A salute to you, the great British reader
JUST over 10 years ago the Daily Express became the first national newspaper to argue that the UK should leave the European Union.
On November 25, 2010 we declared that: “From this day forth our energies will be directed to furthering the cause of those who believe Britain is Better Off Out.”
We set about campaigning vigorously, reporting every day on the indignities Brussels was foisting on Britain and bringing out a special edition in January 2011 packed with arguments for the UK restoring national sovereignty by leaving the EU.
Hundreds of thousands of you filled in paper campaign coupons, which we delivered to Downing Street in 2011. A year later hundreds of thousands more signed our online Brexit petition.
Campaigning
We made our call as Britons were disgracefully denied a referendum they had been promised on whether to accept the Lisbon Treaty that gave the EU a “legal personality” – pretty much equivalent to its own constitution.
And though the Westminster establishment initially resisted our goal – which seemed unthinkable to most MPs – by the end of 2011, more than 100 Tories defied David Cameron by voting in favour of a motion calling for a referendum.
As we kept up the pressure, support for UKIP began to grow, piling pressure on Cameron’s Conservatives to offer an in- out referendum.
He finally buckled at the start of 2013, pledging that if there was a Tory majority at the 2015 general election, a referendum would follow within two years.
Fate delivered just such a Tory majority, albeit a slender one. Suddenly there was no excuse for denying the public a choice they had been denied for 40 years.
A year later, on June 23, 2016 the people’s verdict was delivered. By a margin of victory of 1.3 million votes, the public decided to leave.
That it has taken until now to near the end of interminable Westminster plotting to thwart Brexit and then a “transition period” during which we have continued to observe all EU rules and regulations is a damning indictment of the British political class.
We will, of course, be scanning the fine print of the deal between the UK and the EU on your behalf. Starting 2021 with a deal with Brussels that respects our sovereignty and protects trading routes is in principle a good thing.
But only if the core mission of Brexit – to take back control of our laws, borders, maritime territories and money – is respected.
It has been our privilege to fight for you – our magnificent army of readers. In the intervening years others have joined the campaign we kickstarted and we have welcomed each and every one.
But we know – and you know – that without your unshakeable belief in this great country of ours and the support you gave in those difficult early years our journey back to becoming an independent, self- governing country could never have been completed.