What Boris and Prince Andrew mean for Brexit
As the UK election campaign rolls on and Prince Andrew’s headache grows there’s no denying that it’s been an interesting week to be an Aussie abroad, writes correspondent Stephen Drill.
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A quiet meal at my local pub recently got a bit louder when a group of sixty-somethings started talking about Brexit and next month’s general election.
The group of 10 people began their meal politely talking about who had ordered the scotch egg. (It’s something like crumbing a boiled egg and frying it. There are still some meals I don’t understand here.)
The conversation took a turn for the worse when politics came up and they began loudly challenging each other.
In one corner was a Remainer — someone who wants to stay part of the European Union. In the other corner was a Canadian who said Britain should just leave and sign up to new free-trade deals.
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In the middle was a rather grumpy man who, after about 20 minutes, started tapping the table and repeatedly said “please change the subject”.
As a snap poll of the mood of Britain, it gives an idea why Boris Johnson might win the next election.
People are sick of talking about Brexit; even if they didn’t vote for it at the 2016 referendum, they think it’s time to move on.
And if you think my poll is unscientific, just ask Bill Shorten and Hillary Clinton what they think of official polls. Each thought they would cruise home based on the published numbers.
Brexit dominated the first television debate this week, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn what his position was on the issue. (We still don’t know.)
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And while the media salivates over the TV debate, many of the eyeballs are on social media. Mr Johnson’s social media team is headed by a Queenslander, Chloe Westley, and the video of the PM’s quirk of starting with milk in his cup of tea has been a viral sensation.
However, one prominent British figure has managed to make politicians look less dishonest this week.
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Only 6 per cent of Britons believed Prince Andrew’s unbelievable explanation of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in jail in August. Now Andrew has stepped down from royal duties, maybe there’ll be more talk of politics, even if just to entertain me at the pub.
I couldn’t resist interrupting the noisy table before we left, to tell them how amusing I found their debate. The Remainer was running high on emotion; she wanted to stay because of her experience in Europe as a teenager.
The rest of the table just shut up. They’d had enough of Brexit.
Stephen Drill is the UK correspondent for News Corp Australia.
Originally published as What Boris and Prince Andrew mean for Brexit