Image: Great Crested Newt, Natural England/Flickr.
There are two diametrically opposed Brexit narratives, in what is now widely described as a ‘cultural war’ dividing the nation. The first story presents Britain as exceptional and plucky, but currently under the yoke of the risk averse European Union matriarch. We Brits, with the help of the brotherly United States, can overthrow this oppressive other, reboot our economy and find our way to the sunlit uplands.
The second story is that of the great catastrophe. Britain had found a port in the storm with the European Union, and the single market and free movement represented an openness, a connectivity and solidarity which is now under threat. It is small minded businessmen, obsessed with non-existent “red tape”, privately driving this absurd and dangerous escapade.
