It was hardly surprising, of course.
With a number of local companies and former local companies being heavily involved in exporting British goods to the Continent – and with so many jobs dependent of European trade – it was hardly likely the the people of Berkhamsted would vote to turn their backs on our best and nearest training partners.
The town’s prosperity depended in great measure on the UK being able to trade as an equal with the major economies in the rest of the EU.
Few would want to exchange that easy and prosperous customs-free trade for risky, tariff-ridden arrangements with distant nations where it is expensive and complex to markets UK products.
Few would see a future with large bullying countries like the USA, or overwhelmingly large countries like the People’s Republic of China, or countries with vast populations like India whose government is already pushing for greater access to the UK for their citizens – to be in any way preferable with smoothly running free trade with friendly countries on an equal footing.
And so, by a significant margin, the people of Berkhamsted voted 3 years for the UK to remain part of the UK.
Signs like this appearing in the High Street show that they have not changed in that opinion!
The cordial reception the Liberal Democrat canvassers and leaflet deliverers receive from the townsfolk also attests to a continued and enthusiastic support for Remain – and a rejection of popular nationalism and the prejudices that inevitable go with that.