‘Canaries in the coalmine of populism’: an oral history of the Brexit campaign, told by those with a front row seat

Brexit oral history composite illustration. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images/PA/Rex/Shutterstock/AP View image in fullscreen Brexit oral history composite illustration. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images/PA/Rex/Shutterstock/AP ‘Canaries in the coalmine of populism’: an oral history of the Brexit campaign, told by those with a front row seat How five months in 2016 that encompassed Boris Johnson siding with Vote Leave, Jo Cox’s murder and David Cameron’s resignation shaped the UK’s future 20-21 February 2016 David Cameron, having promised in 2013 that a future Conservative government would offer a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU , announces the date of the vote: 23 June 2016. The next day, Boris Johnson, then the mayor of London , says he will campaign for leave . Bernard Jenkin , a senior Conservative backbencher, campaigned for leave: The starting gun was really fired in the [2013] speech. I went to see David Cameron after that and begged him not to hold an in/out referendum, simply because it would smash the Conservative party. He said to me: “I know 50 Conservative MPs may vote leave, but we can live with that.” And I immediately realised he didn’t really understand the Conservative party at all. View image in fullscreen David Cameron at an EU summit in Brussels, the day before announcing the date of the referendum. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images David Lidington , minister for Europe 2010-2016 and a close Cameron ally, campaigned for remain: [Holding the referendum] was very much a prime ministerial decision. I didn’t think it was the right one, but I understood David’s reasoning. He was the prime minister, and his view was that this was an opportunity to lance the boil of disaffection within the Conservative party over Europe. I always felt that it was like chucking lumps of red meat to pursuing wolves from the sled. They would gobble up the lump, and then they would sure as hell come back for more. Craig Oliver , director of communications for No 10 and for the official remain campaign, Britain Stronger in Europe : The feeling for me at the start of the campaign was that we were in real trouble – not because we thought we were going to lose the referendum, but because it was such a battle inside the Conservative party. The beating heart of the party felt very, very much around leave, and anybody who had fought on the side of remain was not going to be acceptable as a prime minister. So I entered into the campaign with a fairly bleak view of our prospects. I thought we probably would just about get over the line, but very quickly after it the Conservative party would come for David Cameron. Will Walden , director of communications for Boris Johnson : I was with [Johnson] that weekend in almost its entirety. For the vast majority of the country, people were unsure which way to go. I don’t think Boris was any different. Was there any political calculation in his eventual decision? Probably there was, but I