Was it a case of fate or a helpful tip off from No 10 that meant Brexit Central‘s Brexit party fell on the same day Theresa May announced the date she would trigger Article 50? Either way, it made for a joyful atmosphere as the likes of Vote Leave’s Matthew Elliot, Nigel Evans and James Cleverly gathered in the Barley Mow to celebrate the UK’s impending departure from the EU.
Leading the celebrations was arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who used his speech to rebuff suggestions that Leave supporters lack answers; ‘we know the road — and it’s a good road, it’s a high road. It’s a high road that we built before — and now we are re-tarmacing’:
‘Leaving the European Union is a rebirth for our nation. We have been hearing in the last few days from people who say all we do is throw mud, and have no responses to their clever intellectual mud… arguments. But we have. We’ve got the key essential argument and that is the nation you build on a democratic basis is a strong and prosperous nation. It all comes down to democracy: can your vote change the law?
Today we hear that Parliament is going to be overwhelmed with laws. That we’re going to have to pass through 10, 15 statutes… two years of solid legislation. That just shows how much we have handed over to Brussels in the first place. The more we have to put in shows the greatness of the democratic deficit. But it is from that democracy that we create our economic prosperity.
There are those who say we don’t know where we’re going. Yes we do. We know the route, we know the road — and it’s a good road, it’s a high road. It’s a high road that we built before — and now we are re-tarmacing.’
The Conservative MP finished with a special thanks to those Leave activists who had dared to campaign in the Remain heartland of Islington:
‘It is you who gave your fellow countrymen that chance by some people campaigning — heroes of Brexit — in Islington. Now that deserves a round of applause. When I was canvassing in Somerset it was a joy, but in Islington!’
However, given that Islington voted 76,420 votes to 25,180 in favour of remaining in the EU, Mr S suspects there is still some work to do winning over the residents of North London.
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