Ian Bartle

In my review of the book The Failure of Remain, I noted that little has been said in books on Brexit about the extraordinary pro-European activism that took place between 2016 and 2019. That book claimed to be the first major comprehensive study. No Second Chances can possibly claim to be the second. The book, written by journalist Morgan Jones, is based on many interviews with anti-Brexit activists, particularly involved in the People's Vote campaign for a second referendum.

The book The Failure of Remain: Anti-Brexit Activism in the UK (2023), which I reviewed recently in West England Bylines, provided a welcome in-depth analysis of the grassroots anti-Brexit campaign, particularly after the 2016 referendum and up to the 2019 general election.

In towns and cities across the UK from 2016 to 2019 pro-European activists took to the streets flying EU flags and adorned with the EU’s yellow stars on blue. The big London marches got most publicity, but street stalls, leafleting, demonstrations and other assorted street and online activity flourished nationwide. Triggered by the narrow win for Brexit in June 2016, it was a public display of pro-Europeanism on a scale never seen before in Britain.