Boston, England is a quaint town with small shops lining slim roads.
A port community, Boston has long had ties to fishing, in addition to a large agricultural and manufacturing sector.
For many residents of the small community, located about two hours north of London, frustration has given way to hope as Brexit slowly becomes reality.
Currah, 67, makes no apologies for her views on wanting out of the European Union, arguing those who live outside of London and the big cities get ignored.
“I think we are rejecting globalization, definitely,” Currah said. “I don’t think we are rejecting democracy.”
Around the world, people have been voicing similar concerns — including in Canada, where the idea of separation recently caught on in the west.
In a Global News article, Peter Downing, founder of Wexit Alberta, blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for suppressing economic growth in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“We want people here to have a high quality of life and it’s only through self-determination — which can only come through separation — that we’re going to achieve it,” Downing said.
“And we will achieve it.”
Jeffry Frieden of Harvard University wrote a paper in December of 2017 entitled, The politics of the globalization backlash: Sources and implications.
“Closely related to accelerating skepticism about globalization has been a parallel loss of trust in the institutions of government,” he wrote.
“This has been apparent in American public opinion: after fluctuating over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, the proportion of Americans who say they trust the government in Washington all or most of the time has dropped continually from the vicinity of 50 percent around the year 2000 to below 20 percent today.
“There are differences among socio-economic and partisan groups, but the decline in confidence in the government is universal.
Alexander Betts, a British professor at Oxford University, also spoke to the issue in a popular Ted Talk, titled, Why Brexit Happened- and what to do next.
Boston’s mayor, Anton Dani, says more than 70 per cent of residents voted to leave, something he says he encouraged people to do.
“Bostonians don’t believe in the government anymore,” said Dani.
“People don’t trust the government.”
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‘Mr Brexit’ Nigel Farage celebrates with supporters at Leave party as U.K. departs EU -
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Brexit supporters sing ‘We Are the Champions’ before counting down to U.K. departure -
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U.K. celebrates in London as the clock hits Brexit hour for leaving the EU -
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Brexit: U.K. union jack flag removed from European Council -
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Brexit: U.K. officially leaves EU, not much to change for at least 11 months -
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What does Brexit mean for Canada?
When pressed on the fact that he is part of the government himself and has the ability to make decisions to help his residents, he quickly separates himself from other politicians.
“I am, but I am a person who fights,” he said. “I fight for myself, for my wife, for my kids, and for my shop as a business owner and for my town.
“I live here with the people. I am not in parliament with my hand up, agreeing with everything they say.”
The idea that the U.K. and its residents will lose out by not being a member of the EU anymore is lost on many of those who voted nearly three and a half years ago for Brexit, because many don’t believe they’ve benefited from collective partnership.
“You’ve got people living on the streets, you’ve got women in shelters, you have children living in poverty,” said Currah, pointing to some of her community’s issues.
“Politicians say the U.K. punches above its weight. You’re not punching above your weight, you’re just ignoring the problems at home to look good on the world stage.”
Brexit now moves into an 11-month transitional phase — one the world will be watching.
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