Six highlights from Mark Francois’s memoirs

Certain dates will go down in the annals of Brexit: 23 June 2016, 12 December 2019 and 31 January 2021. To that pantheon can now be added 6 December 2021 – for today is the day that Mark Francois, a proud Brexiteer and longtime member of the European Research Group (ERG), released his memoirs titled ‘Spartan Victory: The inside story of the Battle for Brexit.’ 

Steerpike was among the first to get their hands on a copy, with the 464-page tome centring on Francois’s life and the events around the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Below are some of the highlights that caught the eye of Mr S, as he manfully relived those dark days of Meaningful Votes, Change UK, Olly Robbins and the Cooper-Boles amendment.

1. Francois’s meeting with Robbie Gibb

Few works thus far have had kind words to say about the unhappy administration of Theresa May. Francois’s book is no exception. Perhaps the best indication of how unequipped and ill-prepared her staff were is illustrated in one early 2019 encounter between the protagonist and the No.