Brexit is now part of history. That's why I've archived my posts and compiled them in chronological order and commented on them on this website. The comments from 2023 are put above the older postings and can be clicked to read.
Between 2012 and the final Brexit on January 31, 2020, I constantly commented on the developments, initially in public speeches and lectures, and after my retirement on my Monty Pego blog. I'm leaving the original texts unchanged because they reflect not only the facts about Brexit but also the ups and downs of my mood over these years.
On "Black Wednesday", September 16, 1992, Great Britain had to devalue the pound under pressure from speculators (including George Soros) and withdraw from the European Monetary System EMS. Since this "humiliation", Euroscepticism in the Conservative Party never had stopped to grow. Prime Minister John Major felt the headwind within the party, especially in connection with the ratification of the Treaty of Masstricht, and spoke of the "bastards" in his party. A year later, in 1993, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) was founded, which put the Tories under great pressure by demanding a withdrawal from European integration.
Following Tony Blair's election, Major was succeeded by four Conservative Party leaders, all of whom sought the support of Eurosceptics: William Hague (1997-2001), Iain Duncan Smith (2001-2003), Michael Howard (2003-2005) and finally, from 2005, David Cameron.
When I took up my post as German ambassador to London in July 2008, Euroscepticism was primarily a problem for the Conservative Party, even though Prime Minister Gordon Brown was also very skeptical, at least towards the euro.
As a concession to the Eurosceptics, Cameron promised that the Tories would leave the EPP group in the European Parliament. This was implemented in 2009. After winning the election in May 2010, Cameron formed a coalition government with the pro-European Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg, who became deputy prime minister.
At that time I regularly attended Conservative Party conferences, where powerful anti-European groups were active. I took the problem very seriously. On January 23, 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron gave a crucial speech at Bloombergs in London. There he announced that he wanted to renegotiate Great Britain's role in the EU - this should then be voted on in an in/out referendum. In doing so, he set in motion a fatal dynamic that led to Brexit.