Some were surprised when history lecturer and Brexit party candidate Kevin Yuill revealed that there were plenty of secret Brexit supporters in British universities. As another out-and-proud academic Brexiteer, I am happy to report that I too have come across my own fair share of pro-Brexit colleagues. But we should not underestimate the isolation that many of those Leave supporters feel within the world of higher education.
One consequence of being open about my views is that it has led to people of all political persuasions contacting me, often out of the blue, keen to discuss Brexit. Some are critical. Others are just intrigued to know why I hold the views I do.
Worryingly, I’ve also had a significant number of academics who support Brexit contact me to share their tales of woe at UK universities.
In one of the more demoralising cases, an academic working at a Russell Group institution was removed from his university Brexit planning group on the grounds that he ‘had too positive a view of the post-Brexit economy’.
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