The Brexit Referendum: Ten years on
From Westminster Insider by POLITICO
June 5, 2026 · 41 min · Season 22 · Episode 4
About this episode
The episode revisits the Brexit referendum ten years later, exploring the behind-the-scenes events and key figures involved.
Ten years — and six prime ministers — ago Britain was on the brink of voting to leave the European Union. Host Patrick Baker was in his first job as a TV news producer during the referendum campaign. A decade on, he’s gone back to the people who lived through its biggest moments to find out what was really happening behind the scenes, and how those events changed British politics forever. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, recounts the brutal battle with rival group Leave.EU to become the official Brexit campaign, and how his colleague Dominic Cummings used new techniques to persuade swing voters to vote for Brexit. Kate Fall, David Cameron’s then deputy chief of staff, remembers sitting in the front row when Barack Obama delivered his infamous “back of the queue” warning — and provides her theory on whether Downing Street planted the phrase. Broadcaster Rachel Johnson relives the chaos of boarding a boat on the Thames with Bob Geldof to confront a flotilla of pro-Brexit fishermen, before the rockstar began lambasting Nigel Farage. And former Labour MP Gisela Stuart recalls what it was like to participate in the BBC's live TV debate at Wembley, and remembers what it…
People in this episode
Host: Patrick Baker
Guests: Matthew Elliott, Kate Fall, Rachel Johnson, Gisela Stuart
Topics covered
- Brexit
- political campaigns
- UK politics
- referendum history
- media coverage
- political strategy
Keywords
- Brexit
- referendum
- politics
- Vote Leave
- media
- Dominic Cummings
- David Cameron
- Gisela Stuart
- Rachel Johnson
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Vote Leave, Leave.EU, BBC
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