How Britain lost control (opens in new tab)

The Brexit referendum campaign of 2016 was a dialog of the deaf, fought by the rival campaigns on different agendas. For Remainers, the issue was the economy. For Leavers, it was sovereignty, exemplified by the electric issue of immigration. Idealism about Europe was largely absent from the Remainers’ agenda, whereas idealism about Britishness was strong among Leavers. We should not have been surprised. Perhaps the most important question that a society can ask about itself is “Who are we?” T...