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Politics
Jun 25, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

Brexit Voters Unapologetic 10 Years On

AI Summary
Ten years after the Brexit referendum, many voters who supported leaving the EU remain unapologetic, citing sovereignty and control as key reasons. Despite economic concerns and unfulfilled promises, Brexit supporters argue that the UK has survived and even thrived in some areas.

The Enduring Case for Brexit

Despite polls showing that most Britons regret leaving the European Union, many others believe the case for quitting the bloc still holds. "The arguments for Brexit now are largely the same as they were then: sovereignty, democracy and taking back control," University of Cambridge professor and Brexit supporter Robert Tombs told Al Jazeera.

The Central Theme of Control

Control was a central theme of the "Leave" camp. Brexiters called for more control over migration to protect borders from foreign supranational powers, as well as wresting sovereignty back from the bloc – which they portrayed as an out-of-touch middle-class group of elites – and returning it to the people.

Troubled Union

From when the UK joined the European project in the 1970s through to its departure, the relationship has often been tense. There were numerous crisis points, such as the UK’s dominant Conservative Party’s fundamental divisions on the issue of its membership.

Taking Back Control

Many pro-Brexit Britons hoped their vote would see immigration decline. Nevertheless, despite the assurances offered at the time, immigration increased, ballooning in what right-wing critics called the ”Boriswave,” named after former premier and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson.

Missed Opportunities

While Brexit may have failed to ignite the UK economy, some of the “Remain” camp’s predictions have not come true, either. It had been forecast that the vote to leave would immediately tip the UK economy into recession, that it would trigger job losses on an unprecedented scale and see an exodus of talent from the UK’s critical financial services sector.

A Look to the Future

The point, for many of those Brexit campaigners 10 years on, is that the UK has survived in the face of those who predicted failure. Looking ahead, might other European countries have Brexit envy? "The main difference [between the UK and other EU states] is that we were given the vote," Tombs said, citing a recent television appearance by the current French President Emmanuel Macron, conceding that, were the French public to be given an opportunity to leave the EU, it was one they may well take.