Why the “Brexit Wasn’t Implemented Properly” Argument is Nonsense – and a Pathetic Cop-Out

 The claim that Brexit failed because it “wasn’t implemented properly” is a dishonest deflection used by Brexit supporters to avoid admitting that the entire project was built on lies, contradictions, and impossible promises. Here’s why that argument is total rubbish:

There Was Never a Single Brexit Plan to Implement

The Leave campaign deliberately avoided presenting a concrete plan because doing so would have exposed its flaws and split its voters. Instead, they sold contradictory versions of Brexit to different groups:

• To businesses: A Norway-style deal (staying in the Single Market).

• To anti-immigration voters: “Take back control of borders” (meaning hard Brexit).

• To free-market ideologues: A Singapore-on-Thames deregulation fantasy.

• To working-class Leavers: Protectionist promises (despite Brexit being a neoliberal project).

You can’t “implement Brexit properly” when “proper” means something different to everyone.

Every Possible Brexit Outcome Was Tried – and All Were Disastrous

Brexit supporters now claim that if only their preferred version had been delivered, it would have worked. But in reality, every major Brexit faction got a chance – and all failed:

• Theresa May’s “Soft Brexit” (Chequers Plan, 2018) – Rejected by hardliners as “BRINO” (Brexit In Name Only).

• Boris Johnson’s “Hard Brexit” (2020 Trade Deal) – Delivered trade barriers, economic damage, and the Northern Ireland Protocol mess.

• Liz Truss’s “Ultra-Free Market Brexit” (2022) – Crashed the economy in weeks.

• Farage/ERG’s “No-Deal Brexit” – Even they backed down when faced with the reality of food shortages and port chaos.

Every version of Brexit was attempted – and every one either collapsed or made things worse.

The Core Promises Were Always Impossible

Brexit was sold on three big lies:

1. “Frictionless trade” outside the Single Market – Impossible by definition (the EU was never going to let the UK have full access without following the rules).

2. “More money for the NHS” – The £350m/week claim was a straight-up lie, debunked even by Leave leaders after the vote.

3. “Control of borders” – Net migration is now higher than ever because the economy depends on foreign workers.

These weren’t failures of implementation – they were impossible from the start.

The “Implementation” Excuse is Just a Cop-Out

Brexiters cling to this argument because:

• They can’t admit they were wrong, so they blame “incompetence” instead of the policy itself.

• They need a scapegoat (Remainers, the EU, the Civil Service, Rishi Sunak) to avoid facing reality.

• They refuse to accept that Brexit was always a fantasy – no amount of “proper implementation” could have made it work because the promises were mutually exclusive.

It’s like selling people a car that can fly, drive underwater, and run on unicorn farts – then blaming the engineers when it doesn’t work.

Conclusion: Brexit Failed Because It Was Always a Scam

The “not implemented properly” argument is pure denial from people who can’t face the truth:

✅ There was no real plan in 2016.

✅ Every attempted version of Brexit failed or backfired.

✅ The core promises were impossible to deliver.

Brexit didn’t fail because it was done wrong – it failed because it was always a con. The people still peddling the “implementation” excuse are either liars, fools, or both.

And a Final Thought for the True Believers

If you genuinely believe that Brexit could have been a success if only it had been “done properly,” you need to ask yourself a simple question: What does “properly” even mean? The people who sold you Brexit all had wildly different visions – and they all failed when put to the test. Clinging to the idea that some mythical “true Brexit” was possible isn’t just naive – it’s delusional. At some point, you have to face the reality that the problem wasn’t the execution; it was the idea itself