Before I go up and get my case packed, here is a long passage by the hugely intelligent Jon Danzig, who destroys the myth of Farage's ''real Brexit' - who voted for THAT.
Nigel Farage says a real #Brexit ‘hasn’t been delivered’
𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘’𝗦 ‘𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟’ 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗧?
On the fifth anniversary of Britain leaving the EU, the Daily Express front page today features a message from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, claiming that a real Brexit has ‘not been delivered.’
He insists, ‘We now need people in charge to deliver the Brexit we voted for...’
But when exactly did Britain vote for that?
The 2016 referendum question offered only two choices:
▪ Remain a member of the European Union
▪ Leave the European Union
We knew what Remain meant, having experienced it for over 40 years. But what did Leave mean? It was never defined.
Even leading Brexiters couldn’t agree with each other what version of Brexit they wanted.
Some, like former Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, argued that leaving the EU didn’t mean exiting the Single Market.
Others, like Jacob Rees-Mogg, acknowledged the need for a clear referendum question - something we never got.
Three months before the vote, David Cameron's Conservatives government outlined three possible Brexit models, all of which it warned would harm Britain. Which one did Leave voters choose?
1. THE NORWAY OPTION – Leaving the EU but retaining frictionless access to the Single Market. This meant following EU rules and allowing free movement, without a say in decision-making.
2. THE CANADA OPTION – Tariff-free trade with the EU but without the benefits of frictionless trade, severely restricting Britain’s services sector, which makes up nearly 80% of our economy.
3. THE WTO OPTION (or ‘no deal’, later rebranded by Boris Johnson as the ‘Australia Deal’) – Trading under World Trade Organisation rules, leading to tariffs, bureaucracy, and loss of EU membership benefits.
[Link: brexitversions.eu-rope.com]
None of these options appeared on the ballot paper.
The choice was between Remain or a deliberately vague Leave, making it easier to sell a dreamlike hazy vision of Brexit rather than a concrete, accountable plan.
If the Leave campaign had been forced to define its vision, would it have won?
Polls now consistently show that rather than demanding a version of Brexit no one voted for, the country increasingly regrets Brexit altogether.
▪ The Daily Express online version reported today, ‘Nigel Farage has vowed to deliver the Brexit 17.9million people voted for if he becomes Prime Minister.’ The Express couldn’t even get the number right – it was 17.4million Leave voters.
Let’s hope – and campaign – to make sure that Farage doesn’t become Prime Minister to deliver a Brexit nobody voted for.
▪ Watch my related video: ‘Brexiters are outnumbered’ – outnumbered.jondanzig.com
© Report and graphic by Jon Danzig
