the Second World War I lived here. I went to school when I was five, so from five to seven we had air raids and all that…. Now I’m retired. I lost my wife eight years ago. I’ve started going to all different places all around London so I know it…. We’re lucky in London because at my age I get free bus and train passes. … When I go out on public transport and all that, everyone’s speaking a foreign language. To me, it’s not good or bad but it doesn’t make you feel at home. I feel the foreigner sometimes.
"I have nothing against these people. They’re doing their best in their lives like we all are but obviously living this long, I know what it was like when it was terribly different. All the shops, everywhere, so many places, it’s changing the identity of the country. That’s what we, the majority of people who are retired now think. …
"I might be wrong, but we seem to have more and more and more people ruling us. You’ve got local people. My local people who look after the area where I live are very good. Then you’ve got Westminster who are supposed to look after the all the country and all that. Then you’ve got Europe. And how many people in Europe [are ruling us]? We’re not taking about hundreds. There are thousands upon thousands. Do we need all those sort of people to tell us how to run our lives? That is a big bugbear in this country."
