Ten years since Brexit – brace yourself

On June 23 2016 the UK had a referendum on whether we should leave the EU.

Newspapers love anniversaries, so expect a rash (I think that’s the right word), of pieces about whether, ten years on, it was a good idea.

It seems to me that leaving the EU has neither been as bad as Remainers predicted nor as good as Leavers claimed.

It is hard to see why it was a great idea. But perhaps it hasn’t been that awful.

It has certainly taken up a lot of the political space since then – perhaps we’d have done better if we could have just stopped going on about it.

Simon French at Panmure Liberum says it best, as usual: “The biggest tragedy of the decision to leave the EU was the policy bandwidth that Brexit absorbed that may have averted the UK having the highest electricity costs in the IEA, a housebuilding rate half the G7 average, having the lowest domestic allocation of institutional capital amongst developed nations, and labour costs that have grown the fastest in the G7.”

So, we might have fixed the energy costs issue if we hadn’t been so distracted by Brexit. It’s not Brexit’s fault that our planning laws are a mess.

Some influential people will call for another referendum, on the expectation that the majority vote would be pro EU this time (it was 52% — 48% to leave in 2016).

It feels unlikely that this would heal old wounds – more likely open them up and pour vinegar on them.

It will be interesting to see where the papers line-up and if any of them dare to flip.

The tabloids – Sun, Mail, Express – must surely stick to their guns but perhaps argue that the problem with Brexit is that politicians didn’t commit to it. They defied their own voters.

The FT, Guardian and Independent can say “we told you so” in a possibly irritating tone of voice.

The Times (Reluctant Remain) and the Sunday Times (Hard Leave) might be interesting to watch.

In terms of commentary from your clients, it would be good to read something genuinely new.

Comment that doesn’t start from a partisan point of view but tells us something we hadn’t heard before.

The five things that are good/about Brexit that no one has yet noticed.

A list of the most laughably wrong predictions would be funny, as long as we aren’t exaggerating.

The Vote Leave Boris bus that read: “We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead” has been widely mocked.

But it was just a slogan on a bus. Perhaps we can be smarter about it than that.

Please send candidates for press release of the day to:

Simon.english@roxhillmedia.com