John Major has launched a devastating attack on Brexit, branding it an \u201cact of collective folly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former Tory prime minister said Britain\u2019s \u201cenemies celebrated and our friends despaired\u201d at the decision to leave the European Union in 2016. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the London School of Economics this week, Major accused senior Tory Brexiteers like Boris Johnson and Michael Gove of spreading \u201cmisinformation\u201d to vouch for Brexit. <\/p>\n
READ NEXT: UK \u2018divorce bill\u2019 soars, as post-Brexit payments to EU rise above \u00a350 billion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt left our country poorer, weaker and divorced from the richest free trade market that history has ever seen,\u201d Major said.<\/p>\n \u201cNational interest was brushed aside by false hopes and promises. False hopes and promises that even a cabinet dominated by frontline Brexit enthusiasts was unable to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n Major said the damage of Brexit has \u201cbecome only too apparent,\u201d and that the Remain campaign which was branded \u2018Project Fear\u2019 by its opponents has now \u201cbecome Project Reality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s no consolation that the majority of the public now overwhelmingly recognises that it was misled in their moments of triumph,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cBrexiteers predicted other countries would follow their lead and leave the European Union. None have. All saw only too clearly that Brexit was packed with disadvantages.<\/p>\n \u201cFar from others leaving the European Union, as we meet, nine further nations now wish to join the European Union, which is an apt comment on how the world saw Britain\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Major added: \u201cThe United Kingdom once revelled, within the memory of everyone present in this room, in being a leading member of the European Union, with half a billion citizens and the undoubted first ally of the United States, the world\u2019s most eminent superpower.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, we know we are neither, and so does the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Extraordinary words by Sir John Major on #Brexit<\/a> at LSE last night: \ud83e\uddf5 \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa <\/p>\n 1. \u201cIn an act of collective folly, the United Kingdom voted to lead to European Union across the world, our enemies celebrated and our friends despair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe left Europe on a minority vote of 37% of\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/xehy9zFL13<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Antonello Guerrera (@antoguerrera) November 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n With every passing day, week, month and year the damage of Brexit reveals itself even more. This was most recently highlighted by a report from the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER<\/a>) which found that leaving the EU had reduced the UK\u2019s GDP by 8%.<\/a> <\/p>\n The report also found that employment and productivity have also been severely hampered, with each data set estimated to have been reduced by 3-4% from previous projections within the last decade or so.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n