We asked leave and remain voters to sum up their emotions after the UK formally entered negotiations to leave the EU

Article 50 has now been triggered, beginning a two-year process that will see the UK leave the European Union and sever a 44-year political relationship.

The first official response from the EU institutions is to stress that the bloc will stridently protect its political, financial and social interests, and that the position for the UK even during the transition period will not be as positive as it is today.

Brexit: Theresa May wants 'deep and special' partnership with EU as UK triggers article 50 - Politics live Read more

We asked voters – both leave and remain – how they feel now the UK is formally leaving the EU. Here’s what they said.

Leavers

‘I’m proud of my people, who have shown the presence, strength and fortitude not seen since 1940’ – Cliff, 58, surveyor, Portsmouth



I feel free, excited, yet content and relaxed. I’m proud of my people, who have shown the presence, strength and fortitude not seen since 1940.

I voted leave primarily to correct the democratic deficit that belonging to the EU entails for this country. The economic devastation predicted by the remain camp has not come to pass; the new prime minister has taken a calm, logical and pragmatic approach to Brexit; nothing has, or is likely to in the foreseeable future, change in the way the EU runs or conducts itself; the Trump presidency provides a huge advantage in the UK’s negotiating position.

Brexit was sold by a number of different people and organisations in a number of different ways to a number of different groups – as such I can’t say it was sold correctly or incorrectly.

There is no reason why I or any other person should not live or work in another European country. I have lived in Australia for a total of about 13 years. I know many people who live and have lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, the Middle East. It would be up to the country concerned if they would allow me to live in their country. I’m quite content with that situation.

The NHS £350m was never an issue for me. If the present or a future government wishes to spend any spare money it is up to that government, and for the people to express their opinion at that decision in a subsequent general election.

I suspect that at some point a Tory government will announce that “due to extra money being available due to us leaving the EU, the £350m extra will be spent on the NHS per week”. It is bollocks, but that’s politics!

I would vote (and vigorously campaign) to leave the EU if there was a second referendum.

‘I hope May does not back down’ – Neil, 40, Newcastle upon Tyne

I feel relieved. However, reading some reports from remoaners about how the “battle has really begun”, I think that is wrong and undemocratic. I do not understand why they cannot accept the outcome of the referendum.

I thought it would never happen. The liberal elite have done everything to try to block it. There is still a long way to go. I hope May does not back down. To do so would be a betrayal of the 52%.

The more objections I hear from leftwing celebrities the more convinced I am that I made the right decision. To be free is to self-govern. We cannot do that as a member of the EU. I want a deal that is in the best interests of the British people. I trust the PM on this.

I don’t think it will impact me greatly. I live in the north-east. However, I’m unfazed by scare stories about areas that voted Brexit being worse hit.

Britain and EU: the breakdown of a decades-long marriage Read more

‘It is the best thing to happen for this country and its people since the bill of rights’ – Colin, self-employed engineer, Cheshire

I’m very happy. It’s about time. For thousands of years the UK has been an independent worldwide trading nation. Only in the last 40-odd years has the UK been paralysed by the internationalist socialists and failed economic and cultural ideology. Our country’s sovereignty, our independence, our freedoms were surrendered to a foreign power: never, never again.

I am feeling so positive for my future, my family’s future and my business future. Into the world we go unfettered by those who would see us merely as an EU cash cow. May needs to get on with it and fight for an unyielding Brexit that puts our country first without compromise. A hard Brexit stance will see the snivelling EU come crawling to our door on our terms.

It is the best thing to happen for this country and its people since the bill of rights.

The Brexit deal I’m hoping for is the restoration of our borders, territorial waters and fishing rights; supremacy of UK law and the courts; total control over immigration; an end to the EU arrest warrant; tariff-free trade arrangements; continued participation in European programmes and projects that are beneficial to the UK; visa-free travel.

I do not want any imposition of EU laws, anything but the total control of our immigration policy, any agreement to pay into the EU coffers unless the EU compensates us for our contributions to its infrastructure and assets.

Brexit will be fantastic. I’m a small businessman and can’t wait to explore opportunities once the yoke of EU policy has been lifted. I’ve already seen growth in my business with China and India. The world is waiting for us.

‘I deeply regret voting leave’ – John, 54, business owner, Kent

I feel like we are about to make the biggest mistake possible. I voted leave to avoid TTIP, assist the NHS, and I was more than a little concerned with Turkey possibly joining the EU. None of this happened and it seems none was likely to happen. If the vote was rerun today, mine would be an emphatic remain. I’ve been duped.

I now realise I was hoodwinked. Brexit wasn’t sold to me correctly. We had the powers to reduce immigration, as other EU states do, and the suggested savings won’t be used to fund the NHS. Where was the suggestion that we may become an offshore tax haven for tax-avoiding corporations before the vote?

I can see no good coming from this, either personally or from a business perspective. It’s beginning to feel like the UK or what’s left of it will be a prison comprising zero-hours contract workers controlled by corporations. I also fear for the NHS, now wide open for privatisation – not what was promised. I deeply regret voting leave.



The worst deal would be any which leads to removing freedom of movement. It will affect my life in a very bad way. The nationalist tendencies already evident will increase. The 1% will gain an even tighter grip and pit us all against each other. I fear that we will kiss goodbye to our social security system on the altar of corporate profit.

I am simply hoping for a miracle.

Remainers

‘We will have to learn the hard way just how good the past 50 years have been’ Ruthie, 55, healthcare worker, Leeds

I feel very sad, because I still don’t think that most of the leavers understood what they were voting for, or they were misled badly. For many it was a case of thumbing their noses at the establishment without thinking through the consequences. In fact, I still feel angry that the referendum was called in the first place.

I am angry and frustrated whenever I hear the phrase “will of the people”. I would accept it if the leave vote had been a landslide, but four points difference is a very small margin. However, the feelings of the 48% are being roundly overlooked by Theresa May and her colleagues.

I also feel angry at the amount of government and civil service time and resources that are going to be used up over the next two years, when it really should have been directed to more constructive matters and needs.

The devil in me is hoping that Brexit seriously stuffs up all those things that the leavers hold dear and that the country falls apart when all the EU workers decide to go home. I fear that as a nation we will have to learn the hard way just how good the past 50 years of membership have been.

‘The EU is not perfect but leaving is madness’ – Moira Harries, 69, retired, Scotland

I feel despairing of the future for the UK and its politics. I am angry at the stupidity of the referendum and the stubborn refusal to acknowledge its flaws, at the failure to recognise that democracy is defined by more than a simple majority. I am angry that UK citizens living abroad for over 15 years were denied a vote. Finally I am angry at the prime minister’s high-handed attitude. I am angry at it all.



The EU is not perfect but leaving is madness. It’s always possible to change any organisation when you’re part of it – just look at what Nigel Farage achieved. I like being part of Europe and we need to be united against the threat from neo-fascism. The UK is not as powerful as some people think. The impact on trade and the economy will be disastrous and the process of leaving is already expensive.



I voted for Scottish independence before, but the EU position has just exacerbated my desire for this. The whole of Scotland voted to remain and that had absolutely no impact on the decision to invoke article 50.

‘I personally can’t see myself staying in the UK’ – Ashley Otter, 20, PhD student, London



I am gutted that it’s finally happened. I voted remain and have no regrets about doing so. I am absolutely gutted by the triggering of article 50. All the opportunities that the EU has provided, from things such as the Erasmus scheme to a central European science fund are all gone, with no replacements in sight. The government has tried to quell questions from the science community but has had no substantial response, just promises on extra funding, and from the post-Brexit announcements from the leave campaign, their promises mean very little.

I wish I had helped campaign for remain. So many people I have spoken to, both in my home country of Wales and in London, didn’t realise how many projects are funded directly by the EU. I found myself telling people more and more about its benefits after the election, when they should have been told before.

Theresa May triggers article 50 with warning of consequences for UK Read more

A Brexit deal I am hoping for is one where we are still in the single market, still have access to vital science funds, and still have access to numerous other cross-country projects, such as the Erasmus scheme, and still have laws set by the European court of human rights. Basically, I’d prefer a deal that keeps things as they were when we were part of the EU.

I would hate a deal that leaves us shut off from everyone. We are still in Europe and should still be respectful to our neighbours and allies.

I personally can’t see myself staying in the UK after my PhD, considering the referendum has brought out a lot of hate in people, and the possible likely lack of scientific funding and opportunities. I can see this happening for many others as well and fear it may cause a brain drain in Britain.

‘This whole process is nothing more than a Tory/right - wing power - grab’ – Mark Popovic, 42, works in higher education, the north-east

I voted remain and have absolutely no regrets. I would vote to remain any day of the week. Being a part of the EU is so much more than the sharing of trade and law, it’s the sharing of ideals and values. It’s a desire for a closer, more interconnected and positive world where we can find resolutions to problems together. To encourage worldwide unity.

The EU was a huge advancement towards achieving that. The world will continue to become a smaller, integrated place, which is a positive thing, and Brexit won’t stop that – it’s just going to put it off track temporarily.

I hope at the very least we get a Brexit deal where we enjoy full access to the single market and the free movement of people. I would not want one with no deal at all, where we’re cut adrift to realise that we’re actually a small, insignificant island that ultimately loses its union with Scotland.

I don’t want us to become a Tory playground for them to exploit the workers of this country to maximise their profits at the expense of employment rights and sufficient standards of living. This whole process is nothing more than a Tory/rightwing power grab and so many people have been duped by the rightwing media to attain it. It’s shameful.