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'Conspiracy of silence': Why Brexit has been largely absent from UK election campaign
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240629-conspiracy-of-silence-why-brexit-has-been-largely-absent-from-uk-election-campaign'Conspiracy of silence': Why Brexit has been largely absent from UK election campaign
With less than a week to go before the UK's general election, the opposition Labour Party appears on course for a resounding victory. But unlike with the last election in 2019, one word has been almost absent from the campaign trail: Brexit. Why has there been so little discussion of the impact of the country leaving the EU, despite it being one of the main legacies of the outgoing Conservatives' time in office.
Issued on: 29/06/2024 - 06:37 7 min
By: Caroline CLARKSON
On the evening of May 22, a few hours after a rain-soaked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4, the pro-European Conservative grandee Michael Heseltine predicted how the campaign would play out. "We're facing the most dishonest election campaign of modern times. Because both major parties have got one obsession, and that is to keep the real debate out of the subject of Brexit," the 91-year-old former deputy prime minister told Sky News. He added: "You can't have a discussion about the country's economy, or its defence, or immigration, or the environment and not discuss Brexit. We have cut ourselves off from our principal market, our most important partners. And that is the underlying crisis that faces this country."
Conservatives 'don’t really have anything to crow about'
Heseltine has been largely proved right. Eight years after the referendum in which Britons narrowly voted to leave the EU, Brexit has emerged as the elephant in the room during the current election campaign. Unless pressed by journalists, the two major parties have made almost no mention of the issue. The word "Brexit" features only 12 times in the Conservative Party's 76-page manifesto and just once in Labour's 131-page programme. During the Conservatives' manifesto launch, Sunak referenced "our Brexit freedoms" only once while Labour leader Keir Starmer did not mention Brexit at all when unveiling his party's policy
document.
For Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London and author of, "The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation", the near-silence on the part of the Conservatives stems from the way Brexit has turned out. "They don't really have anything to crow about in terms of achievements or benefits, particularly with regard to the one that featured so heavily in the Brexit referendum, and that is control of our borders," he said.
[...]
With less than a week to go before the UK's general election, the opposition Labour Party appears on course for a resounding victory. But unlike with the last election in 2019, one word has been almost absent from the campaign trail: Brexit. Why has there been so little discussion of the impact of the country leaving the EU, despite it being one of the main legacies of the outgoing Conservatives' time in office.
Issued on: 29/06/2024 - 06:37 7 min
By: Caroline CLARKSON
On the evening of May 22, a few hours after a rain-soaked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4, the pro-European Conservative grandee Michael Heseltine predicted how the campaign would play out. "We're facing the most dishonest election campaign of modern times. Because both major parties have got one obsession, and that is to keep the real debate out of the subject of Brexit," the 91-year-old former deputy prime minister told Sky News. He added: "You can't have a discussion about the country's economy, or its defence, or immigration, or the environment and not discuss Brexit. We have cut ourselves off from our principal market, our most important partners. And that is the underlying crisis that faces this country."
Conservatives 'don’t really have anything to crow about'
Heseltine has been largely proved right. Eight years after the referendum in which Britons narrowly voted to leave the EU, Brexit has emerged as the elephant in the room during the current election campaign. Unless pressed by journalists, the two major parties have made almost no mention of the issue. The word "Brexit" features only 12 times in the Conservative Party's 76-page manifesto and just once in Labour's 131-page programme. During the Conservatives' manifesto launch, Sunak referenced "our Brexit freedoms" only once while Labour leader Keir Starmer did not mention Brexit at all when unveiling his party's policy
document.
For Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London and author of, "The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation", the near-silence on the part of the Conservatives stems from the way Brexit has turned out. "They don't really have anything to crow about in terms of achievements or benefits, particularly with regard to the one that featured so heavily in the Brexit referendum, and that is control of our borders," he said.
[...]