A Daily Telegraph article from 2016 has been making the rounds on social media ahead of the super Saturday Brexit showdown today.
Analysis from Europe Editor Peter Foster showed how, despite speculation over David Cameron’s deal with the EU, the referendum looked to be a “one-week crapshoot”.
It noted:
“Using Google trends as a gauge of public interest-levels in the referendum, the answer is clear: at this point in the game, the vast majority of the electorate couldn’t care less.”
More interest in Strictly Come Dancing
Looking it two charts, it shows while there was a spike in interest from 2015 that had largely petered out by the start of the next year.
What’s more, set against the Premier League, or Strictly Come Dancing, the relative interest in the EU referendum is so minimal it all but disappears from view.
Travel expert Mark Smith re-circulated the article today, saying it is “proof – from the Telegraph of all places – that back in 2016 brexit & EU in or out was a Conservative party internal squabble of little concern to the people of this country.
“Now we’re letting it wreck the country.”
Super Saturday
The article has resurfaced as the PM faces a knife-edge vote on Brexit as Parliament meets on ‘super Saturday’.
The Prime Minister appealed to MPs from across the political spectrum to back his agreement with Brussels and end a “painful chapter” as the October 31 deadline for withdrawal loomed.
Writing in The Sun, Mr Johnson said: “Today can be the day we get Brexit done.
“There have been any number of false dawns. Deadlines for our departure have come and gone.
“I ask everyone to cast their mind forward to the end of today – and imagine what it could be like if the new Brexit deal has been approved.
“In less than two weeks, on October 31, we would be out of the EU.
“A difficult, divisive and – yes – painful chapter in our history would be at an end.”
Related: ERG MPs reveal how Johnson’s deal paves way for no deal Brexit next year