Description

ONE OF 2023’S BIGGEST NEW BOOKS (GUARDIAN)
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2023
A GUARDIAN ‘IF YOU READ ONE BOOK ABOUT . . .’ POLITICS PICK
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023: POLITICS
A THE WEEK CHRISTMAS BOOK CHOICE

Six years after Brexit, it can feel like we’re still having the same conversations.
This is the explainer we need to move on.

And we do need to move on, because in the meantime so much has changed. The economic realities that are making the UK less competitive, less productive and less well-off are ever more obvious – and more and more people are finding out the Brexit they were sold was based on falsehoods and fantasy.

So what exactly went wrong with Brexit?

In this book, Peter Foster dispels the myths and, most importantly, shows what a better future for Britain after Brexit might look like. With clear-headed practicality, he considers the real costs of leaving the EU, how we can recover international trust in the UK, how to improve cooperation and trade with our neighbours, and how to begin to build the Global Britain that Brexit promised but failed to deliver.

The politicians won’t talk about it, so we need to.

Publisher Review

Everyone should read this book. And then read it again and memorise it. Clear headed, unemotional, fact-rich - a definitive account of the economic damage we have self-inflicted and, crucially, the recipe for how we can start to mitigate it to get the country working again -- EMILY MAITLIS Foster has been a tireless and expert chronicler of Brexit reality even as many of his fellow journalists failed or refused to understand both simple and complex facts. This book shows why he is among the best qualified commentators in the country to explain how we got into this mess and, more importantly, how we might begin to get out of it -- JAMES O'BRIEN Precise, concise, considered and wise -- DAVID AARONOVICH The Brexit debate was conducted in furnace-like temperatures and at a million decibels. In this excellent analysis, Foster relies on the quiet persuasiveness of facts and figures to explain how Britain's economy has been so seriously damaged by leaving the EU. And what needs to change in the future -- JON SOPEL An unassailable, devastating account of "magical" Brexit thinking at the time and how it has now shrunk Britain. We are left trapped in a desperate corner, argues Foster, with limited options which too few recognise. It's time to get real, Brexiters above all -- WILL HUTTON Peter Foster's unique understanding of Brexit weaves the nitty-gritty of EU policy into the bigger picture of British politics. Its focus on facts rather than ideology makes it essential reading for an informed discussion on the UK's future relationship with the EU -- STEFAAN De RYNCK, author of INSIDE THE DEAL: HOW THE EU GOT BREXIT DONE This is the kind of hard-headed factual analysis the country needs to see and understand. It exposes the chasm between what was promised and what was delivered by the Brexiteers; it lays bare the political opportunism and ineptitude that made a bad situation worse, and shows beyond any reasonable doubt that Brexit has made us poorer and weaker as a country. But it also sets out positive ideas for how we can undo some of that damage. Peter Foster is exactly the kind of expert journalist we need to fight back against post-truth populism, of which Brexit and Johnson were high watermarks, and if we are to begin to recover from the enormous harm they have done, we should take seriously what he says -- ALASTAIR CAMPBELL A thorough, fact based assessment of the impact of Brexit on our daily lives and the economy. It provides an excellent basis for the honest conversations needed to develop a long term vision and strategy for the UK -- PAUL DRESCHLER, Chairman International Chamber of Commerce UK Peter Foster is unsparing in exposing what Britain has lost, while also clearly setting out the essential challenges facing the UK as it seeks a new relationship with Europe after Brexit -- PETER MANDELSON