The reactionary revolt against Brexit

Today Theresa May finally told EU technocrats that our patience is running out. The EU will have to respect the referendum decision to take control of our borders, laws and money.

A couple of days earlier, no doubt in an attempt to undermine the prime minister, groups that intend to reverse the referendum result had redoubled their efforts. A new organisation called Global Future used the ploy of claiming that the real divide in British politics is no longer between the left and the right but between ‘open versus closed’. It turns out that the three main tests of ‘openness’ are support for uncontrolled immigration, enthusiasm for multiculturalism, and a preference for internationalism over nationalism.

Deploying the contrast between ‘open and closed’ allows them to imply that they are open-minded and their opponents closed-minded. They go on subtly to blend open minds with open borders to give the impression that anyone who wants to control immigration or to pursue our national economic interests has a closed mind.