After three-and-a-half years of turmoil, doubt, and globalist subterfuge, the day British people voted for on June 23 of 2016 has finally arrived. Today, Great Britain officially left the European Union. Forty-seven years after it joined the European Economic Community (aka the Common Market), which eventually became the EU, the United Kingdom is striking out on its own — a sovereign nation once again.
Parliament Square was also the scene of the massive Leave Means Leave rally, where speakers addressed tens of thousands Union Jack waving revelers. The last speaker of the night was the person many consider the driving force of the entire Brexit movement, Nigel Farage, who has been fighting for the UK to leave the EU for over a quarter century.
In a triumphant moment for Farage, he was able to address the throngs gathered in Parliament Square in the last few minutes before the clock struck 11 p.m. — the official time of Great Britain’s withdrawal.
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“There are some who say we shouldn’t celebrate tonight. But we are going to celebrate tonight. And we are celebrating tonight because we know that this is the single most important moment in the modern history of our great nation,” Farage declared to deafening cheers.
“No longer will our prime ministers be talked down to by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. We should celebrate the fact that we are going to be able — across the road here [Parliament]- to make our own laws by people we can hold directly accountable in general elections.”
Unlike his last appearance at EU parliament on January 29, Farage was able to finish his speech without his microphone being cut off.
At 10 Downing Street, a countdown clock was projected on to the buildings to mark the exact moment that the UK left the EU. It was hoped that perhaps the world’s most iconic time piece, Big Ben, the stately clock on the north end of the Palace of Westminster, might ring for the event, but the clock is currently down for long-term maintenance. In its stead, a light show played and a recording of Big Ben’s historical bongs rang from speakers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson then delivered a few pre-recorded remarks: “The most important thing to say tonight, is that this is not an end but a beginning. This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act in our great national drama. Yes, it’s partly about using these new powers, this recaptured sovereignty to deliver the changes people voted for,” Johnson said.
“And yet, this moment is far bigger than that. It’s not just about some legal extraction. It is potentially a moment of real, national renewal and change. This is the dawn of a new era in which we no longer accept that your life chances, your family’s life chances should depend on which part of the country that you grew up in,” Johnson said.
“We will spread hope and opportunity of the UK.”
Also to mark the occasion, three million new 50 pence coins adorned with the phrase, “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations,” have entered circulation with another seven million of the coins to follow this year.
If you happened to be opposed to Brexit, there were options for you as well. Protestors were invited to show up at the London Eye Ferris wheel for a rally called Shine Through the Darkness, where they were invited to sign an open letter to the EU.
Addressed to EU leaders such as Ursula Von Der Leyen, president of the European Commission and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, the letter stated that Brexit Day was not a day of joy.
“I am writing you on behalf of all those people in the UK for whom 31 January will be a day, not of celebration, but of anger and grief.” Sounds like something a Loyalist might have written to King George the Third back during the American Revolution.
Shine Through the Darkness Events were scheduled in other UK cities and also in some European cities.
But pro-Brexit parties were held in pubs, social clubs, cities, and towns all over the United Kingdom as well. And those folks seemed a little happier.
As jubilant as this day is for the supporters of Brexit, it’s not truly the end of the UK’s involvement with the European super-state. Today begins an eleven-month transition period during which the future relationship between Great Britain and the EU will be hammered out at the negotiating table. UK citizens must stay vigilant over this next year as their government negotiates fishing rights, law enforcement, data sharing, security issues, aviation standards, licensing and regulation of medicines, and thousands of other issues.
But for people like Nigel Farage, Peter Bone, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and even Boris Johnson, they can enjoy a brief victory lap before work begins anew. God knows they’ve earned it.
Photo: AP Images
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects, with a primary focus on the ongoing anthropogenic climate-change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected].
