People change their mind. Do they though?

Holding on to ideas and beliefs without examination and the willingness to change them is a rigidity that doesn’t serve you well.

One of the biggest societal changes that we’ve all experienced in recent years is the willingness for people to reassess their views on Brexit. Many people run or work in small businesses which were hit hard by new burdens of export administration that they hadn’t had to deal with in the lifetime of their business.

We’re not going to relitigate that here, but this remarkable chart shows how people had a moment of realisation that since 2021 has just deepened and only 30% of people now believe it was right to leave the EU. I don’t have the figures for Scotland, but given that votes against leaving the EU were much higher in Scotland it might be safe to assume that the number of Brexit supporters here has further eroded.

It’s really quite a remarkable chart that shows one thing and one thing clearly - people changing their mind.

But people still vote for a party led by the architect of Brexit.

People are also changing their mind about Reform UK Ltd, the business trying to stage a coup in UK politics. They’re starting to figure out that Nigel Farage is very much in it for himself, not them; that there are external forces backing him for benefits that won’t accrue to the regular people in the UK.

But it does leave me wondering, how they ever got to this position in the first place while people were simultaneously changing their mind on Brexit. I’m glad people are able to hold mutliple, complex views, but Brexit seemed so absolute.

Reform are now the 6th party in Westminster thanks to multiple defections by lame duck Tories to Reform. Reforms are also on a par with the Greens in terms of council seats. So they’re not that successful really, not electorally. They’re mainly bouyed up by defections.

But I’m really struggling to make 2+2=4 when people who are now regretting Brexit are contemplating voting for the architect of Brexit. Surely it can be about the boats?