Algemeen·NRC·23 jun

Britain is not yet ready to rejoin the EU

Ten years and six prime ministers after voting to quit the European Union, Britain has, to paraphrase Dean Acheson, lost a continent but not yet found a role. The referendum on June 23rd 2016, in which Britons voted for Brexit by 52% to 48%, has left them more divided, less influential and poorer than they would otherwise have been. The promise that Britain would „take back control” was a cruel joke. The country has been buffeted by global events. Brexiteers promised immigration would fall, but under Boris Johnson it soared.