Ten Years On

The 2016 Brexit referendum caused a political earthquake,with aftershocks that are still being felt a decade after the vote. For many,including many who voted to leave, the result came as a shock. But for one manit was not; it was what he had been working to achieve for twenty years. You may not have heard of Matthew Elliott, but you shouldhave. Born and brought up in Leeds, he is one of Britain’s most successfulpolitical campaigners – a reserved and thoughtful strategist who in histwenties launched a movement to force national and local government to confrontwasteful public spending and cut taxes. In 2014, he staved off an attempt tochange our voting system, before steering the Vote Leave campaign to victorytwo years later as its chief executive. In an extraordinary memoir of his time in politics,Matthew reveals what it’s like working side-by-side with Boris Johnson andDominic Cummings, their dealings with Nigel Farage and the tricks of the tradethat campaigners use to shape the news. Here, ten years on from the EU referendum, is thedefinitive story of Brexit: the build-up from the 1990s, what really went onduring the campaign, its bitter aftermath, how the early post-Brexitopportunities were squandered and the moves now to take Britain back into theEU by stealth.