I have thought for a while that those of us who embraced the cause of stopping Brexit should have spent a bit more time thinking about why we screwed up so abjectly. We didn’t just fail. We failed badly. It was a harder, stupider Brexit than it needed to be. So I was pleased that Morgan Jones decided to write a book about it, and – full disclosure – happy to talk to her about what I thought had gone wrong.
My part in our downfall was twofold. I co-hosted the Remainiacs podcast, which some New World readers may remember with affection. My main job was to edit the Brexit blog at the London School of Economics, where, for the sake of balance, I regularly strained to find academics willing to write about why Brexit was a good thing. No doubt Ukip founder Alan Sked’s four-part exposition of the failures of the EU played a key part in convincing the 52% to vote Leave.
With hindsight – and it was less clear to me at the time – the gulf between Leave and Remain was the first iteration of the culture wars in the UK. I thought we could have an intelligent conversation about what the EU did, and why. How wrong I was. Every lie from Leave prompted an outraged reaction from Remain; and nothing delighted Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and their allies more than the sight of millions of riled liberals waving a flag they had never picked up before.
The EU used to be too boring to think about. Now it meant picking a side. And God, how you despised the other one!
Jones is very good on the sillier excesses of the Remain movement, notably the Wooferendum (“My dog will need a passport to go skiing!”) and a plan to float a giant duck down the Thames that fortunately never came to pass. She shows how the egos and factions at the top of the movement fell out (the word “wankers” comes up, and not off the record).
Too many were unsure of the reasons for the Leave vote and too ready with glib explanations for it. Some knew little about the EU, but knew they liked cheap French cheese and the thought of their kids getting a summer job in Italy.
She devotes far less space to what most provoked their indignation. Leave lied and dissembled. A lot.
It was clear early on that Boris Johnson was using the referendum as a bid to become PM and could not have cared less about whether we actually left or not. This extraordinary act of bad faith was indulged and cheered on by most of the press, who thought him great fun and a Johnson premiership a thrilling prospect.
Why the hell did we waste so much energy doing something so harmful? Because, as in a military campaign, a few powerful men spotted the opportunity to advance themselves. The pity of it is that Remain, too, fell victim to competing egos. But unlike Leave, they had no idea how to fight the culture wars and a naive belief that if people just had a chance to think some more about the EU, they would learn to like it.
Some also hoped to use anti-Brexit campaigning to remove Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour leadership. We now know that only Johnson was able to do that.
The Remain movement – at least, the grassroots element of it – was unusually good at building a sense of camaraderie. Many of the people on anti-Brexit marches had never gone out to protest before.
Suggested Reading
How Brexit spurred a malaise across Europe
But the downside to finding your people is that you don’t want to engage with your opponents. The #FBPE (Follow Back Pro Europe) hashtag, intended to foster solidarity, ended up encouraging a community to talk to itself. Most #FBPE people were entirely unaware of the tensions between anti-Brexit groups like Open Britain, Another Europe is Possible, Britain for Europe, People’s Vote, Best for Britain and Scientists for EU. These organisations disagreed about how to campaign against Brexit and what outcome they realistically wanted.
The grassroots, meanwhile, knew how much they loathed Brexit, but that sentiment never coalesced into a workable strategy for stopping or easing it. A soft Brexit was too tame an aim to satisfy the grassroots. A second referendum would have reopened all the wounds of the first. Simply revoking the decision was unviable and undemocratic. Let’s just have a march and agree what a disaster Brexit is!
Jones gives us a witty and relentless insight into the failings of the anti-Brexit movement. That scrutiny is justified. We failed, and sometimes we embarrassed ourselves while doing it.
But why did Remainers react with such fury to the result and retreat into safe spaces? Partly because many of us realised that the referendum was the first symptom of a virulent new nationalism that leaving the EU would never satisfy. Brexiting was not enough. Quitting the single market and customs union were not enough. A deal was not enough.
Brexit had to be as performatively painful as possible, and the kicking it dealt to EU migrants would eventually have to be extended to all immigrants. Everyone, Leavers included, would have to suffer on the altar of a hard Brexit.
Had Leave ever acknowledged the narrowness of their victory, and sought a Brexit that would do less economic harm, most of us would have given up and gone home. Instead, Brexit became a fetish object, a thing that contained whatever the believer most desired, and that once done would fix all Britain’s problems.
It was hardly surprising that this insanity drove some people slightly mad, or that many of them tell Jones they have “memory-holed” this period of political history. I look forward to Leavers reflecting so critically and intelligently on the pointless and self-serving campaign they pursued.
No Second Chances: The Inside Story of the Campaign for a Second EU Referendum by Morgan Jones is published by Biteback.
Ros Taylor hosts the More Jam Tomorrow and Oh God, What Now? podcasts
Most popular
‘Operation Epic Fury – as it happened’
Is Star Wars dead?
Morrissey returns.. and heaven knows he’s mythical now
Iran War: Trump has now sealed his own fate
