On Thursday evening, an American, a Scotswoman, an Englishman and two Irishmen gathered around a table - but it was not the start of a joke, it was to discuss the aftermath of Brexit for Radio ARA's Happy Hour show.

Opening with The Isley Brothers "It's Your Thing (Do What You Wanna Do)" was a rather apt reflection of what some have perceived as the downside of democracy, with 48% of the UK population left frustrated and speechless last week as the referendum results saw the region begin its slow pull away from the European Union.

Thursday's speakers were not exempt from this disbelief; Editor of Delano and City Mag, Duncan Roberts; Station Manager of ARA City Radio, Lisa McLean, Editor of the Luxembourg Chronicle, Geoff Thompson, and ARA City Radio DJ, Sam Steen, have built careers and homes from the European Union as long-term, integrated residents of Luxembourg, making the event, as presenter Wendy Winn explained, more of a "conversation rather than a debate".

The Referendum

What British Prime Minister, David Cameron, had promised to be a simple "in or out" vote soon dissolved into a amalgamation of confused, conflicting shock facts based on information cherry-picked from studies. As Duncan Roberts pointed out, Cameron having previously been a big Eurosceptic who blamed many problems on the Union in the past, a Remain campaign led by him was always going to struggle to gain people's trust.

Lisa McLean described it as an "anti-globalisation vote", which was predominantly based on the two primary issues of the economy and immigration. According to Wendy Winn, this latter factor saw the referendum gain parallels with the Trump presidential campaign, becoming embedded in fear and a lack of information, such as the £350 million that the UK supposedly pays to the EU every week - a large figure that was painted in equally large letters on the side of a bus, but quickly dismissed by UKIP leader and prominent Leave campaigner, Nigel Farage, hours after the results came in.

The lack of information that the public was actually provided soon became obvious in the wake of the result with the two revelations that Google's search history showed people frantically trying to find out what the EU actually is and what leaving it would therefore mean; and that many Brexiteers had expressed regret at their voting choice under the weight of the realisation of the answer to that second question.

However, Lisa McLean explained how the referendum has acted in a similar vein to taking the lid off a pressure cooker of intensifying anti-immigrant attitudes borne from misleading "information" using refugees and migrants as scapegoats for problems within the region.

England

Several factors were attributed to the causes and consequences of the referendum, among them an unyielding "island mentality" that has existed in Great Britain for centuries and has remained largely unchanged even by the region's accession to the EU.

Having recently travelled to England following the referendum, Duncan Roberts stated that there is an atmosphere mostly of "what the heck happened?" in the country. However, the 51% who were granted their wish to leave the EU and make "Britain for the British" again must not be overlooked - a sentiment which is also contributed to why the referendum was held in the first place.

As Lisa McLean pointed out, "a lot of people were hurting in depressed areas" and felt their voices were falling on deaf ears with little to no investment in their healthcare systems and other institutions. Whilst London is very financially strong, other parts of the country are not and this perceived disconnect only serves to further enhance ideological, political and regional divides.

Scotland

After Scotland narrowly missed out on becoming independent from the UK in 2014 with a referendum vote of 55.3% against and 44.7% for, with a major factor being the lack of assurances that Scotland would remain in the EU, all eyes have now turned to the country in the wake of the Brexit result as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon holds meetings in Brussels and promises a second referendum to come.

Recounting the referendum of two years ago, Lisa McLean commented: "Now it's been thrown into a completely different light with Scotland between a rock and a hard place", forced to choose between maintaining trade with England, or retaining its ties to the EU. The EU referendum revealed just how determined the Scottish people are to stay in the Union, with every council showing a majority for Remain.

However, Sturgeon would face barriers in attempting to establish an independent Scotland in the EU, with Spain and Belgium stating that they would veto the idea due to fears about their own Catalan and Flanders regions.

The Republic and the North of Ireland

Although the Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK, the speakers were fully convinced of the referendum's knock-on effect on the country, with Limerick's Sam Steen describing the Irish economy as closely linked to that of the UK.

Geoff Thompson explained that the last few decades have seen a huge amount of political change to the island of Ireland and a lot of effort has been spent in achieving peace and stability. The people who have tried to bring down barriers may now see them put back up again. He spoke of the border between the Republic and the North or Ireland as a zone of trade and migration, questioning what would happen to certain cross-border institutions such as hospitals post-Brexit.

However, he pointed out that although a divide exists between the Republic and the North, in certain sports such as hockey Ireland shares one team, leading Wendy Winn to hopefully suggest "maybe sports can achieve what politics cannot".

What Happens Now?

"People are insecure, understandably insecure" Lisa McLean commented but attempted to give reassurance that it would be at least two years until the UK would be officially out of the EU. Having previously spoken with the British Ambassador to Luxembourg, John Marshall, she said the impression she had been given was that the Embassy is not in a position to deal with individual cases and that each person concerned should therefore be self-dependent in acquiring the necessary information for their own situation.

In a similar vein, Duncan Roberts referred to the press conference called by Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, on Friday during which he stated that Britons have and will always be welcomed in the Grand Duchy. The government is therefore unlikely to embark on a strategy of forcing integrated British nationals out of the country. He also spoke of an open message sent by former Luxembourg Prime Minister and current President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to British employees of European Institutions, in which he reassured them that "You work for Europe. You left your national 'hats' at the door when you joined this institutions and that door is not closing on you now". Geoff Thompson said that those who are fonctionnaires would be fine as they have permanent work contracts, but those who have contracts as Temporary Agents, Auxiliaires or freelance, would not have the same security.

By contrast, Wendy Winn described Juncker as somewhat of a "jilted lover", eager to initiate divorce proceedings as quickly as possible. Duncan Roberts attributed this to the EU wanting to strike fear into the hearts of other countries to prevent them from following suit, with far right factions in France and the Netherlands already calling for their own referendums.

Geoff Thompson explained that we are in "unchartered territory" resulting in a "fascinating time". Everyone is still largely in the dark, and every day more information is coming out, MPs are stepping down, whilst others are announcing their candidacy for prime minister. Lisa McLean was adamant that "Britain will survive - the sun rises and the sun sets" but the speakers were unanimous in asking the question that continues to hang in the air, unanswered: "What kind of society will it be?"