The faces of Brexit

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson was already a beloved figure in the UK as the former London Mayor, so analysts predicted that his choice would be of great use for any side of the conflict. In February 2016, he took a so-called political gamble by waiting to announce his political stance in the conflict. Eventually, he wrote a column in the conservative newspaper The Telegraph endorsing the Leave campaign and Brexit. And as I said previously, many now and then after the conflict was over and the UK departed from the EU many political analysts suggest that without the help from Boris Johnson the outcome would have been totally different. Many say that his decision to participate in the Leave campaign is what made Brexit so “Mainstream”.

“Get Brexit Done” is the mantra that got Boris Johnson the win in the general elections in 2019 and not only that, he got a 80-seat majority helping him put an end to the parliamentary deadlock back then. The mantra was so simple that it resonated with the public exhaustion from the legal complications the UK was facing with the negotiations for withdrawal from the EU helping Brexit and Boris Johnson to solidify their position in the UK parliament and political system.

One of his most vital renegotiating deals with the EU is the removal of the “Irish Backstop’’ from the original treaty. He stated that it was a national humiliation as it would have kept the UK tied to the EU and its rules indefinitely. He opted for the “Northern Ireland Protocol’’ which moved the trade border to the Irish Sea, which allowed the rest of the UK to legally depart from the EU.
The Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was the largest bilateral trade deal in the 
world, finalised on Christmas Eve 2020 by Boris Johnson. He portrayed it as a major victory for the Brits and for their sovereignty, claiming that the UK had taken back control of the UK’s law, borders, money and fish. Despite the so-called victory the TCA left a significant amount of new paperwork and barriers for British businesses.

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Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage or commonly known in the political world as the “Godfather of Brexit” was the leader of the UK’s Independence Party. His rapid rise in popularity in the early 2010s was a threat to the Conservative Party by potentially “stealing” millions of their voters. This particular political pressure was what eventually forced the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, who was against the UK’s departure from the EU to request a referendum which he ultimately lost in 2016.

Nigel Farage decided to not be involved in Boris Johnson’s campaign for the departure of the UK from the EU, instead he decided to start his own political campaign, "Leave.EU" that solely focused on immigration and preservation of the national identity rather than economics and politics which was the focus of the official campaign Vote Leave. With Leave.EU Farage succeeded in establishing a connection with the working class that during that time felt ignored by the UK’s main political parties.

One of the most controversial moments in the whole  Brexit situation including Farage was the "Breaking Point"  poster. Because of the poster that showed long lines of migrants Nigel Farage was accused of xenophobia and while it was not only from critics but also from fellow Brexiteers, Farage argued back stating that it was a humanitarian warning about the pressure on UK’s public services like school and NHS.

The official Brexit party which is now called Reform UK was created by Farage during the 2019 General election. That way he ensured that Johnson followed his promises and by withdrawing his candidates from 317 seats Farage successfully helped the Leave campaign and Boris Johnson to get a majority and finally pass the Brexit laws that eventually helped the UK depart from the EU.

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​Michael Gove

While others opted for catchy mantras, posters and slogans Gove decided to follow the more intellectual route by writing long essays or explanations to those problems, perhaps to reach the upper class as they would be hardly provoked by those catchy posters by Farage or Johnson. His most viral and most recognisable essay is his 1500 word essay declaring his stance on the issue ("Why I am voting Leave" essay by Michael Gove). He firmly believed that the UK would be more free, fair and better off without the EU and its institutions.
One of his most famous sayings is the “People in this country have had enough of experts” and that was said at the time when a lot of economic experts suggested that the UK’s departure would be a major disaster and the UK would face a major blow in their economy. With his saying Gove advocated for relying on common sense rather than the famous global institutions.
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One thing I failed to mention earlier was that Gove was more of a behind the scenes player just like Dominic Cummings they were both the intellectual powerhouse that Brexit needed to convince the UK that the EU was pulling Britain back and that they should depart immediately. Gove was the so-called bridge between the radical campaign ideas and the traditional ones of the Conservative Party.

Despite this role he played another one as the leader of “Operation Yellowhammer”. In case that there were no trade deals made with the EU after the UK’s departure he would be responsible for making sure that the UK and its citizens would not be left without food or medicine during the transition period. Fortunately for him and the Leave campaign a deal was made, the TCA the first deal made with the EU where there would be no tariffs on 100% goods, but despite the no tariffs companies were left with enormous piles of paperwork.
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Dominig Cummings

Much like Gove, Cummings plays a rather behind the scenes role and a major part in the intellectual powerhouse behind Brexit. While Gove’s approach was more sophisticated with longer explanations Cummings used three words, three words that triggered a psychological effect called loss aversion. You see, he created the slogan “Take Back Control” that way he made sure that people would think they lost something in the first place so they need to take it back and in this case it is the UK’s sovereignty and the slogan suggests that the EU stole it. With this slogan voters started to feel as if they were reclaiming their national sovereignty.  

Cummings was not a believer of the idea that TV and newspaper advertising is effective enough, so instead he opted for Facebook ads, so many ads that he spent 98% of the campaign’s advertising budget on digital advertising. This way he reached people who didn’t usually vote but were persuadable on specific issues, that way he used micro-targeting to pursue a great number of voters.

One of his wildest and most controversial claims was that the UK weekly spent 350 million British pounds to the EU, which could be used for the NHS instead. The thing that made this claim so popular was the fact that he put it on a giant red bus. Many proved the inaccuracy of his ‘absurd’ claim, but he never backed down and continued to use it so that there was focus on the high cost of an EU membership.

Unlike Gove, Cummings was quite radical in his claims. He often addressed civil servants and teachers as ‘The Blob’ as he believed they slowed everything down and he once addressed the pro-EU MPs as ‘useful idiots’. That way he causes disturbance in the British governing system so that Brexit can be viewed as a way to hack a failing political structure.
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After the win in the referendum, he became Boris Johnson’s top adviser at the iconic 10 Downing Street, where he made sure that the government followed the desired Hard Brexit path. Many journalists marked his time there as ‘The battle at 10 Downing Street’. That way Cummings established himself as the enforcer of Brexit. He parted ways with Brexit in 2020, but not before he helped secure the massive election victory that finalised the UK’s departure from the EU.

​David Cameron

Everything began with David Cameron as he took a political gamble and decided to call the referendum as he firmly believed that the UK should become and established leader in the EU and the predicted by him victory in the referendum would unite his party but due to his lack of connection with the public and the lack of interest that was paid to his campaign ‘Establishment’ that was also called Project Fear ultimately led to his fall. He lost the referendum which led to his resignation that paved the way for Brexit, Johnson and Cummings and their more radical leadership at 10 Downing Street.

Everything began with David Cameron as he took a political gamble and decided to call the referendum as he firmly believed that a victory at the referendum would not only solidify UK’s position in the EU and would also unite the party and nation. Unfortunately for him, his campaign ‘Remain’ also commonly known as ‘Project Fear’ failed to resonate with the public which resulted in a close loss over the ‘Leave’ campaign by a few percent. The devastating loss resulted in his resignation as Prime Minister and that way he paved the way for the more radical leadership of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings in 10 Downing Street.

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