Leave Means Leave – IDIS Observer

The Brexit chaos continues and Britain seems more divided than ever. The British hardline Brexiteers have defended Brexit enthusiastically, sometimes even aggressively. Here are some comments made by them:

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chair of the hardline European Research Group ERG, hosted a champagne party after PM May suffered the historical defeat in parliament on Tuesday (1). Rees-Mogg, as many other supporters of No Deal, wants UK to leave on WTO terms:

On Twitter 15.1.2019: “The law is in place for us to leave on WTO terms. The Government ought to go back to Brussels and say: if we can’t agree anything in the interim that is what will happen.” (2)

Rees-Mogg was interviewed by Professor Anand Menon on Wednesday evening. Rees-Mogg believes that Theresa May’s cabinet is “the most pro-European part of the Conservative Party” and that 70 per cent of the people who are voting Conservatives seem to be Eurosceptic. Rees-Mogg said that No Deal would be better alternative than the deal offered by PM May or no Brexit at all (3).

One of the architects of the original Brexit campaign in 2016, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been criticizing PM Theresa May and the EU and he has also been promoting Leave Means Leave campaign on his Twitter page (4):

15.1.2019: “Parliament has voted down Theresa May’s terrible Brexit deal. Join us on Thursday in Westminster as Leave Means Leave pushes for a WTO Brexit!”

16.1.2019: “If the betrayal becomes complete and we are forced into a second referendum then some will be in for a shock, the British people will be even more defiant than they were before.”

16.1 2019: “Mrs May’s cross-party talks are all with Remainers and weaken Brexit. She cares about Parliament and not the people. This is betrayal, sadly we must prepare to fight again.”

UKIP leader Gerard Batten has attacked PM May, the British political establishment and the EU:

14.1.2019: “Mrs May’s so-called deal would turn Britain into a vassal state of the EU prepared to go back in in a few short years. What we are witnessing is the political establishment fighting over their preferred method of stopping Brexit – should it be through Mrs May’s surrender document, a General Election or another referendum? In their arrogance and contempt for the will of the 17.4 million who voted to leave the European Union, the political establishment have embarrassed the nation in the eyes of the world. At this point, it is clear that the only way Britain will leave the EU is if the people choose to remove the political establishment through the ballot box.” (5)

16.1.2019: “The British Parliament has the opportunity to redeem itself. If it betrays the result of the referendum then it will destroy what remaining belief or faith there is in our democratic system, which isn’t very high to start with. But they can turn things around if they want to. They can take the initiative, they can stop asking you (i.e. European Union) how we can leave and they can start telling you how we are going to leave, and I can tell you that the British people will never surrender!” (6)

British poster-girl for far-right Katie Hopkins is an ardent admirer of President Trump and she has supported No Deal Brexit. However, she had some kind words for PM May:

“In many ways, I look to America as kind of hope, like inspiration. You’ve got someone tough in the White House that’s determined to get things done. You’ve got a whole group of people who believe they’ve been forgotten which to me is the Brexiteers. It’s the same, it’s the rest of the UK, it’s the rest of America that isn’t California or isn’t New York, and the rest of America got their voice heard and that really speaks to the Brexiteer in me.” (7)

On Twitter 12.7.2018: “No deal Brexit looks exactly like the Brexit I voted for.” (8)

On Twitter 16.1.2019: “Come on @theresa_may You may have really p*ssed on my chips over Brexit. But you are one tough, tenacious bird. And I completely admire you for enduring and withstanding it all. You go girlfriend. Grip that lectern like a sausage in a roll. And Sock it to them.” (8)