James Kirkup James Kirkup

Remainers must stop sneering at Brexit stamps and blue passports

First blue passports. Now Brexit stamps. For some, these belong in the same file as the Royal Yacht Britannia and Big Ben’s bongs. See also: filament lightbulbs and fruit and veg sold in pounds and ounces.

For some (repeat: some) Remain-voting politicians and observers, this stuff is ridiculous, old-fashioned nonsense, an attempt to drag Britain back to some imagined 1950s idyll and proof to their suspicions that Leavers are old, weird and stupid. Just in case you need an illustration of this, dip into online ‘debate’ about the Sun’s Brexit stamps campaign.

Now, I should declare an interest: I voted Remain and still can’t see any of the possible outcomes of Brexit that is better than those that faced us if we’d stayed. But that doesn’t mean I think Brexit can or must be stopped.

Indeed, while I worry that Brexit will do economic harm, I also worry that stopping it could do greater social and political harm. The backlash, the anger, the grievance from Leavers denied their prize would be dreadful and escalate our nascent culture wars to a level that would raise real questions about whether Britain was a single and governable polity.

Instead of stopping Brexit, I think Remainers would be better putting their energy into building a consensus for something that looks like Norway and the EEA. This is, after all, what the majority of MPs would prefer to come from Brexit, and quite likely the majority of voters. (NB: some Leavers are quite keen on EEA-type outcomes. Smart Remainers would be making common cause with them right now.)

There are lots of components to that consensus, which I’ll write about at another time. (Hint: immigration is at the top of the list.) For now, the cultural stuff, the symbols: stamps and passports, and why Remainers are wrong to sneer.

Start with a basic rule of politics.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in