Brexit: The Mike Tyson View

I’ve always been enamoured of a particular Mike Tyson quotation: ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.’ It seems to apply to Brexit in all sorts of ways:

• Leave told us we would get loads more money to spend on the NHS; the EU wanted £40b before they would even discuss leaving: the NHS money disappeared: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• Leave told us that leaving would be the easiest deal of all time to do; we still don’t have a deal: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• Leave told us that the rest of the world, the USA in particular, was itching to do loads of trade deals with us; hardly a deal in sight: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• Leave told us that the EU needs us more than we need the EU; the EU says that a country leaving the EU can’t have better terms than it had as a member: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• Remain told us that a vote to leave would lead to the economy tanking with immediate effect; nothing much happened: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• May told us that her deal was the only deal; the Commons rejected it three times and she is now desperately searching for another way forward, with many other deals under discussion: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• Labour told us that a second referendum would be unthinkable; Conference voted for it and it is now, grudgingly, part of Labour’s strategy: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.
• Leavers thought that a vote to leave would halt immigration and kick foreigners out; immigration remains the same, except, to the chagrin of xenophobes, black brown and yellow faces are replacing white ones from the EU: a punch in the face and a plan shattered.

There are numerous other examples. Wherever you look the situation is the same. It looks like Mike was right.