Boris Johnson described Brexit as a fight for freedom – but has it made us more free?

At the heart of the Brexit project is the impulse to rein in freedoms, to erect barriers to trade and impose limits on the movement of people, writes Andrew Woodcock

To suggest that Brexit was a struggle for freedom is bound to grate on voters (Reuters)

Boris Johnson was called out by leaders across Europe for his crass comparison of Brexit with the war in Ukraine, with many voicing incredulity at his implication that the desperate military struggle against Russian invaders shared any similarity with voting in a referendum.

But there was another aspect of his comment which was equally questionable and highly revealing about his political strategy, and that was his suggestion that Brexiteers and Ukrainians were united in being motivated by the desire for “freedom”.

It’s the kind of comment Johnson makes repeatedly, linking his political projects with positive values as if there were some sort of natural connection between them.