The majority vote by Britons to leave the European Union was an act of raw democracy. Millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated and dismissed with open contempt by their presumed betters in the major parties, the leaders of the business and banking oligarchy and the media.
This was, in great part, a vote by those angered and demoralised by the sheer arrogance of the apologists for the ‘remain’ campaign and the dismemberment of a socially just civil life in Britain. The last bastion of the historic reforms of 1945, the National Health Service, has been so subverted by Tory and Labour-supported privateers it is fighting for its life. John Pilger, Why the British Said No to Europe, 2016
It became the biggest event in modern British history: the Referendum. But it was really a family row – one raging in the Conservative Party for over half a century. Brexit: A Very British Coup, BBC 2016
Enter Farage: Vote Leave have refused to allow Nigel any part in their campaign. ibid.
‘I’ve been on the road a fortnight and most of my time has been spent in Labour areas ... There’s not so much of a debate going on in Labour areas.’ ibid.
On 24th June last year Britain woke up to a political earthquake. The shockwaves spread across Europe. In Britain we are now consumed by what Brexit means for us. But for the European Union Brexit is one crisis among many. This World: After Brexit: The Battle for Europe, BBC 2017
In almost every EU country there is now an anti-establishment nationalist-minded movement on the rise. ibid.
It’s in France where it might meet its Waterloo. ibid.
‘They have been wrong about everything for thirty years.’ ibid. Marie le Pen
Theresa May is about to push the button on Brexit and head off on a mission … For Brexiteers the dream is a quicky divorce. Brexit: Britain’s Biggest Deal, BBC 2017
A lot of money is on the table ... That potentially massive bill is for Britain’s share of existing EU spending commitments like the pensions of EU officials. ibid.
Our skies are governed right now by the EU with a myriad of European legislation. ibid.
They set themselves a new target of negotiating a trade deal within two years. On top of all that tricky divorce. ibid.
Well, what does it mean? For the last year it’s meant a battle for the soul of Britain … It’s a battle where passions runs high, where nothing is certain. Brexit Means Brexit: The Unofficial Version I, BBC 2017
Trump thinks he owes his victory to Farage’s anti- establishment template. ibid.
‘That may be her [May] opportunity to go for a spring election.’ ibid. Farage
29th March – Brexit finally means Brexit. ibid.
She calls a general election and rams it through parliament. ibid.
Has the United Kingdom changed its mind about Brexit? Is the country as divided as ever? Brexit: What the Nation Really Thinks, BBC 2018
Mr Cummings, this inquiry was established by the Information Commissioner’s office following revelations concerning the European referendum four years ago in 2016. Its primary purpose is to investigate the use of our personal data in political campaigns … Brexit: The Uncivil War, Cummings before inquiry, Channel 4 2018
We have not rolled back the frontiers of the state only to see them reimposed at a European level. ibid. Thatcher 1988
With respect, this referendum is a really dumb idea. Referendums are quite literally the worse way to decide anything. They’ve divisive; they pretend that complex choices are simply binaries. ibid. Cummings to executive committee
We have to hack the political system … I’m talking about altering the matrix of politics. ibid.
Politicians: Frankly, I don’t see the point in them. ibid. Cummings
It’s a war. Total war. ibid.
This is the new politics, Dom. This is how you will win. ibid. data dude in park
Cost and control, get it? ibid. Cummings
Three hundreds and fifty million quid and Turkey. ibid. Cummings’ mantra
The European Union was created to hold a continent together; instead it’s faced ten years of turmoil. Inside Europe I: We Quit, BBC 2018
David Cameron tried to put to bed a question that had plagued British politics for generations; instead he found himself out of a job, his party torn apart and his country’s future hanging in the balance. ibid.
The pressure on Cameron was growing. In May the UK Independence Party enjoyed its best ever results in local election, largely at the expense of the Conservatives. ibid.
For the first time, Ukip topped the polls in Britain. ibid.
‘We’ve lost … and I’m going to have to resign.’ ibid. Cameron, cited Osborne
I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Donald Tusk
Tonight: will it be deal or no deal? The countdown to Brexit is on. Getting it right on trade: the biggest political test of Theresa May’s life. Tonight: Deal or No Deal? Brexit Britain, ITV 2016
The EU has said there’ll be a so-called divorce settlement which some say could cost us up to £50 billion. ibid.
The Irish border and the people who live and work here: why has it become such a stumbling block for Brexit? And could we see a return to violence? Tonight: The Border Blocking Brexit, ITV 2019
The border became not just open but effectively invisible. ibid.
Tonight: UK in crisis. A nation in Brexit deadlock. And could we be heading for no deal? Tonight: Brexit: The End Game, ITV 2019
Hundreds of meetings, thousands of hours, an epic saga of big name walkouts, fraught negotiations, a deal was struck but it failed – the biggest defeat for any government ever. ibid.
Six months on from leaving the European Union what does global Britain look like? How close are we to securing those lucrative trade deals around the world? And where are we on the big issues that drove that momentous vote? Tonight: Britain After Brexit: Winners & Losers, ITV 2021
Brexit is coming … For others, this has provided an opportunity. Tonight we meet the super-rich looking to make big bucks out of Brexit. Dispatches: The Brexit Millionaires, Channel 4 2019
For others, the fall in the value of the pound has provided a golden opportunity. ibid.
MPs charging thousands of pounds for a Brexit speech. ibid.
With Britain’s future hanging in the balance, we look at one of the key issues that fuelled the Brexit victory in the referendum: there are currently 3.7 million EU nations in Britain; many British hoped Brexit would reduce that number. Dispatches: When the Immigrants Leave, Channel 4 2019
Can Britain manage without migrants? ibid.
Brits are not keen to come and pick strawberries. ibid.
Brexit: Westminster’s biggest test in living memory. As Theresa May tries to steer her deal through parliament with no majority. The Brexit Storm: Laura Kuenssberg’s Inside Story, BBC 2019
A battle in parliament that has changed our politics and our country for ever. ibid.
It’s been almost a year since the prime minister signed the free trade deal with the EU that finally implemented Brexit. But what impact has this last-minute deal had on British businesses? Government promises were made. But tonight new research for Dispatches suggest a different story is playing out. And an exclusive survey reveals how the cost of exporting to the EU is squeezing many small businesses. Dispatches: Did Brexit Work for Business? Channel 4 2021
More than three years after the Brexit referendum, Boris Johnson promises to deliver Brexit in a hundred days, do or die. With parliament bitterly divided, this is a prime minister prepared to do almost anything to keep his promise. The Brexit Storm Continues: Laura Kuenssberg
‘We’re going to energise the country. We’re going to get Brexit done.’ ibid. Johnson
The rebel alliance is appalling. The only thing they’re really interested in is trying to stop Brexit happening at all. ibid.
On a rainy day in June 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. 51.9% voted Leave; 48.1% voted Remain. The British prime minister set the Brexit divorce in motion with a tough message to the EU. Storyville: Brexit: Behind Closed Doors I II, BBC 2019
‘No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain.’ ibid. Theresa May
The Brexit referendum in June 2016 shook the European Union to its core. Brussels straightaway started preparations for what they assumed would be a tough divorce battle. ibid.
‘We need a general election and we need one now.’ ibid. Theresa May
‘We have to wait while the air becomes thinner and thinner as we waste time.’ ibid. Elmar Brok, Germany Christian Democrat