EU Referendum. Brexit, a victory for traditional England "beyond the M25".

In an article on the BBC News website Mark Easton, its Home editor, writes: "The maps of how people voted show that this was a victory for the countryside over the cities, particularly in England. London, Manchester, Bristol, Leicester, Leeds and Liverpool - for the most part, the metropolitan centres voted to remain. But the further from the big city centres one travels, the more emphatically people voted to leave."

"At its most concentrated, this divide manifests itself as anti-London. There is a widespread view in the land beyond the M25 that the capital has been the driving force behind a globalising agenda that pays no regard to the customs and way of life of non-metropolitan Britain. London's overwhelming vote to remain will simply be seen as evidence of how out of touch it has become."

Here is a link to the article entitled A less than United Kingdom:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36605656

And, perhaps, an appropriate poem!

The Other England

Behind 'the dark Satanic mills' that spoil our native land,
Behind the dismal city streets where crowded houses stand,
There still lies another country that's grounded in the past,
Where rootless, city folk still dream they'll find true peace at last.

The beauty of our countryside beyond the urban sprawl,
Still holds a rich diversity to touch the hearts of all.
From the rugged border country, through northern dales and fells,
To the gentler, southern counties it weaves its magic spells.

From 'England's Garden' in the east with rich and fertile ground,
To Cornwall with its storm-tossed cliffs where Celtic myths abound,
In countless, ancient villages another England lies
With church and inn and manor house whose witness still survives.

Our lovely countryside remains in spite of every threat,
To be cherished  and protected, lest one day we forget
That it's deep in rural England that our roots are to be found
And the land we treat so lightly is really hallowed ground.

For beside the village churches with which our land is blest,
The bodies of our forefathers were gently laid to rest.
For all of us were country folk, until industrial change
Transformed the face of English towns and rural life grew strange.

Today St George, our Patron Saint, still flies the banner high,
The symbol of the land we love, its earth, its sea, its sky.
Like him we pray that we may stand in hamlet, village, town,
For this other land of England - our pride, our joy, our Crown!

                                                  Canon E W Eyden