It’s remarkable how quickly tribalism can capture people. Three years ago, only a small number of politicians and commentators advocated leaving the European Union. Reform it, yes; complain about it, always. But actually quit? That was a Ukip cause. But now a lot of people, having drunk the Brexit brew, are quite heady. It’s not just that they have been converted to the Brexit cause, it’s that they can’t see how anyone sensible could disagree with it – or them. They belong to a new tribe: the Brexiteers. And any problems in their project are immediately blamed on the others.
Listen to the arguments now. The Brexiteers are not to blame for an EU divorce bill many times their estimates — the Europeans are. The Brexiteers are not to blame for risking a hard border with Ireland or an economic border with Northern Ireland — the Irish are. The Brexiteers are not to blame for the miserable come-down from an artificial high — the Remainers are.
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