Great Britain or Little England? Only the passing decades will tell but there was “a moment of history” at 11pm on Friday when the UK left the EU after 47 years of not that happy a marriage.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed it “the dawn of a new era” but in Scotland, which is protesting it is being dragged out of the EU against its will, and some other parts of the country, candle lit vigils were held to reflect the sorrow of parting.
Brixiteers held joyous celebrations in Parliament Square where they waved Union flags and were addressed by Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party who is widely credited with forcing the Tories under David Cameron to call the 2016 referendum which led to the 52-48 vote to leave the EU.
Farage, who belongs to the nationalistic wing of the Brexit movement, told the cheering crowds, which were almost entirely white, that the point of departure was “the greatest moment in the modern history of our great nation”.
“We did it. We transformed the landscape of our country. There are some that say we shouldn’t celebrate tonight, but we are going to celebrate tonight.
“The real winner tonight is democracy. And I am someone who believes we should be pro-Europe, but not the European Union.”
Farage set the triumphalist tone by tweeting: “At last the day comes when we break free. A massive victory for the people against the establishment.”
Nothing much changes for the time being but between now and the end of the year, Boris is committed to negotiating the precise terms of the trade deal with the EU.
With Big Ben silenced as a result of repair work, a projection of Parliament’s clock was beamed onto 10 Downing Street and a recording of the famous bongs signalled it was 11pm in London and midnight in Brussels. A light show featuring the red, blue and white of the Union flag played on the façade of the Prime Minister’s official residence where Boris held a reception for ministers and senior officials.
“Tonight we are leaving the European Union,” he said in his message to the nation. “For many people this is an astonishing moment of hope, a moment they thought would never come.”
And there are many, of course, who feel a sense of anxiety and loss.
“I understand all those feelings, and our job as the government – my job – is to bring this country together now and take us forward.
“And the most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning. This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act in our great national drama.”
He did acknowledge, however, there might be “bumps in the road ahead”.
Perhaps recalling the comment by US secretary of state Dean Acheson in 1962 that “Great Britain has lost an Empire and has not yet found a role,” the Prime Minister attempted to be almost Churchillian: “We will rediscover muscles that we have not used for decades, the power of independent thought and action.
“Not because we want to detract from anything done by our EU friends – of course not - we want this to be the beginning of a new era of friendly cooperation between the EU and an energetic Britain.
“A Britain that is simultaneously a great European power and truly global in our range and ambitions….. when I look at the potential of this country waiting to be unleashed, I know that we can turn this opportunity into a stunning success.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned “negotiations will certainly not be easy”, while the French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Let me be honest, as I have always been: ease of access to the European market will depend on the degree to which the European Union’s rules are accepted, because we cannot allow any harmful competition to develop between us.”
