Opinion: how Britain shot itself in the foot by voting for Brexit

I have no sympathy for the idiots who voted to leave the EU back in 2016 and even more contempt for those who now claim it was ‘the wrong sort of Brexit.’ It was the best example of a nation shooting itself in the foot and will go down in history as one the UK’s biggest mistakes with those who encouraged people to vote Leave viewed with a mixture of disgust and derision by future generations.
The damage to the economy and the UK’s international standing, its effect on travel, on race ralations, on business, on employment, screwing Northern Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement, the residents of Gibraltar and destroying our credibility has been charted in detail with the overall hit on Gross National Product immense running to billions every year.

So my I took an interest in James O’Brien’s book How they Broke Britain with its charge against the leading Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Rupert Murdoch but also David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn who failed to champion the EU and warn more vigorously of the dangers of Brexit.
It’s a pretty damning set of essays taking to task these totally useless politicians, plus media figures like Paul Dacre and political consultants such as Dominic Cummings. Within a few years most people will look back at disbelief that someone like Liz Truss who is also featured could rise to be the nation’s prime minister – if they haven’t already done so.
Surveys show that the vote was largely split on the generation gap with younger voters unable to grasp why forcing travellers to join mile long queues to get through passport control, promoting xenophobia and ensuring the M20 was turned into a lorry park was a good idea.
I can understand the views of very old people – the war generation perhaps – but not those Baby Boomers like me who benefitted from ease of travel to France, German cars, Italian and Spanish wine in the supermarkets and the work opportunities on both sides of the English Channel.
The nonsense that many of my peers came out with about ‘taking back control’ were lines strait out of Paul Dacre’s Daily Mail while I was told by more than one friend that it would ‘do Britain good’ to ‘stand on its own two feet’ and ‘make its’ own laws.’ All complete rubbish.
For a time I worked for a trade publication and was sent to trade shows in Germany where the exhibitors could not understand the mentality of Brexit. They actually laughed at the stupidity of it – and of course they were right as it made Britain less business friendly. The EU has many things wrong with it but it is easily the best trade, cultural and educational organisation for the continent since the Roman Empire.
So when the likes of Nigel Farage and Jim Ratcliffe moan about the ‘wrong sort of Brexit’ I feel sick. Hopefully within a few short years we will have either rejoined or essentially rejoined in all but name and the sorry saga can be confined to history as my fellow Baby Boomers die off.

Harry Mottram