Blaming the messengers on Brexit

The Scotsman

Brexit is proving such a catastrophe that its supporters are now on the hunt for scapegoats, said Euan McColm. The British government has made no progress on an exit deal with the European Union—whose negotiating stance can best be described as “F--- you”—but rather than blame themselves for getting us into this mess, the Brexiteers have decided to blame Britain’s press and universities for being insufficiently cheerful about the U.K.’s solo prospects. Andrea Leadsom, that “absolute clot” who is leader of the House of Commons, is demanding that the BBC abandon its quest for truth and instead be “more patriotic” when covering Brexit negotiations. Another lawmaker with

the ruling Conservative Party, Chris Heaton-Harris, has demanded a list of professors who are teaching about Brexit, presumably to “wheedle out those” who support remaining in the EU. He is apparently inspired by the right-wing tabloid Daily Mail’s allegations that university faculties are hotbeds of Remainers, and that students fear they will be flunked if they dare to write papers supporting Britain’s departure from the EU. Of course, it’s probably true that most professors oppose Brexit. But if Brexiteers weren’t such “monomaniacal zealots,” they might engage with critical thinkers and view the “examination and analysis of facts as positive things rather than acts of treachery.”