“Buyer's remorse is the sense of regret after having made a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of an expensive item such as a car or house. It may stem from fear of making the wrong choice, guilt over extravagance, or a suspicion of having been overly influenced by the seller.”

— Wikipedia.com

On June 23, 2016, in our “mother country”, Great Britain, there was a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should leave the European Union. When all votes were counted, approximately 52 per cent of the votes were in favour of Britain exiting. Immediately after the formal announcement of the results, many in the UK and around the world went into panic mode, resulting in the British pound dropping to its lowest value in 31 years.

Within the same time frame, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation.

Several EU officials then proceeded to state that the UK should leave as soon as possible. Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon stated that Scotland, which had voted to remain in the EU, would seek a second referendum on Scottish independence from the UK.

When the reality had set in of the long-term impact that this referendum may have, many who had voted to leave the EU began openly to state that they wish that they had voted differently. Many admitted that they had not expected such a negative fallout from their one vote.

Essentially, they now had buyer's remorse.

Closer to home, many Bermudians of all stripes are now expressing buyer's remorse as well.

As we go about canvassing or meeting fellow Bermudians, several narratives seem to be raised on a frequent basis; one being that many Bermudians had felt that by staying home and not voting in the General Election of 2012, their single vote would never have mattered in the long run.

A common theme is that they would never vote for the One Bermuda Alliance but were not motivated enough to vote for the Progressive Labour Party at the time.

Another narrative comes from those Bermudians, who, for whatever reason, decided that they would switch their vote from PLP to OBA. Many state that they were sold on the wide array of OBA promises, such as 2,000 jobs or improved public education.

Four years into the OBA as government, those who did not vote and those who had switched their vote have experienced an uncountable amount of broken promises and acts of outright disregard for Bermudians on a whole.

One particular lady in Warwick told us, pre-election, that not only had she decided that she was going to vote OBA, but she was also going to convince her entire family that they should vote OBA in 2012 as well. At this point in time, however, she is openly admitting that she made a mistake and is now helping to ensure everyone in her family is properly registered to vote in the upcoming election.

In her own words, “everyone is entitled to make mistakes”. A clear admission of buyer's remorse.

Most recently, we witnessed a sitting OBA MP state that he has seen the OBA taken over by the United Bermuda Party. As this has become so unpalatable, he has resigned from the OBA and sits as an independent MP.

On July 1, Shawn Crockwell, the MP in question, stood to his feet in the House of Assembly and spoke to the people of Bermuda. A few standout passages are as follows:

“What has happened is, instead of the OBA reflecting the vision of the BDA, particularly under the current leadership, Mr Speaker, the OBA has embraced the philosophy and the methodology, Mr Speaker, of the UBP.

“The fact of the matter, Mr Speaker, is that in 2012, the people of this country did not vote for the United Bermuda Party. The people of this country voted for the One Bermuda Alliance.

“They saw something new; something fresh. They thought they were getting a different vision.

“What they have received, Mr Speaker, is the UBP ...”

Let that sink in for a minute: a sitting OBA MP who helped to form the OBA denouncing his own party as having been taken over by the UBP.

Surely this, too, is a case of buyer's remorse.

For the people of the UK, there is no turning back and, for them, they will exit the EU sooner or later. For the people of Bermuda, within the next 18 months, we have an opportunity to rid ourselves of buyer's remorse.