Foreword

The colossal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has somewhat eclipsed the memories of a Britain divided by the Brexit vote.

But the years running up to the Brexit referendum – and the prolonged arguments that followed in its wake – created an atmosphere that was uniquely febrile and divisive.

In September 2018, in the eye of that storm, the IEA published the paper Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK. It was welcomed by a then pre-Downing Street Boris Johnson.

But it also prompted fierce opposition – and a censorious and, at times, sinister backlash that threatened the very existence of the IEA.

Here, Radomir Tylecote, the co-author of Plan A+, tells of the tumultuous tussles that followed its publication – and how it ultimately influenced the UK’s emergence as a globally-focused, independent trading nation.

Mark Littlewood
Director General
Institute of Economic Affairs
June 2021

Fullscreen Mode