‘Brexit never had full consent’: Readers on why leaving the EU failed to live up to voter expectations

R.readers responding to a quote Brexit ImpactSir John Curtice’s assessment of public opinion a decade after the vote to leave the EU focused heavily on the gap between the Brexit that voters were promised and the Brexit that is believed to have finally happened.

Many commentators agreed with Britain’s leading pollsters that dissatisfaction with Brexit had risen steadily since the referendum, citing concerns about the economy, immigration and Britain’s influence abroad. Some argued that Brexit had failed to meet expectations and were not surprised to see polls showing a steady shift in favor of closer ties with Europe.

For some, this dissatisfaction strengthened the case for rejoining the EU; Commentators argued that single market membership and wider European institutions would increase growth, security and Britain’s position on the world stage. Others have questioned whether Brexit still retains its democratic legitimacy a decade later, given changing public opinion and a new generation of voters who did not participate in the 2016 referendum.

But critics have challenged the idea that disappointment with Brexit will automatically translate into support for re-engagement. A recurring theme was that any future application would come with significantly different conditions, including potential commitments to the Euro, Schengen and the loss of previous opt-out conditions in the UK.

Although views differed sharply on the way forward, there was broad consensus that the Brexit debate was far from resolved. Here’s what you need to say:

Brexit never had full approval

I suspect most people don’t support this in the first place. Johnson’s Brexit deal was not what even the Brexit campaign had led voters to believe, and so it never fully gained the consent of the nation. As soon as the result was announced, the task began to drag on, with any opposition being marginalised, excluded or ridiculed. For various reasons, it is now too late to return to the EU. But I support and appreciate The Independent’s campaign to bring us closer to the EU, and I’m pretty sure that’s what the majority want.

ThomasS

It’s not the voters’ fault

There is no doubt that the version of Brexit we have has little resemblance to the many options we are told are on the table. I think part of the blame for this lies with the staunchly pro-Brexit factions within the Conservative Party and the extraordinary power they have over their own governments. That and opportunists like Johnson whose convictions are questionable to say the least.

I voted Remain partly because I had an instinctive distrust of the main proponents of Brexit. I feel vindicated in this, but I also feel pretty strongly that the people who voted for this are not to blame. My own brother did the same thing, and although we disagree, I can’t say he didn’t make his choice with enough thought.

RickC

Voting support needs to increase

To be confident of winning a binding referendum, support for rejoining needs to be consistently above 60 per cent (especially if it requires a supermajority, as binding referendums must) and last time I saw it was around 58 per cent. It would need to increase slightly for any government to propose rejoining to be worth the risk, so the more the possibilities and benefits are discussed, the better.

Tanaquil2

Farage resigns after referendum

On 4 July 2016, just days after the Brexit referendum, Nigel Farage resigned as leader of UKIP, saying that he had “done his bit”, which was to take Britain “out of the EU”, and that he now “wanted his life back”.

So Farage had no interest in negotiating Brexit. I’m sorry for those who cling to the belief that Farage will deliver a purer Brexit. He ran for the hills when his big dream was supposed to come true. It’s a behavior pattern we’re now quite familiar with. Farage is at his best when he’s fussing around the bar, but he can’t cut it when it comes to getting around the table and getting the job done.

TalkingSense

The promises and realities of Brexit

When he looks at the article written by Boris Johnson’s ex-wife, he seems to have forgotten all the opt-out provisions and the main objectives of the Maastricht Treaty signed by the UK.

In many respects it is better for the EU and Britain to stay out of the EU, so that the EU can continue to pursue its plans without constant resistance from the UK.

To answer Johnson’s ex-wife, it is not the EU that is punishing Britain; Rather, it is the British electorate, political system and island mentality that have let the country down.

Let’s see what Farage will do if he comes to power. Then he will understand how Brexit does not solve any of the long-standing problems affecting the country; I think it made them worse.

Mr No

Test support in the next election

Sir John is an expert on opinion polls, but our democracy is not run on them. Sir John is perhaps letting enthusiasm get in the way of reality.

The reality was the referendum in which 72.2 per cent of voters turned out and the Brexit side won by more than a million votes. Compare this to the turnout in the 2024 General Election, which was 59.9 per cent, the lowest in any general election since 2001. What would it sound like if I wanted the 2024 GE results to be overturned and Rishi Sunak reinstated as Prime Minister?

So here’s my proposal. Let’s test this with a suitable democratic exercise: the 2029 General Election. Let Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens state in their manifestos that they will reverse Brexit, and let the Conservatives and Reform state that they will implement Brexit. If Remain wins and forms a government, let them take us out of Brexit and into the EU, no questions asked. But if the Brexit side wins, we continue outside the EU, no questions asked.

Lest people forget, Jo Swinson led the Liberal Democrats into a General Election on the basis of scrapping Brexit and got herself scrapped instead.

Krispad

Brexit hurt the UK

Polls have consistently shown a majority in favor of rejoining since January 2021, when we actually left and the damage became clear. It is absurd to claim otherwise. Brexit has damaged our economy, damaged our national security and increased immigration. While Europe is threatened by fascism both at home (Reform, Restore, AfD, Le Pen etc.) and in Russia, we need to rejoin and remain committed to all European alliances that support freedom, democracy and human rights. Only five European countries are not members of the EU or do not have free trade agreements with the EEA: Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the United Kingdom.

selfish

Free movement and the euro are important issues

We know the biggest sticking point will be free movement, and there’s no way to avoid that. So let’s start with this. Can we sell the idea of ​​free movement in Europe? Immigration from Europe will replace immigration from the rest of the world, taking us back to the situation before Brexit, before the Boris wave. We could even have quotas on non-EU immigration to ensure this happens.

The next situation will be valid for the euro. The EU will insist that we join the euro for many reasons, not least because it will make it much harder for us to leave again. We need to convince people that it is in our interest to join the euro. Maybe it will allow us to lower interest rates?

Without strong public support for those two things, it’s pointless to even consider rejoining.

chrisw27

Membership will require acceptance of EU rules

Some factors to consider: (1) The EU is looking for a majority of voters, not just a limited number of people who vote. (2) Brexit cannot be reversed under any circumstances, because a return to what once was is simply not on offer and never will be. (3) New membership is certainly a strong possibility. (4) New membership must include Schengen under EU law and the Euro, which will come into force if the new member fully complies with all requirements. (5) Any request for membership dialogue must come from a government and be supported by a national legislature. (6) Access to the Single Market is not and will never be available to the United Kingdom alone. (7) No exit, discount or any special treatment can be applied to any member. (8) There is no “agreement” regarding membership. There are simple rules and requirements that must be accepted and followed. Frankly, it’s a “take it or leave it” situation.

All this has been clarified carefully, patiently and consistently by EU member states and various EU institutions. Perhaps membership is not the best path for the nation, as most of the British public are too slow to understand these basics.

Jonathan Mills

A new referendum will solve the problem

The only way to know for sure is to hold a new referendum.

People who have reached voting age since June 2016 should have the right to decide whether they want to stay outside or rejoin the EU. People who lose their jobs because their employers flee to the EU region should have the right to say whether they support rejoining. People happy with Brexit should have the right to confirm their vote in 2016. Everyone would have a say.

We need a Prime Minister with backbone, so I won’t hold my breath.

HASTINGSPIER

Rejoining is not a magic solution

Isn’t it easy to jump on the EU bandwagon when political figures promise that it will be the magic solution to all our problems, just as they did when we left the EU?

Maybe when we find out how much this will cost us (perhaps even more than before) and that we will have to accept laws and regulations that benefit mainland EU countries, tear up many trade agreements and lose flexibilities in our economy, then this will not seem like such a good deal.

Meanwhile, the UK’s first quarter growth was 0.6 percent; The EU’s first quarter growth was 0.2 percent. Maybe this wasn’t mentioned when the survey was conducted.

MJAF

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