It was Ken Clarke that popularised the term “the indifferent majority” … aka the vast swathe of people who couldn’t give a fcuk about politics. Farage has weaponised some of them into a loose cabal, united by swans, painting roundabouts, disinformation, shouting at hotels, attacking women and children, paedophilia and flagshagging. They are not the subject of this article however. Here I refer to the great swathe of Remainers / Rejoiners who know what they are against (Brexit and its offspring), but who are unwilling to do anything functional about it, apart from bleating about it on social media, which we all do, but is in effect it’s merely a form of therapy. It achieves very little apart from a release of angst into the ether. Worse still, the Brexiteers mostly love it, as it increases their sense of “winning”. Living as I do in Brexit Central, Reform types love nothing more than the “salty tears of Remoaners”. Nigel Farage benefits tremendously as Remoaners are, in effect, his unpaid marketing force as Reform fans are united by shared victimhood at Maslow’s sense of belonging level of his hierarachy:
Remoaners generally have no strategy. This, in part, is due to a leadership and strategy and collaboration tactics vacuum at the “top” of the movement. I have written about our structural deficit many times before and in the books. The Rejoin movement resembles Indonesia, 17000 islands, some uninhabited with a few big ones (European Brexit Movement, Best for Brexit Britain etc.), none of whom collaborate and all of whom have different ideas about the “destination and journey” (What, Why and How) of our quest. When asked about what to do about Rejoining the EU, they come up with many different objections, some of which are captured in this graphic. We’ll never achieve anything like this.
Paul Cawthorne sums up the poverty of the “incrementalist” approach rather well …
I have become tired of fighting this war on two fronts. I don’t mind dealing with Leave voters, but dealing with Remoaners who are acting to preserve the stasis sucks the very life out of me … am I beginning to sound like Liz Truss here? !! 🙂
One of my final actions before retirement was to speak about this at the recent North Herts for Europe event, where I also gave a synopsis of the Brexit RIP book. Find the masterclass below. The event was invaded by Reform UK types exposing themselves (literally), although I have removed the offensive material here.
If you like this, send copies of the book Brexit RIP to MPs and influencers. It’s far more effective than posting memes and shouting on social media to be frank. I await the hate mail and excuses from Remoaners … It’s the ideal Christmas gift for Brexiteers in remorse and Remainers in remission. QR codes are below for sharing with friends and connections. My Labour MP has a copy and is circulating it within the government, which is where we need to be if we are to be effective influencers.
