Burnley, Glasgow and Cirencester voted very differently in the referendum. Where do they stand after May’s deal fell?

In the wake of Tuesday’s night’s crushing defeat in the House of Commons for Theresa May’s Brexit deal, we spoke to voters in three places that voted very differently in the 2016 referendum.

Burnley: ‘If we don’t see this through I will never vote again’

2016 referendum result: leave 66.6%, remain 33.4%

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hazel Allen. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

With Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement in tatters after an overwhelming rejection by MPs and a cabinet which remains deeply divided, it would seem that the rest of the country is also consumed by this division.

Yet in Burnley, the morning after the night before, people on both sides of the fence are united. Remainers and leavers speak of their overwhelming disappointment in May and her government. They all agree that democracy should be allowed to play out as intended: the public voted to leave, therefore the government should see to this.

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Burnley proved a Brexit stronghold at the referendum, with people saying that they felt hopeless and neglected by politicians. The vote was seen as a way of getting their voices heard.

Leisure worker Hazel Allen, 64, voted to leave. She says she voted to protect the NHS; 10 years ago Burnley A&E was closed and, despite a long-running campaign, there are no plans to reopen it.

“I have not changed my mind and I don’t want another vote,” says Allen. “I am deeply disappointed with the government. They could have worked together to achieve what the people wanted, could have been stronger. What we have seen is just weakness and fighting. We voted for something but it doesn’t feel like we’re going to get it. What is the point?”

She adds: “If we don’t see this through I will never vote again.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jhangir Miah. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Jhangir Miah, 25, voted to remain. The financial sector worker wanted to keep a strong connection with EU businesses. But he agrees with Allen.

“Yes, I voted to stay because I felt that was the better option from all sorts of standpoints, but the result that we ended up with was to leave, so that’s what we should do,” he says.

“We should uphold what the people want. It would be harder for me in many ways if we left the EU, but May and her government need to show better leadership. They seem to have no clear idea about where we’re headed.”

Miah does believe that the Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, could do a better job.

“They all have agendas, we saw that from what happened last night, but May hasn’t been able to achieve what the people want and maybe Corbyn can. We should at least give him a chance.”

Warehouse worker Chris Payne, 35, did not vote and says he feels completely removed from the process. However, if there were to be a second referendum he would vote to remain as it has been “nothing but trouble”.

He says: “I didn’t really understand it at the time, but since it started it has been a mess.”

He adds that one thing has been made clear by this process: “It has not been about the public. It is all about power – who stands to gain the most – politicians playing games and not listening to people.”

Glasgow: ‘I do think it’s time to have a second vote. It would be the most sensible way now’

2016 result: leave 32.4%, remain: 66.6%

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Priyanka Mohapatra. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Standing at the cab rank by Queen Street station in Glasgow, taxi drivers James Sinclair and Billy Crilley are in agreement on one thing at least: “Nobody has a clue what’s going on.”

For Sinclair, who voted to leave the EU but now regrets the decision, May’s historic Commons defeat ought to force the government to end the endless rounds of negotiations. “What they ought to do is go to a no deal and walk away. This is dragging on too long and creating too much uncertainty for everyone,” he says.

Crilley, who voted to remain, wants a second referendum. “I think the majority would swing to stay this time,” he says. But Sinclair argues that another referendum will not settle the matter: “When do you stop voting? Because then the people who voted leave will want another one.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest James Sinclair. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Corbyn’s no-confidence motion and the prospect of another general election does not appeal to Sinclair. “I think we’d still end up with another Tory government. The English voters are so hellbent on not having Corbyn, because they’ve been sold this idea he’s an out and out red.”

Priyanka Mohapatra, crossing George Square on her way to work, believes that momentum is building around a second EU referendum. “It was an uninformed referendum the first time and we should be given the chance to correct it when it’s going to harm our economy and we’re living with such uncertainty about the future.

“I do think it’s time to have a second vote. It would be the most sensible way now, because no deal is going to harm a lot of people. It’s sensible because it doesn’t look like the government is going against the people, but voters will be more informed this time.”

She is another who is sceptical about the prospects for the Labour leader’s confidence motion: “It might get Theresa May off the prime minister’s seat but I don’t think Jeremy Corbyn has very good ideas about what to do next either.”

Drinking her morning coffee outside the station, Lorne Bourhill says that while momentum around holding a second vote appears to be building she is against it herself. “I didn’t want to leave the EU, but people have made their choice. The government should get on with it and find a deal that has enough support. How can I tell my children to vote in a general election if they see decisions being overturned like that?”

Cirencester: ‘I’m coming across a lot of people who voted remain but are now saying: let’s get on with it’

2016 result (Cotswold): leave 48.9%, remain 51.1%

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Joe Harris. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

At the Market Garden fruit and veg shop in Cirencester co-workers Carole Reeves and Pete Blunden are as divided as the House of Commons.

“They should just hurry up and get us out,” says Reeves who voted leave and has not changed her mind. “I’m frustrated that the politicians are too busy squabbling to get it sorted. I don’t care if it’s no deal in the end. Let’s just go for it.”

Blunden, 21, tells his more senior colleague that leaving the EU would make life more difficult – even in the shop. “We get our flowers from Holland, some of our fruit from Spain and Italy. It’s going to affect every aspect of our lives.”

He voted remain but is reluctant to call for a second referendum. “It doesn’t matter how a second vote goes, it would cause problems.” The problem is that he cannot think of a way out of the impasse. “I haven’t got a clue how this ends. I don’t think anyone really has. That’s the frightening thing.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Carole Reeves and Pete Blunden. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

The idea that tracts of the country may be disengaged from the Brexit process is not borne out in this corner of Gloucestershire.

Parked outside the King’s Head hotel in the grand market place, taxi driver Kevin Mace is reading the reports of May’s troubles in the Sun. He didn’t vote in the referendum but is concerned the uncertainty could damage Cirencester. “It’s already a ghost town – just coffee shops, charity shops and phone shops. I do worry it’s going to get worse.”

Alex Johnson, watching the world go by from a coffee shop window, dismisses the Commons as a “bunch of arguing wankers”. He is a staunch leaver. “We’ll have a difficult 24 or 36 months but we’ve got to tough it out,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alex Johnson. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

The political conversation rages on the number 51 bus. “It’s a shambles,” says Jamie McTavish, a restorer of vintage cars. He says he thinks many people voted leave because of concerns about immigration. “I think a lot of people jumped without thinking through the consequences.” Bus driver Graham Camburn says he voted to leave. “I’m having my doubts,” he said. “But I don’t fancy another referendum. I don’t think the country wants that.”

Remain voter Mark Mitchell, who owns Crocodile Toys, says he was frustrated by events in the Commons. “It’s time for the politicians to let go of party gamesmanship and be more pragmatic,” he says. “They are wasting an awful lot of time.”

Joe Harris, the Liberal Democrat group leader on Cotswold district council – and formerly the country’s youngest mayor at the age of 21 – describes what is unfolding in Westminster as tragic.

“It’s a reflection of wider society. Brexit is an issue on which we are genuinely divided. I think it’s a 50-50 split. Like most people, I sometimes wish it would just go away. But I have to think of my constituents. In a no-deal Brexit, middle-class people will probably be all right. People who work in manufacturing will suffer. We have Mitsubishi here, we have Honda down the road in Swindon. We’re playing with fire if there’s a no-deal Brexit.

“I’m coming across a lot of people who voted leave and think they were conned but also a lot who voted remain but are now saying: ‘Let’s get on with it.’ The country is divided.”