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Brexit has been responsible for many things, but perhaps the most unexpected, and one of the few unalloyed benefits, was the dazzling display of creativity that this national trauma inspired.
Part defiance, part palliative, part combative…there was an explosion of new paintings, posters, fashions (using the term loosely), books, crafts, even a much-postponed coin — and so very many theatrical displays of protest and satire across the nation, all excitedly projected onto the national consciousness by social media.
A personal favourite has to be the allegorical rendering of Theresa May, riding side-saddle on a British lion through a starry sky; and I can almost smell the dead mackerel that Nigel Farage threw into the Thames from a trawler hired for the day: Political performance art at its very best.
In some ways, then, some of us will miss Brexit, even though we have our little collection of mementoes and souvenirs – Brexitabilia – to help keep the memories alive. For this, if nothing else, it might be fairly said that Brexit did indeed unleash Britain’s true potential.
Show all 47 Brexit in 47 objects Cold War Steve postcard The brilliant Cold War Steve’s bleakly satirical collages always have two features; an appearance by Steve McFadden (EastEnders’ Phil Mitchell) and a savage commentary on the state of Global Britain. Christopher Spencer, for it is he, did well out of Brexit.
Brexit in 47 objects Government leaflet sent to every household in 2016 This was meant to win it, but didn’t quite. It contained the dangerous promise: “This is your decision. The Government will implement what you decide”.
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Brexit in 47 objects Bollocks to Brexit This was one of very many rude Anglo-Saxon expressions pressed into political service during Brexit. It was briefly adopted by the usually staid Liberal Democrats as an optional campaign slogan.
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Brexit in 47 objects Wefail banknotes Wefail’s art pre-dates Brexit but found fresh impetus after 2016. There will be no shortage in Global Britain of such works of parodical genius inspired by the weirdos and misfits set to govern the UK through the 2020s. Chapman Brothers meet Goya meet Hogarth, to great effect.
Wefail
Brexit in 47 objects Robert Peston's book 'WTF' WTF was an apt title, seeing as it was most people’s reaction to the narrow leave victory in 2016. Brexit spawned numerous books and pamphlets designed to explain, justify, attack or ridicule Brexit.
Brexit in 47 objects European Union (Notification of Withdrawal Act) This gave legal effect to the UK's decision to get out of the European Union. Unfortunately the two-year arbitrary deadline was far too short to conclude the talks on the terms of Withdrawal, let alone a new trade deal.
Brexit in 47 objects Theresa May signing Article 50 letter The then new prime minister, Theresa May wrote her most important letter since the time when, as a small girl in a vicarage in Oxfordshire, she asked Santa if she could join the Conservatives. Dated 29th March 2017, it was hand-delivered to a bemused European Union by Britain’s ambassador, Sir Tim Barrow.
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Brexit in 47 objects Hard and soft Brexit egg cups What could be more British than a boiled egg eaten from a cute punny little cup with a traditional “willow tree” pattern? Made in Stoke-on-Trent, as it should be, it offers the choice of Hard or Soft boiled Breggsit.
Brexit in 47 objects Union jacks in Parliament Square Whatever your view about “getting our country back” after Brexit, the nation should be able to console itself with the thought that the small commune of pro- and anti-Brexit protesters will eventually now disperse, and the country can get Parliament Square back.
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Brexit in 47 objects Official Got Brexit Done 2020 Tea Towel A fitting final symbol of a trauma that required many cups of the sweet hot char to calm the nerves. This is the Conservative party celebrating the imminent destruction of what remains of British manufacturing industry with a “limited edition” commemorate tea towel. For £12 you can rub Boris Johnson’s face in your frying pan. £12 at shop.conservatives.com/
Conservatives
Brexit in 47 objects Mad outfits Brexit spawned many crimes against fashion. Seen here modelling their own creations are the guy who kept shouting “Stop Brexit” for many months, Steve Bray; and Leave-maniac Joseph Afrane, who is a bit quieter.
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Brexit in 47 objects Final Say T-shirt The campaign for a second referendum also went under the names People's Vote and Final Say, and the Independent is proud to have played its part in trying to secure this democratic imperative. It came close to succeeding; and many may think that there will, in due course, be an attempt to re-join the EU, in which case a new referendum will again be necessary.
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
Brexit in 47 objects Lady Hale's spider badge When the Supreme Court ruled that the advice Boris Johnson had proffered to the Queen to dissolve parliament was unlawful, and immediately recalled the Commons, the President of the court, Lady Hale became a national celebrity. Predictably a hero to some (48 per cent) and a villain to others (52 per cent), her bold choice of accessory, a big spider brooch, was adopted by Remaniacs everywhere.
Supreme Court/PA
Brexit in 47 objects Banksy Brexit Mural In 2017 a mural appeared on a wall in the symbolic town of Dover. It showed workman chiselling one star out of the European Union’s starry banner. Banksy emerged as the artist behind it. Even so, it has since been whitewashed over by the property’s owner. Banksy Tweeted: “Never mind. I guess a big white flag says it all”.
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Brexit in 47 objects Fashion hates Brexit As with most causes, many found solace through the medium of slogan T-shirts. This one by Katharine Hamnett was created following a British Fashion Council survey that revealed 90 per cent of British fashion designers voted remain. Awkwardly, when tucked into fashionable high-waisted jeans, this tee appears to read, "fashion hates" which, at least widened its potential buyers to include Brexiteers... katharinehamnett.teemill.co.uk
Katharine Hamnett
Brexit in 47 objects Northern Irish mock-up Customs Hut The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland soon established itself as one of the trickiest issues to resolve. Campaigners against a “hard border” in Ireland made mock-ups of what a border customs post might look like, the original ones having long since been blown up by the IRA.
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Brexit in 47 objects Leaky Brexit mug Another fine example of Brexitware from the English Potteries (Bentham Pottery). This one, with its “stencilled holes”, makes a fairly obvious joke about the usefulness of Brexit.
Bentham Pottery
Brexit in 47 objects Vote Leave bus Built in Poland by a German company, the Neoplan coach soon became the biggest mobile lie on the planet. Still the slogan about sending £350million a week to the NHS instead of Brussels did the trick – a big number that caused outage and stuck in the mind.
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Brexit in 47 objects Brexit Party bus Nigel Farage’s new vehicle for the 2019 general election was the Brexit party. Ukip, which he had led to so many fabulous victories had become a toxified brand and this was the replacement bus service. After some hesitation the Brexit Party decided to stand down in existing Conservative seats, and concentrate its efforts on wining votes from Leave-supporting Labour voters. The party's ageing battle bus (not Ann Widdecombe) was found abandoned in a hedge after it broke down in the Brecon Beacons. Its doors open, apparently deserted, it was left blocking a lay-by. Some viewed it as symbolic.
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Brexit in 47 objects Queen’s blue and yellow starry hat Maybe a little fed up with the constant request for her to open and/or close down parliament by her last three prime ministers, the Queen showed up at the June 2017 gig in “day dress” rather than the usual ermine-trimmed robes. The hat’s design was soon taken to be some hidden message about HM’s enthusiasm for the EU. “It never occurred to her” protested the Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly, and nor to the milliner, Stella McLaren. Will we ever learn the truth? Queen Elizabeth II delivering the Queen's Speech during the state opening of parliament in 2017
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Brexit in 47 objects Daily Mail 'Enemies of the People' front page During the latter days of Paul Dacre’s editorship, the Daily Mail was the most vociferous and uncompromising voice in favour of a clean break Brexit ASAP. Any and all constitutional obstacles to the will of the people were regarded as treachery, and treated as such. When, early in the process some senior judges suggested parliament should approve the Article 50 withdrawal process, the Mail gave them both barrels with a memorable headline reminiscent of Soviet Russia (ironically enough).
Brexit in 47 objects Five Guys Salted Caramel and Banana shake This was the weapon of choice during the brief national craze for disrupting a Nigel Farage town centre walkabout. “Milkshaking” was either an act of mild rebellion (48per cent) or a gateway to terrorism (52 per cent), according to your point of view.
Five Guys
Brexit in 47 objects EU flags as capes A habit copied from football fans, the trend for wearing an EU flag as a cape helped the EU’s blue and yellow flag, hitherto rarely glimpsed, become one of the most familiar of sights in the country.
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Brexit in 47 objects Chequers This sixteenth century country house in Bucks was donated to the nation by Viscount Lee of Fareham in 1917, for the purpose of providing successive premiers with a restful environment for rest and relation. When Theresa May presented her “Chequers plan” for Brexit to her cabinet colleagues in July 2018 her foreign secretary, Boris Johnson told her and their colleagues it was like “polishing a turd”. The following days of meltdown and resignations were not restful for Mrs May, or anyone else.
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Brexit in 47 objects Theresa May Riding a Lion This painting, by Lyme Regis-based artist Maxime Xavier, shows the former Prime Minister astride a roaring lion leaping through the EU stars, as she ponders the pen used to sign the Article 50 letter. It was discovered in Poole. Priced at £6,000, and is among the more unusual and desirable items of Brexitabilia. It was spotted and Tweeted by the Reverend Richard Coles.
Terrible Art In Charity Shops/Facebook
Brexit in 47 objects Joan Ryan's hands Brexit succeeded in splitting both main parties, and the defection of some Labour and Tory MPs to form the Independent Group/Change UK could have been the beginning of a more exciting re-alignment,. Instead the “Tiggers” soon started squabbling among themselves. Joan Ryan, an obscure ex-Labour MP, grabbed national fame when she told an audience in Bath in May 2019: “Look at your hands please…That’s it. It’s there. That’s the answer to this, it’s in your hands”. The David Brent moment of Brexit.
LBC
Brexit in 47 objects US chlorinated chicken Never has any item of poultry been so reviled as the chlorinated chicken. It has hatched into a powerful symbol of the superiority of EU animal hygiene standards. The EU doesn’t need to wash its chickens in chlorinated water before preparation because they tend to be clear of faecal matter; Americans ones are slobbier and need a good old scrub before consumption.
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Brexit in 47 objects Boris Johnson’s resignation letter Suggesting perhaps a degree of pre-calculation, the then foreign secretary, Boris Johnson arranged for some special photography marking the momentous event in July 2018. It was but one more stage on his long, unremitting quest for the premiership.
Brexit in 47 objects Nissan X-Train Normally a new Nissan SUV wouldn’t command any headlines outside the motoring pages (and maybe not even there), but the Japanese-based company’s announcement in February 2019 that it was to cancel the expansion of its Sunderland works to build a new model was taken to be an early vindication of “Project Fear” – and that that Brexit was indeed damaging inward investment.
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Brexit in 47 objects Brexit 50p coin Like Brexit itself, the special coin was delayed a few times before it finally made it into our small change just in time for Brexit day. The message, a quote from the American statesman Thomas Jefferson, was suitably bland, given the tensions around Brexit. It aroused the most controversy over its omission of the “Oxford comma”. Once again, a fitting memento.
HM Treasury
Brexit in 47 objects The Bad Boys of Brexit book This memoir by top Brexit backer Arron Banks has the distinction of actually making his reputation worse than before he published it. Worth reading to gain some insight into the methods of the outriders of the Leave.eu campaign, who seem to have spent a good deal of time drinking in Claridges.
Brexit in 47 objects New blue British passport Symbols loomed large throughout the Brexit debate, and they usually had a symbolic double meaning. For many, seeing the word “European Union” (and before that “European Community” on their passport was irksome if not insulting, as was the burgundy colour. A minor Brexit bonus, for some, is the restoration of the blue-black original colour, even though the EU had never insisted on the passport being burgundy and resembling a building society passbook in the first place. The new blue-black passports, inevitably, will be made in France.
Home Office
Brexit in 47 objects Big Ben strikes 11 Essential restoration works and an ever-shifting Brexit date conspired to deprive the nation of its Big Ben bongs at the historic moment. A “Bung a Bob for a Big Ben Bong” failed to capture the public imagination, and the money was, in any case, refused by the House of Commons commission. Nigel Farage said that the world would think Britain a laughing stock if it couldn’t get Big Ben to bong for Brexit.
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Brexit in 47 objects John Bercow's Van Buck limited edition tie Colourful neckwear from a colourful personality, the diminutive Speaker Bercow become one of the biggest celebs in the world as the knife-edge Commons Brexit votes pled up and the dramas multiplied towards the end of 2019. Virtually every human being on earth could recite the John Bercow's catchphrase “Ooooorrrrdeerrrrr!” and savour his antique turns of phrase, apparently inspired by Jane Austen. Tie by Van Buck, ca £110.
Parliament Live
Brexit in 47 objects Referendum ballot paper 2016 The question was extensively tested by the Electoral Commission, and the 2016 vote was indeed the biggest democratic exercise in British history – some 33,577,342 ballots were cast.
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Brexit in 47 objects EU election ballot paper 2019 The elections for the European parliament in June 2019 were never supposed to happen – Brexit was supposed to have been over by March 31st. The Conservatives scored 9 per cent of the vote, and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party topped the poll with about 30 per cent support. I marked a low point for the Tories, and an unlikely base for their current success.
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Brexit in 47 objects Turkey is joining the EU poster This was one of the more exaggerated claims made during the campaign. The notion that 76 million Turks were about to turn up at Folkestone clearly distressed some Leave voters. The grain of truth was that the UK government had expressed support for Turkey’s membership of the EU. The reality was that Turkey had been on the waiting list since 1961, and was very unlikely indeed ever to be allowed to join.
Brexit in 47 objects UKIP 'Breaking Point' poster This 2016 anti-migrant poster was unveiled by Nigel Farage and reported to the police for inciting racial hatred. The photograph used was of migrants crossing the Croatia-Slovenia border in 2015, with the only prominent white person in the photograph obscured by a box of text. Boris Johnson distanced himself from it, saying: “I am passionately pro-immigration and pro-immigrants.”
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Brexit in 47 objects Brexit box This Brexit “survival kit” retailed for £300 and contained 60 freeze dried meals, 48 portions of meat, a water filter and some gel to start a fire. The goods had a shelf life of 25 years. It was an extreme example of the panic buying that occurred as the various deadlines for “no deal” Brexit approached and the population feared a halt to food imports and a shortage of loo roll.
SWNS
Brexit in 47 objects Dead fish Frustrated by Theresa May's decision to keep Britain signed up to EU fishing rules during the Brexit transition, Nigel Farage and some angry fisherfolk took to the Thames to chuck some dead fish into the water. Technically illegal, and futile, but attention grabbing and smelly (the fish, not Farage).
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Brexit in 47 objects Vote Leave's 'Take back control' posters Three words that won the vote. The slogan “Take Back Control” was a typically simple and punchy device that summed up complex arguments abut sovereignty and the feeling among many communities that politicians and bureaucrats – in London as well as in Brussels – had neglected them.
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Brexit in 47 objects Wetherspoons beer mat Tim Martin, owner of the successful Wetherspoon chain of pubs was the usual go-to prominent pro-Brexit businessman during and after the Brexit referendum. He was unusual among the business community in being so vocal about the benefits and blasé about the risk of Brexit. He used his pubs’ influence to full effect, as with this propaganda beer mat.
Brexit in 47 objects 'No more Polish Vermin' sign Despite claims to the contrary, much of the Brexit Leave vote was motivated by an inchoate dislike for immigration, from whatever source and for whatever purpose, with varying degrees of racism accompanying it. After the vote in June 2016 there as spike in verbal and physical attacks aimed at people who had done nothing wrong and had perhaps believed that their neighbours at least tolerated them.
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Brexit in 47 objects The Sun front page: Queen backs Brexit Yet another example of the high reporting standards of the British tabloid press. Some stray remark that might or might not have been uttered by the Queen was reported by a rogue cabinet minister, and fed to the Sun.
Brexit in 47 objects RAF BAE146 aircraft This trusty plane ferried two prime ministers and countless British diplomats across the English Channel during the Brexit process. It’s fair to say that Brexit, as a phenomenon, was bad for Britain’s carbon footprint.
Steve Lynes (CC BY 2.0)
Brexit in 47 objects Original Good Friday Agreement The framework for peace in Northern Ireland was signed on 10 April 1998, and then, its work apparently done, the precise details of the carefully balanced text were forgotten, Indeed it is seems few had bothered to study it until, after the Brexit vote, it was suddenly realised that the UK leaving the European Union may have infringed it and, more to the point, invited the Troubles to return.
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Brexit in 47 objects Brussels hotel bar - Hotel Metropole Early in 2019 the British chief negotiator, Olly Robbins, found himself in a Brussels hotel bar shooting the breeze with some friends. During the course of the bants he let slip (And was overheard) that the 'week beginning end of March' would be critical, just days before the UK is due to leave the bloc, and that Theresa May planned to confront her Eurosceptic rebel MPs with a 'long extension' to the Article 50 process if they do not give approve her plan at that point. They didn’t, and there was.
Hotel Metropole - Brussels/Facebook
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