'Voters turn against Brexit as Boris Johnson's lies leave Britain undone'

Paul Routledge on the daily nightmare Brexit is becoming, and now that EU business is down sharply, what's next for the Tories - aka the Brexit Party?

Boris Johnson failed to get Brexit done. He just defeated Great Britain. Even many of those who voted Leave now realize that this was the nation's greatest self-inflicted wound (

Image: PA Archives/PA Images)

Boosted by a lullaby of lies from Johnson, the nation sleepwalked out of Europe.

After the dream comes the awakening of a nightmarish reality.

Brexit was a disaster.

The sunny highlands of prosperity promised by the Leavers never materialized. Business with the EU, our main trading partner, is down sharply. Controls are enabled.

Major global trade deals are a distant prospect. Boris Johnson failed to get Brexit done. He just defeated Great Britain. Even many of those who voted for leave now realize that it was the biggest self-inflicted wound in the country.

In a recent YouGov poll, 56% of voters thought it was a bad idea to quit, and only 32% still thought it was a good idea.

But what to do?

Rumours in Westminster that Rishi Sunak is planning a closer Swiss-style relationship with the EU have caused panic among hardline Tory MPs this week.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has spoken of 'unfettered' trade with Europe, raising fears that the UK will re-enter the single market - originally launched by Margaret Thatcher.

Downing Street had to rush to deny the government was considering such a thing.

"I voted for Brexit, I believe in Brexit and I know Brexit can work," Sunak told employers' organization the Confederation of British Industry.

The Conservatives are now, de facto, the party of Brexit.

And Labour, anxious for voters in its own Leave heartland, is rushing to jump on the bandwagon. Sir Keir Starmer talks gleefully about 'making Brexit work'.

It's a bit like Napoleon pretending that Waterloo was actually a good result for the French.

The battle for Europe is not over. In a sense, this is just the beginning.

Britain has yet to negotiate a new relationship with the 27 countries and their 450 million people who live closest to us and are the source of much of our prosperity.

Former Tory leader William Hague (the one with the brains) says time is running out for Brexiteers to see their plan through.

"At the end of the 2020s", he says, "ministerial reflections on Switzerland could be much more serious."

Ironically, Brexit was good for the EU. It brought the members together, once they realized the harm it had done to the UK.

If wacky, lying Boris Johnson, renegade opportunist Liz Truss, space cadet Jacob Rees-Mogg, and barmpot Nigel Farage are all in favor of something, how hard is it to fathom that's probably not a good idea?