Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

The joy of the People’s Vote meltdown

Anyone else enjoying the falling apart of the People’s Vote campaign? It’s one of the funniest news stories I’ve read in months. It’s like a soap opera. EastEnders with posh people.

And I’m not only chortling over it because I’m a Brexiteer who’s loving the Schadenfreude of seeing the kind of people who don’t respect my vote descend into bitching, backstabbing and Twitter turf wars.

No, even more mirthful than that is the issue around which PV is pulling itself apart: the question of whether it should present itself as an openly pro-Remain group or as a neutral outfit that just wants another EU vote because it really, really likes democracy.

I’m cracking up. Guys, I hate to break it to you, especially when your organisation is in meltdown, but everyone in the country knows you’re pro-Remain.

Did you really think there were people out there thinking to themselves, ‘Oh look, a nice group of middle-class people want to make sure we’re all certain about Brexit by giving us another vote, how lovely’? If you did, then you’re even more out of touch with normal people than I thought you were.

Yes, this is the story of the transformation of People’s Vote into the People’s Front of Judea, as Robert Peston describes it.

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