Mervyn King: MPs’ attitude made Brexit inevitable

Lord King said the London-based elite failed to appreciate the views of those outside the capital, ahead of the EU referendum
By Szu Ping Chan
8 February 2017 • 9:44pm
British politicians have “lost touch” with voters and elitist bids to suppress the EU debate made the referendum on membership that led to the Brexit vote “inevitable”, Mervyn King has said.
The former governor of the Bank of England said he “resent[ed]” suggestions by friends and acquaintances that Britons who “even contemplated” voting for Brexit were “ignorant” or “racist”.
He said voters were treated like "the British equivalent of the deplorables” – the term used by US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to describe half of Donald Trump’s supporters.
Lord King said the “striking” difference between voting patterns in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland compared with the rest of the UK in the June vote highlighted a stark divide between the capital and the majority of English regions in the debate.
“That gap between London and the rest of the country was something that I, living outside, noticed but all my friends in London didn’t really appreciate,” he said at the London School of Economics last night.
“I [was] told: but if you even contemplate voting for Brexit, you must be either ignorant, uneducated, stupid or racist. [My] response was: I’m none of those, and I resent being described in those terms.
“It was the British equivalent of the deplorables. And I think the reaction against it did play some role [in the Brexit vote].”
Lord King, who retired from the Bank of England in 2013 after a decade as governor, has said the vote to leave the EU represents “real opportunities” for economic reform.
More:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/02/08/mervyn-king-mps-attitude-made-brexit-inevitable/