Remember Brexit? All The Key Politicians Who Campaigned For It Have… Exited

The United Kingdom will get a new Prime Minister later this week, with cabinet minister Theresa May set to take over from David Cameron. May’s political ascension is the result of dramatic political upheaval in the British Isles following the successful Brexit campaign last month.

The Brexit vote was a massive political success for Conservative Party MPs Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, who led the campaign for the UK to withdraw from the European Union, along with Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party. So what are they up to? Maybe celebrating? Maybe plotting their own Frank Underwood-esque rises to the top of British politics?

Not quite. In fact, they’ve all basically thrown in the towel and are running away from the levers of power as fast as possible. Farage has quit politics altogether, declaring “I want my life back”. Boris Johnson was expected to run for leader of the Conservative Party, following David Cameron’s resignation, but he withdraw from the race after his Brexit ally, Michael Gove, announced his own leadership tilt. But then Gove withdrew from the race and all hell break loose.

@Gove2016 we had one, and you helped destroy it; you are one confused bag of mince.

— Dave Haslam (@Mr_Dave_Haslam) July 5, 2016

The three men most responsible for Brexit, the three stooges if you will, have all fled the scene of the crime. They were so clearly terrified by the consequences of their actions they decided to wash their hands of all responsibility, and pass the buck onto someone else. Which brings us to Theresa May.

May campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU, which makes her ascension to the leadership… sort of pointless. When David Cameron resigned the expectation was that one of the prominent pro-Brexit MPs would become Prime Minister and negotiate the terms of the country’s withdrawal. As Prime Minister, May’s views on Brexit are opposed by a majority of the electorate, though she has promised to follow through on the result of the referendum.

A cross-party group of UK politicians have taken advantage of the country’s current political vacuum to push for a radical constitutional overhaul. They want political power to be shifted out of London and devolved directly to Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Who knew the Leave vote was for continual leaving of everything by everyone?

— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) July 11, 2016

Meanwhile the Labour party is still in a state of complete disarray. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for a general election, arguing the Prime Minister will not have a public mandate, but he is facing a leadership challenge from the moderate wing of his party. Angela Eagle announced today that she would challenge for the party leadership and while she has the support of a number MPs, the party membership is overwhelmingly behind Corbyn.

The whole country is in a bigger political mess than Australia, and that’s saying something. And it was all caused by a Brexit vote instigated by a band of right-wing lunatics who have crawled back into their xenophobic holes. The UK is currently experiencing their own version of Kevin Rudd: selfish politicians whose main priority seems to be blowing the whole place up.

Good luck guys, and whatever you do please don’t come here.