Ten Years After Brexit, the Dismal Verdict Is In

Ten years after Brexit, the article argues that the promises made to the UK in 2016 have not matched reality. It recalls that Britain voted to leave the European Union after more than 40 years, framing the campaign around “taking back control.” The piece cites the 2016 referendum result as 52% to 48%, when Brexit campaigners sold a plan to reverse austerity, revive manufacturing jobs, and trade profitably in international markets. It also references expectations that EU migration would be reduced. The article places these claims alongside earlier UK political thinking, contrasting the 1950s “past glory” language with the formation of European institutions. It then links the Brexit narrative to the broader theme of Britain shifting from global to more regional influence, marking the decade’s economic and political costs as “blindingly apparent.”