The 2016 Brexit referendum caused a political earthquake, with aftershocks that are still being felt a decade after the vote. For many, including many who voted to leave, the result came as a shock. But for one man it was not; it was what he had been working to achieve for twenty years. You may not have heard of Matthew Elliott, but you should have. Born and brought up in Leeds, he is one of Britain’s most successful political campaigners – a reserved and thoughtful strategist who in his twenties launched a movement to force national and local government to confront wasteful public spending and cut taxes. In 2014, he staved off an attempt to change our voting system, before steering the Vote Leave campaign to victory two years later as its chief executive. In an extraordinary memoir of his time in politics, Matthew reveals what it’s like working side-by-side with Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings, their dealings with Nigel Farage and the tricks of the trade that campaigners use to shape the news. Here, ten years on from the EU referendum, is the definitive story of Brexit: the build-up from the 1990s, what really went on during the campaign, its bitter aftermath, how the early post-Brexit opportunities were squandered and the moves now to take Britain back into the EU by stealth.
