13. Lionel Shriver: [Part 1] Populism & The Battle for Brexit

Familiar to many from her appearances on Question Time, Newsnight etc., this week's guest is celebrated novelist & journalist Lionel Shriver, author of the award-winning novel "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (adapted into a 2011 film of the same name). A passionate Brexiteer and democrat, Shriver laments how the entrenched Remain establishment have seemingly used every means at their disposal to frustrate and hinder Brexit. She points out how the language surrounding Brexit has been captured and manipulated in the process of undermining Brexit. How suddenly after the Referendum the concept of "Soft" and "Hard" Brexit emerged out of nowhere -- concepts which had never been part of the debate. Similarly, we suddenly saw the heavily biased and loaded notion of "crashng out" on No Deal become part of common parlance. This term was immediately embraced by the media despite reputable figures such as a former Governor of the Bank of England, fomer head of the CBI, former head of the British Chamber of Commerce and former Chancellor of the Exchequer all supporting a managed no deal exit. She explains the hysteria of the most vocal Remainers, their contempt for Leave voters and how they misportray Brexiteers as angry, ignorant extremists seeking a return to the days of Empire and Imperial glory.