The UK always had one foot in and one foot out of the EU. (This is the main reason departure seemed such folly; the UK had already opted out of the worst parts of EU membership.)
I’ve seen a lot of people making similar comments. Britain wasn’t part of the euro. They aren’t part of Schengen. They’re not fully part of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. They’ve retained a case-by-case opt-out in Justice and Home Affairs issues. They get a special rebate 
on contributions to the EU budget. And earlier this year, David Cameron negotiated a further package of British opt-outs.
So what’s the deal? What more did the British want?
The answer is simple: an end to immigration. That’s it. Elderly Brits didn’t vote to leave because of EU laws over the shape of bananas. They voted to leave because they had reached their “breaking point” over the flow of immigrants. They didn’t want any more Poles or any more Muslims or any more Pakistanis.
It’s pretty simple: 52 percent of the electorate voted to keep Britain white. Let’s not overthink this.
