‘Roll Up That Map’: After Starmer, Can the British Right Unite To Save Britain?

Hearing reports of Napoleon’s triumph at the Battle of Austerlitz, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger is recorded to have instructed an aide reviewing European charts to “roll up that map: it will not be wanted these ten years.”Brexiteers like myself are — were — doubtless of similar opinion. As the EU referendum victory of 2016 draws near to its own 10th anniversary tomorrow, there was little ostensibly to celebrate.The promises of Brexit, squandered or deliberately frustrated by both Conservative and Labour administrations, appeared to be dead. Worse, it had seemed likely that a majority Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer would further debase Brexit — if not lead the UK back, one way or the other, under the EU shadow.Yet with Sir Keir’s resignation today, spurred on by the imminent return of Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, to Westminster, the Brexit tide may be turning.The winner of the Makerfield by-election for Parliament, Andy Burnham, at Westminster Hall, London, June 22, 2026. Yui Mok/PA via APArguably, the Prime Minister’s resignation is due less to the errors of Labour policy but to his inability to appease an increasingly fractious British public. Fifty percent of Britons regard Sir Keir negatively, according to a recent YouGov poll, while only 15 percent regard him positively. From a quick review, Mr. Burnham hasn’t distanced himself significantly from Government policy, either. Rather, he is being embraced as a leader-in-waiting who can burnish Labour’s tarnished image. Cynics have therefore characterized him as nothing more than Sir Keir with a “northern accent.”Voters surveyed by YouGov apparently agree. Since May this year, Mr. Burnham has plunged to a minus 11 rating from a plus 4 rating. His unfavorability now stands at 41 percent compared to 30 percent favorability. With greater scrutiny, he will almost certainly poll worse. What may whet the appetites of Brexiteers is the opportunity the change in Labour leadership presents. Odds are that Mr. Burnham will want to exploit the favorable bump of his byelection win to call a general election. Given the fluidity of the polls, any electoral outcome is possible.The Labour candidate for Parliament from Makerfield, Andy Burnham, on June 18, 2026. AP/Jon SuperAnd therein lies the rub. On the face of it, Brexiteers are faced with three possible party options: The Conservatives, Reform UK, and Restore Britain.All but the most indebted to the status quo have consigned the Tories under Kemi Badenoch if not to the dustbin of history, then at least not as a credible alternative government . Yet the party still has a significant presence in Parliament and may benefit from complacent partisan stalwarts.Brexiteers will instead be focused on the fate of the right, in the persons of Nigel Farage of Reform and Rupert Lowe of Restore. In some respects, this is Mr. Farage’s own goal. His inability to tolerate criticism or challenges to his leadership have followed him from his days leading the UK Independence Party. Mr. Lowe, once a happy warrior within Reform, was forced out by unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety and started a party of his own. (Curiously, a former Reform member, Ben Habib, who also left Reform to start the right-wing political party Advance UK, has deregistered the party to support Lowe and Restore.)Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage at Clacton-On-Sea, England, June 21, 2024. AP/Kirsty WigglesworthReform is without doubt still a force to be reckoned with, but it remains to be seen how it will respond to the Restore challenge. Mr. Farage’s decisions to take on board disgruntled former Tory cabinet ministers and to tone down some of Reform’s political platform — notably on deporting illegal migrants — has raised concerns about how he would govern as a future prime minister.Brexiteers are faced with the possibility of the country going into a general election with three parties on the right, all vying for a share of the conservative vote. Yet under Britain’s first-past-the-post election system, the divisions on the right make it easier for the left to win more seats. All Labour needs is a plurality of the votes cast in any constituency to win, and so can gain seats with only the barest margins against its competitors. Were all three parties to send MPs to Westminster, it is obvious they would vote as a “conservative” bloc. It is not so obvious that they can see the necessity of coming to some form of accommodation now, too, while the opportunity to make a real difference presents itself.John Hoppner’s portrait of William Pitt the Younger, circa 1850. Via Wikimedia CommonsThus Brexiteers are at the cusp of future victory or further defeat. When Pitt the Younger muttered that Europe would be under the sway of Napoleon for ten years after France’s win at Austerlitz, none could have foreseen the allied victory a decade later at Waterloo.If only UK’s right-wing parties can resolve their differences on behalf of the freedoms of the British people, ten years after the initial EU referendum win, Brexit too may have a new lease on life.BrexitDiarist@gmail.com

‘Roll Up That Map’: After Starmer, Can the British Right Unite To Save Britain?

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