Of civil wars and family feuds: Brexit is more divisive than ever

Britain’s planned departure from the European Union has split homes and workplaces, friendships and marriages. The divide shows no sign of narrowing.

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England — Martin Bradford played guitar at a local venue for the better part of a decade, but he avoids the place now because performing there would mean working with its sound engineer.

And that would not end well.

Sipping a pint in a riverside pub, Bradford recalls how he casually mentioned his vote to leave the European Union and instantly lost a friend.

“’You’ve taken my retirement away,’” Bradford was told, the reasoning being that the sound engineer hoped to move to another EU country, a right that Brexit could threaten.

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“Once that conversation had happened there was no going back,” said Bradford, who also avoids members of his old band after some posted comments on social media that, he said, “painted the people who voted leave as racists, bigots, evil, stupid.”