The thing is, it was never that big of a deal for most people, ever. It was the obsession of a minority within and surrounding the Conservative party (yes there were Lexiteers as well but you could barely fill Molineux with all of them), and it very rarely polled as a major issue of concern for the public as a whole. Even at the height of UKIP, 2013-2016, the referendum was called by Cameron because he wanted to kill off the Eurosceptic right by winning a mandate for membership of the EU for at least another couple of generations.
It was only once the referendum campaigning started that it rose up as an issue of concern, and unsurprisingly once it was finally "done" it also fell rapidly. Much like immigration, it's an issue where media coverage tends to generate the concern rather than the actual facts on the ground. It's hard to remember now, but during the height of the Brexit Wars - 2016-2019 - there was this widespread sense of a deadening fatigue at being forced to give a shit about our relationship with the EU. I doubt many people are going to want to reopen that can of worms with a referendum, but if a major party (sorry, Lib Dems) actually committed to re-entry - or even just a more thorough alignment a la Switzerland or Norway - then I think most people would be broadly fine with it. I don't think it would at all save the Labour party and/or the country, as FBPE obsessives bang on about, but I think the rupture in the Red Wall with Labour is terminal regardless, and they can either accept that and try to win a new argument, or continue this pathetic simpering Farageist cosplay routine.
Last edited:
