David Frost, an unelected member of the House of Lords, told the audience people had voted for Brexit because they no longer wanted to be governed by unelected politicians. This statement, made at the Freedom Association's Brexit Unleashed conference in Westminster, was largely untroubled by reality.
The Gathering of Believers
It has been nearly a decade since the Brexit referendum, and the main architects seem to have gone quiet. Boris Johnson has retreated into his own world, rejected by the real one. Nigel Farage is happy to talk about almost anything but Brexit. Yet, there are still a few believers—at least 120 of them. These men and women of the Freedom Association gathered in Westminster for their conference, a mix of weirdos, misfits, and losers. Mostly elderly desperados, they cling to the certainty they were right all along, untroubled by evidence to the contrary.
Opening Remarks
The proceedings were opened by David Campbell Bannerman, former MEP and lifelong Brexiter. He praised the UK for having the integrity to leave the EU, despite knowing there would be some pain and cost. This contradicted the Leave campaign's promises of no downside. Two minutes in, the first Brexit betrayal theme emerged, repeated every two minutes for the next six hours. Brexit had been undermined by a political class that never believed in it. 'Brexit has not failed,' said Campbell Bannerman. It was not a catastrophic failure; it was a failure that had been a catastrophe.
Lord Frost's Address
Next up was Lord Frost, the Brexit negotiator who admitted the deal he negotiated had been shit. He wanted everyone to remember that the Brexit deal was the best ever done. 'We need to revive the excitement of the day after the referendum,' he said. Frosty moved on to the Great Betrayal, claiming Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting, and Andy Burnham were minutes away from getting the UK to rejoin the EU. This was deranged, as the idea that the most unpopular prime minister in history had brainwashed the whole country is absurd. People had voted for Brexit because they no longer wanted to be governed by unelected politicians—a record level of delusion, as Frosty himself is an unelected member of the House of Lords.
More Speakers
A hereditary peer complained about being silenced in the Lords, highlighting that accountability is only for the little people. Then came David Jones, former Tory minister turned Reform shill, whose speech put the hall into a coma. Claire Fox, another unelected member of the Lords, declared it the best Brexit speech she had ever heard. Finally, John Redwood, also in the Lords, declared that all economists were wrong. Brexit had been a net benefit, and if we encouraged people to buy diesel cars, we would be even richer. 'Throw off the shackles, Britain can be great again,' he trilled. Redwood's comments made one wonder why we ever left the EU.
