Brexiters have little evidence of the positive implications of the deal we were fervently promised. Despite Johnson's promise that Brexit would not affect the intake of EU international students coming to UK universities, official data shows a more than 50 percent drop in new EU students after Brexit.
Similarly, new Brexit red tape is damaging small businesses, and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has increased border bureaucracy. Disillusionment over failures to “stop the boats” and general malaise for the economy have worsened matters.
Brexit has not been the success promised. But what is so maddening about Brexit, is our refusal to even talk about it! Five years on from leaving the 27-country union, we can barely bring ourselves to mention the B-word.
Arguably, the Conservative Party is in denial about the deal. They wish to sweep it under the carpet and move on to other issues. Notice how a focus on immigration or, even promises to leave the European Court of Human Rights is more attractive than talking about Brexit – so stale and too difficult to approach.
The 2024 General Election was void of any serious conversation about our status and relationship with the EU. Labour speaks about resetting our relationship, by building a “closer, better” connection. Yet it fails to talk about the big issues with Johnson’s “botched deal” and offer substantive plans of what it will do to patch up the mess.
Brexit’s political salience has faded, as our attention moves to new issues, different news stories and easier subjects. By not talking about Brexit, our politics lacks serious conversation about the state of our country and its place in the world.