Crowd: “Bollocks to Brexit. Bollocks to Brexit. Bollocks to Brexit.” Singing: “Jingle bells, Brexit smells.” “Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.” Expressive crowds gather outside Parliament to demand that the government should, quite simply — “Stop Brexit now!” Contrast that to an earlier rally, also with a clear, but totally different message — “Brexit now. Brexit now.” We spoke with people on each side, and they are deeply divided. “What do we want?” “Brexit.” “What do we want?” “A people’s vote.” Except that all of them are losing their faith in the system. “The British people deserve better than Brexit.” Crowd: “Yes.” “When the British people speak, their voice will be respected, not ignored. If we vote to leave, then we will leave.” In 2016, the country held a referendum. Voters were given a choice: to either leave or remain in the European Union. The leave side said it was a vote to — “Take back control of this democracy.” And when the votes were tallied — “The U.K. has voted to leave the European Union.” “We’ve got our country back.” [cheering] “There can be no turning back.” Fast forward through two and a half years of negotiations with the E.U. over the terms of the breakup. Three weeks ago, Prime Minister Theresa May finally brought home a deal to present to Parliament. “This is the best possible deal. It’s the only possible deal.” But it’s a very unpopular one. “Statement, the prime minister.” “I’ve listened very carefully to what has been said in this chamber, and out of it.” [jeering] “Mr. Speaker, this is a bad deal for Britain, a bad deal for our economy, and a bad deal for our democracy.” But beyond the political debates, livelihoods are at stake. The Bank of England announced that Brexit could shrink the economy, and be as bad as the 2008 financial crisis. A world away from London, in many of the regions where factories have closed or where jobs have trickled away, the “leave” arguments dominate. Like in Blackpool, a seaside resort town that has seen better days. It was once a favorite holiday destination for many British people, but it’s now just as cheap to fly away to sunny Spain. With fewer tourists, Blackpool is suffering. Life expectancy for men here is the shortest in England. And people take more anti-depressants per person than anywhere else in the country. 67 percent voted for Brexit. “We voted to leave the E.U. And now, we’re being ignored.” Paul was born here, and he’s seen the town change profoundly in his lifetime. “It’s almost as though life doesn’t have the structures it used to have. And people just feel the opportunities aren’t there anymore. And the economic system isn’t fair.” “Is there a feeling that being part of the E.U. is directly responsible for some of that?” “Yes, because we were contributing 10 billion pounds a year, which is quite a lot of money.” Paul is talking about a membership fee that the U.K. pays to be a part of the E.U. “Where is the money going? What are they doing with it?” The answer? It’s complicated. Benefits sometimes come back home in indirect ways. Take Liverpool, 60 miles south. In 2008, the E.U. named it European Capital of Culture. That brought in millions of visitors, who brought in millions of pounds. “The city has just transformed itself. And I think because of that, that opportunity within the city is much greater. I think it inspires people to become something that they want to become.” Poppy, like the majority of young people, voted against Brexit. Now, she’s joined a new movement that’s pushing for a second referendum, with an option to remain in the E.U. They call it a “people’s vote.” This effort is hard to miss, even in regions that voted heavily for Brexit. Like here, in County Durham, in the northeast of England. “Richard, and then Jamie.” “People have every right to change their minds when presented with fresh facts, with new evidence and with a greater sense of certainty about what Brexit means.” “The people voted for Brexit because they are disenfranchised as a whole. The political system is broken.” “My personal view is that we now know what Brexit looks like. We didn’t two and a half years ago.” “Democracy isn’t a static, one-off event in time. Democracy is a process.” A messy one, it seems, at least for the moment, where all sides say they feel cheated. “We had the ‘people’s vote’ on the 23rd of June, 2016. I knew what I was voting for. If other people didn’t know what they were voting for, it’s because they didn’t do their homework. We were asked if we wanted to leave. We said ‘yes.’ The government seems to be going completely against the will of the people. They need to listen to us.” [applause] “The will of the people can change. The will of the people has changed. The will of the people cannot be undermined by a vote of the people.” “Because the people are ultimately sovereign. That’s what democracy is all about.” In an attempt to settle a question, the E.U. referendum has unsettled a nation. “Brexit means exit. Brexit means exit. Brexit means exit. Brexit means exit — are you listening, Mrs. May? Are you listening?”