The Brexit Club: The Inside Story of the Leave Campaign's Shock Victory

by Owen Bennett

From Boris Johnson to Nigel Farage, George Galloway to Michael Gove, the campaign to get Britain out of the EU brought together some of the most colourful characters in British politics. This once-in-a-generation opportunity to free the UK from the grip of Brussels saw egos put to one side and rivalries put on hold to push for a Leave vote in the EU referendum … Or did it?

As D-Day drew near, political reporter Owen Bennett went deep into Leave territory to reveal the inside story of the battle for Brexit. Behind a campaign promising hope and glory - but seemingly mired in blood, sweat and tears - Bennett discovered a plethora of Leave groups, all riven with feuds: the Tory 'posh boys' against the 'toxic' hardliners; UKIP's only MP against the rest of the party; Michael Gove's former lieutenant Dominic Cummings against almost everyone else.

Charting the crusade from the massing of the UKIP foot soldiers after the general election to the arrival of the Cabinet cavalry after Cameron's Brussels deal and the dramatic final weeks' fighting on battle buses, The Brexit Club reveals the truth behind the campaign that divided friends, families and, ultimately, the country.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2016

About the author

Owen Bennett is a political journalist working in Westminster for The Huffington Post UK. After starting out in local newspapers, he joined the Daily Express, becoming its online political reporter. He then led the political coverage for the Daily Mirror Online, and after the 2015 General Election joined Huffington Post UK. Bennett is a regular contributor to the BBC and Sky News and has written for the New Statesman website and other political blogs.

Reviews

[Kharis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Showed the confusion and conflicts at the leave side. A bit slow to start and very detailed - I almost forgot who was who and their links - but surprisingly it showed the back office campaign drivers were not those at the forefront of the campaigns - which surprised me. Now about to read something from the remain perspective.

[Leif Krarup · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spændende historie, men lidt rodet fremstilling

[Josep Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author takes here a different, more serious approach to writing than in his first book. With a command of names, dates and connections that would make it impossible for most people (even journalists) to create a compelling narrative, this book is easy to read, informative and deeply enlightening. I had to keep a notepad by my side as to not forget the dozens of names that appeared at some point or another related to either Vote Leave or Leave.EU— but this just shows how well-researched and deep this book is. 100% recommended to anyone interested in learning about the daily fights inside the Campaign to exit the European Union.

[Peter Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading it in 2024 (and desperately wanted not to exit), I found it almost agonising going through the scheming and misinformation from the Brexit parties who seemed to be driven by ideology and personal power rather than anything else.
The role of some major players as described in this book seemed a little different to the impression left on me by the media at the time

[Jaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following the train wreck that is Brexit, but this book gave me an opportunity to step into the shadows and follow the machinations of the political class. Those who had no plan for what could happen if they won, and who have made a jolly mess trying to negotiate their way out.

[John Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who actively campaigned for Leave in the referendum this was a fascinating insight. I would have liked the chapters titled and there to be more structure and flow, e.g. A couple of the "cliffhangers" the chapters ended in weren't resolved or even mentioned until 1 or 2 chapters after. Also once the designation battle ended there was a speed up until the referendum day itself, and I would have liked more about the actual campaigning period.

Having said all that this book was very accessible and gave great insight into the beginnings of the Brexit movement and told us a lot of new things. It successfully did what was said on the tin and well worth a read whatever side of the debate you were on.

Time to read a Remain book soon!

[Leo huseyin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but lacking in detail

I vert much lived this book however found that at many points in the book I would have liked more detail but was a good overview with some interesting insights