Only 18% of the UK population now believe that Brexit is a success. However, there remains a gulf in belief amongst the people that joining the EU anew is possible, let alone probable. This is, in part, a reflection of the political stasis at Westminster and the coalition of chaos between the Conservatives and Labour parties on the matter. The gulf is also informed by a lack of strategy amidst the thousand or so islands and silos that make up what could be called the Rejoin movement. Here I explain some of the strategies we can adopt to join the EU anew.
Break parliamentary paralysis
For those who wish to rejoin the EU, a key focus for our work must be to disrupt the parliamentary paralysis that gave us Brexit. A binary lovers’ tryst between Labour and the Conservatives has attempted to airbrush the word Brexit out of the lexicon. Given the long-term impact of Brexit on our children’s futures, this is a despicable development in modern politics. Like climate change, Brexit is a long term socio-economic, political legal and environmental disaster in slow motion. Unlike climate change, which is a global catastrophe, Brexit mainly affects one country, impacting Scotland disproportionately. Brexit also contributes to our climate impact through lower environmental and farming standards, increased carbon footprint and moral hazard.
We can impact parliamentary paralysis in a number of ways:
- Writing to MPs and key influencers in public life. Making the case to join EU anew and explain that Brexit parties will not gain votes and seats at elections.
- Publishing articles and letters to local newspapers. If we allow Brexit to be airbrushed out of the lexicon, as Sunak and Starmer desire, it will be a one-way trip. Regardless of the desires of PR people in Tufton Street, the products of Brexit will remain regardless, in terms of cost of living, NHS crisis, business decline, red tape and racism.
- Other lobbying activities, online, in person and so on, depending on your persuasion.
Lay the Brexit culture carriers to rest
The soft power of many of the Brexit culture carriers has been laid to rest. Nigel Farage has declared Brexit to be a failure. Many of the other Brexit culture carriers – John Redwood, Richard Tice and Danny Kruger – have been thoroughly discredited, such as at BBC Question Time in Clacton recently. Some have jumped ship or been pushed, such as Andrew Bridgen and Boris Johnson. The ‘new wave’ of Titanic Brexit cheerleaders such as Liz Truss and Nadine Dorries have been run aground. Having despised the media, Jacob Rees-Mogg is now moonlighting on GB News and is tipped to host local hospital radio in Chew Magna soon. Brexit disaster capitalists Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch wait in the wings to ‘kill’ Rishi Sunak, possibly using a sword borrowed from Buckingham Palace at a recent event.
The loss of soft power is necessary but not sufficient. The Brexit culture carriers need to be removed from their seats (hard power), now that the European Research Group (ERG) machine that levered Brexit is in disarray. There is still work to do, but substantially these people are now declining in power as Brexit reveals its many ugly heads. Then of course there is Keir Starmer, a subject I already covered in previous articles: Hard Labour and Post-Election Blues.
Grow backbones
I covered possible mechanisms to joining the EU in Myths and Riff of Brexit. It is worth re-reading this. Political will is the essential missing ingredient in the process at this time. This may change of its own will as Brexit impacts deepen, tactically before an election (either with the Conservatives, Labour or both) or as a result of a hung parliament which looks increasingly likely as one cannot fit a cigarette paper between a red and blue Brexit. All the efforts to remove the blue Brexit will count for nothing if we are left behind with a red Brexit. Courageous leadership is needed in our political class. We must build confidence that, if they do the right thing, they will be rewarded. We must be hard on the outcomes, softer on the journey; what I call ‘tough love’.
Take back control of the media
Along with our breakfast, we ‘eat’ the information we receive from mainstream media on a daily basis, almost without question. We must change the diet of what people consume to correct fake news and put forward more positive and truthful views of political issues. Although it’s an unpalatable thought for some, this means holding our noses and writing for media that are outside of our personal bubble.
I routinely do this and have gained features in the Express, Mail as well as the Guardian, Independent, New European and so on. The same applies on radio and TV. I regularly call LBC and BBC Radio 4 on matters of politics. Marina Purkiss leads the way in this field, as an individual who has taken on some of the worst offenders on GB News, GMTV and so on.
Move the dial on Brexit
Some 63% of people believe that Brexit has failed. We must move the dial to 70% by early 2024. An active campaign of Brexorcisms on the population is needed to accelerate the movement now gathering momentum.
