This is an interview about the 10-year legacy of Brexit with geopolitical expert Rem Korteweg. He argues Brexit was driven by a mix of identity, sovereignty, and economic dislocation, but was sold through an oversimplified referendum and carried out without a credible plan. His core judgment is that the UK has not truly regained control over money, borders, or laws, while the EU also failed to learn enough from the episode.
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This episode of De Telegraaf’s *Kwestie van Centen* is a long-form interview with Rem Korteweg on the 10-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Korteweg presents Brexit as both a uniquely British political event and a broader warning about how mainstream institutions handle globalization, sovereignty, and democratic control. He explains that he was living and working in London during the buildup, at the Center for European Reform, and therefore saw the process from inside the policy debate rather than from afar. His core thesis is that Brexit emerged from two overlapping forces: a genuine sense of economic and political dislocation after the financial crisis, and a powerful identity-based desire to “take back control.” He says the referendum was called by David Cameron to solve an internal Conservative Party problem and that Cameron assumed he would win. …
Near term, the actionable issue is not a dramatic Brexit rerun but continued friction: Northern Ireland, migration politics, and trade-regulatory complexity remain the tactical risks. Any headline that raises border or rights disputes could quickly revive volatility.
Over the next few months, the UK is likely to remain stuck in a low-friction-improvement path: no collapse, but also no full payoff from Brexit. The key confirmation signal is whether investment and trade normalization improve; if not, the Brexit discount stays embedded.
Structurally, Brexit reads as a regime shift toward formal sovereignty with persistent economic dependency. The long-run lesson is that political legitimacy matters as much as market access, and the EU risks similar backlash if it does not address that gap.
The peace in Northern Ireland depended in large part on both the UK and Ireland being in the EU and the same customs and regulatory space.
The speaker says removing the border worked because both countries shared the EU single market and customs union, and Brexit brought that border problem back.
David Cameron's handling of the referendum was politically reckless because he failed to prepare for a Leave outcome.
The speaker argues Cameron deliberately blocked his bureaucracy from planning for Leave, which made the process irresponsible and left the government unprepared.
Brexit delivered less control over rules in practice because British firms still follow EU standards and regulations to serve the European market.
The speaker argues that companies keep using EU rules voluntarily because deviating would make it harder to produce and export, so the UK has de facto less influence over rulemaking.
Did you already know on referendum day that Brexit would happen?
He says he suspected the result around 4 a.m. when the incoming counts made it clear the vote was going badly for Remain. He then realized it would become a major challenge for Britain, though he could not predict Cameron’s immediate resignation.
Why did Britons vote for Brexit?
He says there were two layers. First, Cameron called the referendum as a party-management move, but underneath there was deep unease after the financial crisis about losing control over policy, money, migration, and globalization.
Why did Cameron call the referendum?
He explains that Cameron wanted to manage an internal party problem, with MPs drifting toward UKIP. Cameron also felt encouraged by the Scottish independence referendum and believed he could settle the Europe question once and for all.
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