June 21, 2026
The British Are Cursed By Their Exaggerated Self-Importance
On June 24th 2016, following the narrow triumph of the Brexiters in the British national referendum on membership of the European Union, their standard-bearer Nigel Farage proclaimed “Independence Day… A victory for normal people.” Boris Johnson became prime minister in 2019 with the slogan “Get Brexit Done!” And so he did. A decade on from […]
On June 24th 2016, following the narrow triumph of the Brexiters in the British national referendum on membership of the European Union, their standard-bearer Nigel Farage proclaimed “Independence Day… A victory for normal people.” Boris Johnson became prime minister in 2019 with the slogan “Get Brexit Done!”
And so he did. A decade on from the vote, Britain is enjoying freedom as defined by the Brexiters, having cast off the bonds of EU membership. Yet liberty has come at a cost, a heavy one. It feels pretty lonely out here.…Read more by Max Hastings