Brexit Preppers: Should The People Of Exeter Be Stockpiling Supplies?

Almost 100 miles away from the city centre of Exeter, in a town named Redruth, 36-year-old Nevine Mann is preparing for Brexit. Her kitchen is packed full of dry foods like pasta, rice and couscous, there’s a box stuffed with various medications and in her garden sits a 290-gallon tank for water. 

“People are talking about World War II and rationing… About the blackouts in the 1970s, and how power was rationed,” Ms Mann told the New York Times.“This has the potential of being a combination of the two.”

The crisis Ms Mann is referring to is not an impending apocalypse, a nuclear war or mass civil unrest. Ms Mann is prepping for something we have all come to know and have deeply complicated feelings about: Brexit.

Of course, Theresa May’s government has completely rejected any notions that we are heading into a dystopian nightmare. Most of the country continues to plod along as we always have, with some more willing to discuss Brexit openly than others who would rather never hear the word again. When the 2016 referendum initially took place, there was quite a lot of worry and fearmongering but that seems to have subsided ever so slightly. Two years later, there are more hilarious takes on Brexit across social media than there are “knock, knock!” jokes. 

Earlier in October, comedian, presenter and produced Richard Osman tweeted about how the Chinese have a word that means both leave and remain, leading to many a funny response. Online sportsbook and casino Paddy Power has provided a way for people to wager on the outcome of Brexit; whether we’ll have a deal by March 2019 or if Theresa May will still be Prime Minister by April. There’s even a satirical comic named The Brexit that does nothing but poke fun at our political leadership and make light of the situation.

However, despite all this, the British government now has a minister who is solely responsible for food supplies. This hasn’t been the case since rationing ended in the 1950s, following the end of World War II. True, this may be a ploy to increase Britain’s leverage when it comes to negotiating a deal but some have taken it as a warning sign. There’s now a Facebook group named “48 Percent Preppers”, named for the 48% who voted remain back in 2016. There are 1,200 members, all of whom discuss different ways they could be preparing for what many of them perceive as an inevitable nationwide panic. 

Meanwhile, in the East Midlands, security consultant and ex-police officer James Patrick is attempting to spread the word and advice in other ways. For one, he has a leaflet in circulation entitled “Getting Ready Together” in which he covers the risk of gas, oil, food and medication shortages. Mr Patrick also has a podcast named “The Fall” where he discusses the civil disorder that could boil over from Brexit. 

Mr Patrick insists his predictions are not alarmist, meanwhile back in Cornwall Ms Mann does realise that the idea of prepping seems surreal. As for whether the people of Exeter should be prepping for a dystopian future post-Brexit, we suppose the choice is entirely yours. As Ms Mann says: “If we are panicking for nothing, does it matter?”