I sit writing my editor’s note a few days after what will no doubt go down in history as a defining moment for our little, but great, island. To be honest I am a very sad, not necessarily for the decision that was taken, but for how we as a nation have dealt with first its making, and then its fallout.

We are better than this. The United Kingdom is held up the world over as a bastion of common sense, tolerance, and progressive politics. From the 1960s onward we have walked step by step away from a legacy of extreme politics, of racial inequality, of xenophobia, of self-centred individualism trumping national well-being, and for the last few weeks we have shamed ourselves. The media both print and broadcast must share the burden of this responsibility, even the BBC, as they sought to compete with each other by fanning the flames of hysteria and bi-polar opposition on both sides. The calm and rational voices of centrist reason that begged for real facts, reasoned debate, and educated forecasting were but a whisper in comparison.

Indeed, so high-pitched are the screams of recrimination on both sides that we now not only have to navigate the democratic decision to leave the European Union, but we are doing it without the captain that brought us to these rocky shores and a crew of politicians that is tearing itself apart while the storm winds howl around us.

However, we will weather the storm. And it will be thanks to the hard work and dedication of tens of thousands of entrepreneurs across the UK, who will continue to get up every morning and do the very best they can for their staff and families. Indeed, as ICSM Credit’s Ian Carrott said in Signlink’s Brexit coverage: “Things will settle down soon and we can all get back to concentrating on our business. The decision has been made, now we need to move forward and I’m sure we will. We have to pick out the positives and avoid dwelling on any negatives. Forward is the way.”
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