One of the most divisive things to happen in the UK in the last decade – something that will go down in history as the best or the worst big decision made by the UK (depending on which side you are on) is Brexit.
With many public figures and politicians taking a side and arguing their point vehemently, the decision to leave the EU was huge news, and changed the way that the UK would go forward, breaking apart from Europe and going it alone.
The weeks in the lead up to Britain were unusual and often fraught – with bizarre scenes such as Bob Geldof chasing Nigel Farage on a boat down the Thames, to the now infamous Brexit bus, touring the country offering the princely sum of 350 million pounds to go to funding the National Health Service.
This frenzy of activity and high feelings and strong opinions boiled over when the MP Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was killed by an ardent Brexit supporter, shocking a nation that was seemingly in the grip of a civil war.
As the day of the referendum arrived, the stock markets at least seemed confident that the result would swing in favour of remain – however, by a small margin, it was in fact leave that took the highest share of the votes, starting a series of events that saw Britain start making plans to leave the EU.
The former advisor to Tony Blair, and mental health campaigner, Alastair Campbell, is someone who was passionately against the decision – the Editor for the New European https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/contributor/alastair-campbell/ he has made no secret of the fact that he believes Brexit to be the worst decision made in his lifetime by the UK.
In June 2023, we will be seven years on from that deciding day, and with both remain and leave sides still divided, it looks like it is still something that stirs up some strong feelings.