But it wasn’t a surprise for everyone. Andy Burnham, then Labour’s shadow home secretary, had broken ranks weeks before to warn that the Remain campaign was getting things wrong and in serious danger of throwing away the referendum.
Their pitch had been “too much Hampstead and not enough Hull,” he argued — contrasting the leafy north London suburb with the sort of working class northern city that ultimately propelled Leave over the victory line.
Ten years later and on the verge of becoming prime minister, one of Burnham’s first tasks if he ascends to No. 10 will now be to get Britain’s relationship with the EU back on the road. His predecessor leaves him three half-finished agreements, a postponed summit, and a discredited political strategy — all of which will need fixing.
The EU-U.K. summit, originally scheduled for July 22 in Brussels, was meant to take the EU relationship to the next level.
“Now, for sure, we need to postpone it,” European Council President António Costa told reporters on Monday after Keir Starmer announced his resignation. “But we are reassessing the opportunity of this new summit. My wish is that his successor could give continuity on this good path to reset our relationship with the United Kingdom.”
Mr. Rules
In the wake of the referendum, the political rulebook of British politics was hastily rewritten. And over the next few years, some would learn the rules faster than others. Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson — the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, respectively — all ended up losing their jobs thanks to Brexit-related miscalculations.
Source:
www.politico.eu