The EU is the engine room for extremism
In the minds of many Remainers, those who want to leave the EU hate Europe and Europeans. The idea that one might love visiting Europe and like Europeans but nevertheless not want to be ruled by them is apparently incomprehensible. Britain is pulling up an existential drawbridge. The Brexiteers’ desire to open up the world is deemed a retreat into isolationism.
Behind all this lies a curious paradox. While Brexiteers believe they are about to reclaim their political identity, these Remainers feel that they are about to lose theirs.
To read my whole Times column (£) please click here.
