Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I'm fed up with everyone tiptoeing around Brexit having been rubbish

236 replies

paddleboardingmum · 18/05/2026 19:23

We can all see how it hasn't stopped immigration, we don't have the more money for the NHS that was promised, and everyone is worse off. I'm sure even many who voted for it - who were conned at the time- also can see it was rubbish. Isn't it time for people to stop pretending it was a good idea. That doesn't mean we need to rejoin right now or blame anybody, but I think it's time to just face facts and stop trying to pretend it was a good idea.

OP posts:
ThePM · 19/05/2026 07:40

deadpantrashcan · 19/05/2026 07:13

Great. Hope she’s happier now?

How could she be happier when she is driven by such ridiculous nihilism?

WildEnergySupplier · 19/05/2026 07:41

Thepeopleversuswork · 19/05/2026 07:40

So people who voted for it know it was a terrible idea and has fatally weakened our economy but they don’t regret it because it gave them an opportunity to stick two fingers up at the people who told them it was going to happen?

And its all OK and we can continue to stick our fingers in our ears and carry on as long as no one is being patronised? Jesus wept.

I agree OP. The fact we ate still indulging this denial is deeply disturbing. I don’t know what it says about us that we can’t acknowledge that we have fucked up.

Many say it hasn't weakened our economy because the EU's economy has been so poor.

They'll say stuff like the UK's growth has been double that of Germany's for the last decade:

https://x.com/statsjamie/status/2056459211421417574

Jamie Jenkins (@statsjamie) on X

🚨 Starmer says Brexit made Britain poorer. But the GDP data tells a more awkward story. Since the Brexit vote: UK real GDP: +12.1% Germany real GDP: +6.0% Britain is not booming. Nobody serious should pretend it is. But Europe’s supposed economic...

https://x.com/statsjamie/status/2056459211421417574

Corianda · 19/05/2026 07:43

I’m not sure the EU is great - they can’t decide anything as every member must agree - so Ukraine never got the millions of Russian money due until Orbam was voted out and they still have Russian gas.
is there a joined up rule on immigration- no
They Pharma etc companies are having to manufacture in the USA -which will change profits
havethey ever agreed on fishing
Our currency is backed by the Bank of England - the Euro is backed by no one.
i would suggest being wary
Plus it’s unlikely we would get as generous conditions as last time -we are poorer why would they be generous also we might have a very right wing PM
We need to fix the U.K., growth, immigration - THEN look at EU

38thparallel · 19/05/2026 07:44

They're all terrified of offending the small number of clowns who still think it was a good idea
@Firetreev

If the numbers are so small why are politicians terrified of offending them?

Surgeonsattheedgeoflife · 19/05/2026 07:46

You’re right, op. It’s like we voted to cut our own arms off and now it’s considered quite a bold stance to suggest that cutting our own arms off has failed to produce the expected benefits, rather than anyone saying the truth, which is that it is and always was an irrational act of self harm that could
only ever have led to a bad outcome.

Firetreev · 19/05/2026 07:48

38thparallel · 19/05/2026 07:44

They're all terrified of offending the small number of clowns who still think it was a good idea
@Firetreev

If the numbers are so small why are politicians terrified of offending them?

God only knows. Only around 30% of people still think that it was a good idea. 70% of the electorate realise that it has been a disaster in every way.

AImportantMermaid · 19/05/2026 07:48

You’re not wrong. It has been an utter shitshow. Absolutely wrecked the nation just so the billionaires could save a few quid - and getting the poorest to vote for it. What a scam.

Thepeopleversuswork · 19/05/2026 07:51

WildEnergySupplier · 19/05/2026 07:41

Many say it hasn't weakened our economy because the EU's economy has been so poor.

They'll say stuff like the UK's growth has been double that of Germany's for the last decade:

https://x.com/statsjamie/status/2056459211421417574

This guy is a Reform propagandist. I’ll take the opinion of the vast consensus of economists over his views.

TheGreatDownandOut · 19/05/2026 07:54

ThePM · 19/05/2026 07:04

No I’m sorry that’s absolute bollocks.

Voters have a duty to inform themselves of their decisions and to take responsibility for it. It’s a slippery slope from they can’t be trusted on the Brexit vote, so why would they be trusted with any vote at all.

People who voted for Brexit and who now regret it should be looking their own foolishness in the eye, not trying to shift the blame onto David Cameron/Nigel Farage/ anyone else.

The anti-intellectualism behind that comment is staggering.
Brexit is a folly built on Hubris, and every disappointed voter needs to understand why they personally were willingly blind and deaf to the downsides which they were told about.

In an ideal world I would completely agree with you.
In fact, when the referendum was first announced I was certain I was going to vote leave. But did a ton of research, watched a lot of debates, asked other people their opinions, weighed it all up and ended up voting remain.
The problem is, we don’t live in an ideal world. People often don’t make the effort to inform themselves. That’s all very well and good in a GE where nothing is permanent, but not for something like Brexit.

RosieHosie · 19/05/2026 07:54

Firetreev · 19/05/2026 07:48

God only knows. Only around 30% of people still think that it was a good idea. 70% of the electorate realise that it has been a disaster in every way.

30% of people is still a lot of people

WildEnergySupplier · 19/05/2026 07:57

Thepeopleversuswork · 19/05/2026 07:51

This guy is a Reform propagandist. I’ll take the opinion of the vast consensus of economists over his views.

I'm just telling you what people who support Brexit say.

I did ask AI if those numbers are correct and it said yes.

ChocolateApples · 19/05/2026 07:58

AmberSpy · 18/05/2026 19:30

I wish there was some way to hold the politicians who shamelessly pushed it to advance their careers to account (Gove, Johnson, Patel etc). It was utterly clear that Johnson didn't actually support it or expect it to happen, it was just his way of ousting Cameron. Utterly cretinous behaviour which we're all paying the price for.

And instead people are voting for Farage in large numbers.

MrsShawnHatosy · 19/05/2026 08:07

TheGreatDownandOut · 18/05/2026 19:34

I blame Cameron. Why put such an important decision to a public vote when people can be so easily manipulated.

To shut up the anti EUers in his party. He took it for granted that a majority of the public would vote to remain, so he didn’t put the case for doing so passionately enough. Corbyn was also a disgrace, I blame him for Brexit as much as Johnson and Farage.

Lurkingandlearning · 19/05/2026 08:13

Genuine question. How is it worked out whether brexit is the cause of where we are now , or whether Covid is? Can they be separated?

measuretwicecutonce · 19/05/2026 08:14

The biggest mistake was the Cameron government not putting normal processes and procedures in place for such an important decision. The referendum should never have been which option got most votes, it should have been a minimum of 70% in order for leave to be triggered. A business would never make a decision based on a couple of percentage points, too many other factors at play.

The problem is that whilst there have obviously been many negatives some of it is distorted due to Covid etc. The immigration issue is largely down to Boris who let lots in as low paid carers plus the student visa issue.

measuretwicecutonce · 19/05/2026 08:15

BTW having a higher % required for it to pass means there is built in safeguards for those not informing themselves adequately of the implications.

Swiftie1878 · 19/05/2026 08:18

paddleboardingmum · 18/05/2026 19:41

I'm saying people (politicians, people on TV and so on) won't talk about how damaging it was @ToKittyornottoKitty I'm not saying nobody has discussed it for years am I, that would be silly. I'm saying people are not being straightforward enough about how badly it turned out.

It’s frankly impossible to say how much it has impacted where we are now. The waters are completely muddied by a global health crisis (Covid), the Russia/Ukraine war and now the war in Iran.

Our economy grew more than the rest of the G7 in the last quarter.
The immigration we are seeing now has nothing to do with Brexit (which did reduce immigration from within the EU).
We ARE saving a fortune in membership fees - where that money has been otherwise spent is another matter, and nothing to do with the fact of Brexit.

Like it or loathe it, Brexit did offer opportunities that weren’t open to us as members of the EU. Sadly, these haven’t been exploited properly because our governments since have been piss poor and the Brexit deal with the intransigent EU was a bad one.
The EU leaders have now 1) changed and 2) calmed down about Brexit, so it is likely that we can now forge closer ties with the EU without needing to be a member. There are incentives for both sides, especially now in the Trump era of world politics and vulnerability of NATO.

Notonthestairs · 19/05/2026 08:27

It’s not impossible to assess how Brexit has impacted our economy.

The NBER has completed a comprehensive & independent analysis.

Key economic assessments from NBER include:

  • GDP: Reduced GDP per capita by 6% to 8%.
  • Business Investment: Dropped significantly by 12% to 18%.
  • Employment: Decreased by 3% to 4%.
  • Productivity: Reduced by 3% to 4%
I'm fed up with everyone tiptoeing around Brexit having been rubbish
acheekyNandys · 19/05/2026 08:34

I don't believe most people voted for Brexit to stop immigration or get more money for the NHS. I think they did it based on principles such as Sovereignty. The people I spoke to said they would accept the country becoming worse in many ways because of the principle behind it. Then, you had people who voted for Brexit based on specific EU laws they disagreed with, like fishing quotas or the shape of bananas. Of the people I know who voted Brexit, the ones who voted on principle are still happy with the choice and accept a poorer Britain on the whole, although feel it has been mismanaged. But the people that voted on the basis of specific EU laws regret it, realising that they may have been victim of simplified or poor information. This is not an evidence based study of course, just my experience with friends.

AImportantMermaid · 19/05/2026 08:46

acheekyNandys · 19/05/2026 08:34

I don't believe most people voted for Brexit to stop immigration or get more money for the NHS. I think they did it based on principles such as Sovereignty. The people I spoke to said they would accept the country becoming worse in many ways because of the principle behind it. Then, you had people who voted for Brexit based on specific EU laws they disagreed with, like fishing quotas or the shape of bananas. Of the people I know who voted Brexit, the ones who voted on principle are still happy with the choice and accept a poorer Britain on the whole, although feel it has been mismanaged. But the people that voted on the basis of specific EU laws regret it, realising that they may have been victim of simplified or poor information. This is not an evidence based study of course, just my experience with friends.

Well they’ve successfully made themselves poorer, that’s for sure. They must be revelling in all the sovereignty. It’s disengenuous to suggest that it wasn’t largely about immigration- both Farage and Johnson leaned heavily into fearmongering during their campaigns of lies. Four members of my family voted for Brexit and almost immediately after my mother was upset to find she’d been lied to. I did tell her over and over and then just reply that I was scaremongering. All 4 of my family would vote to remain if it was rerun now. Again, not an evidence based study - just my experience with family.

Credittocress · 19/05/2026 08:54

Slightyamusedandsilly · 19/05/2026 06:43

That is an interesting point of view. I don't agree but I am very open to hearing how it could have been implemented better. What are your thoughts on how it could have succeeded and been administered well?

Not my thoughts, but if you speak to people on the brexit side that is often the answer you get rather than buyers remorse. I was attempting to explain why the premise in the OP was wrong that everyone now knows it was a bad idea.

A common argument is that the negotiations and implementation were carried out largely by people who fundamentally disagreed with Brexit, or at the very least saw it as damage limitation rather than an opportunity. So from that perspective, they’d say there was never much appetite within the civil service or political establishment to approach it positively or make the most of it.

A lot of people who still support Brexit would argue that what was promised was never really implemented in the way they expected. They point to things like Theresa May immediately committing to the two year Article 50 deadline, which meant the pressure was always on the UK to reach a deal quickly while the EU could simply wait us out. They argue that weakened the UK negotiating position from the start.

You also hear people say there was a completely disproportionate focus on things like fishing rights because they were politically symbolic, while bigger structural issues around trade and regulation were never dealt with particularly well. Likewise the Irish border became such a political and diplomatic minefield that it dominated everything else and boxed negotiators into compromises many Leave voters never wanted in the first place.

You can disagree with that analysis obviously, but it is genuinely what a lot of Leave voters still think. Many of them do not see Brexit itself as the failure, they see the failure as years of political infighting, weak negotiation strategy, and the government trying to satisfy the remain side rather than committing to the leave mandate they were instructed to.

Jk987 · 19/05/2026 09:04

Since when was the purpose of Brexit to stop immigration? (Since the tabloids tried to pitch it like that maybe? )It impacts Europe only for a start!

Jk987 · 19/05/2026 09:06

Notonthestairs · 19/05/2026 08:27

It’s not impossible to assess how Brexit has impacted our economy.

The NBER has completed a comprehensive & independent analysis.

Key economic assessments from NBER include:

  • GDP: Reduced GDP per capita by 6% to 8%.
  • Business Investment: Dropped significantly by 12% to 18%.
  • Employment: Decreased by 3% to 4%.
  • Productivity: Reduced by 3% to 4%

I think Covid and a global economic downturn had something to do with this…

BadPennyReturns · 19/05/2026 09:07

So if we rejoin we will all be richer?

HappiestSleeping · 19/05/2026 09:14

1dayatatime · 18/05/2026 21:28

@paddleboardingmum

Well aside from inconveniences such as passport control for holidays, the main consequence is that has impacted GDP and made the country poorer, which is a fairly significant consequence.

Of course many leave voters will blame this on being the wrong flavour of Brexit but the fact remains that it has made everyone poorer.

I also agree with your comment that we are where we are, so there is not much benefit in pointing out that it was a bad idea, as you will only piss some people off for what? Just to say I was right and you were wrong? So it becomes a "let's not talk about it ".

In this respect I think it is very similar to Covid, where rational people will view the response and lockdowns as an hysterical collective madness, which long term probably killed more people than died from COVID and for which we are still paying the economic consequences of today (increased debt, lower productivity, inefficient practices, WFH etc etc). Again with COVID no one really wants to admit that they bought into the collective madness, so it becomes another "let's not talk about it " topic.

Of course many leave voters will blame this on being the wrong flavour of Brexit

This is a critical point. Everyone who voted to leave got exactly what they voted for as the referendum was a binary in / out vote. There was no sub menu of "this is what I want from Brexshit". So for them to moan about it not being the Brexshit they thought they were voting for is a non argument, they voted out and they got out. There were a million permutations of leave, and only one permutation of remain.

Swipe left for the next trending thread