If	you	didn’t	laugh,	you’d	cry	…	Brexit	and	the
renaissance	of	British	humour
It	would	be	unbearable	if	it	weren’t	so	amusing	…	John	Ryan	(LSE	Ideas)	says	the	desire	to
salvage	some	comic	value	from	the	Brexit	negotiations,	and	the	chief	political	players,	has
inspired	plenty	of	satire	–	something	the	British	have	long	excelled	at.	Even	the	more	arcane
elements	of	British	comedy	have	found	an	appreciative	audience	in	continental	Europe.
The	referendum	was	won	like	an	Oxford	Union	debate:	with	funny,	almost	substance-free	hot	air.	It
has	come	as	a	shock	to	our	EU	partners,	who	operate	a	system	built	on	information	and	who	are	now	having	to
inform	Theresa	May	and	her	cabinet	about	the	reality	of	leaving	the	EU.	As	the	government’s	Brexit	strategy
threatens	to	descend	into	chaos,	it	has	triggered	a	highly	creative	response	of	comedy	and	satire.
The	book	Alice	in	Brexitland	is	a	satirical	twist	on	the	classic	children’s	book	Alice	in	Wonderland	by	Lewis
Carroll.	Instead	of	tumbling	down	the	rabbit	hole,	Alice	is	in	Brexitland	and	the	characters	she	comes	across	–
David	Camerabbit,	Corbyn-Pillar,	The	Cheshire	Twat	(stupid	or	obnoxious),	Trumpty	Dumpty,	Tweedleboz	and
Tweedlegove	and	the	Queen	of	Heartlessness	–	are	well-known	political	figures.	The	play	Brexit	–	The	Musical
has	been	updating	its	satire	throughout	its	runs	in	2017.
The	Tory	leadership	debate	is	a	modern	farce	in	its	own	right.	Consistent	in	his	optimism	about	Brexit	–	if	not
delusional	–	is	the	Conservative	MP	Jacob	Rees-Mogg.	He	recently	concluded	that	“there	has	been	too	much
Eeyore	[a	character	in	the	Winnie-the-Pooh	books	by	AA	Milne]	and	we	want	a	bit	more	Red	Rum	[a	horse	that
won	the	Grand	National	three	times]”.	Comments	like	this	give	the	EU	plenty	of	ammunition	to	laugh	at	the	British.
No	arms!	A	Black	Knight	Monty	Python	tribute	at	DragonCon,	2009.	Photo:	BlueRidgeKitties	via
a	CC-BY-NC-SA	2.0	licence
Private	Eye	magazine	has	two	enjoyable	columns.	The	first	capture	the	adventures	of	Boris	Johnson,	the	foreign
secretary,	as	if	he	were	writing	exclusively	for	the	magazine.	(The	recent	Channel	4	documentary	Blond	Ambition,
meanwhile,	shows	that	there	may	be	considerable	truth	to	the	parody.)	The	second	column	takes	the	form	of	the
school	newsletter	of	St	Theresa’s	Independent	State	Grammar	School	for	Girls	(and	Boys)	incorporating	The
William	III	Orange	Academy	(renamed	since	the	2017	election,	after	the	informal	alliance	between	the
Conservative	party	and	the	Democratic	Unionist	Party)	where	May	is	the	headteacher	leading	a	group	of
dysfunctional	staff	(cabinet	ministers).
LSE Brexit: If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry … Brexit and the renaissance of British humour Page 1 of 2
	
	
Date originally posted: 2017-10-04
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/10/04/if-you-didnt-laugh-youd-cry-brexit-and-the-renaissance-of-british-humour/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/
Many	will	lament	the	government’s	shambolic	approach	to	Brexit.	But	the	famous	British	sense	of	humour	may
prevent	large	parts	of	the	population	from	succumbing	to	depression.
Yet	while	the	British	sense	of	humour	is	much	loved	on	the	continent,	it	has	long	been	a	mystery.	Brexit	may
change	that.	One	popular	joke	plays	on	the	Brexit	divide	within	the	United	Kingdom:	An	Englishman,	a	Scotsman
and	an	Irishman	walk	into	a	bar.	The	Englishman	wanted	to	go	so	they	all	had	to	leave.	When	Johnson
suggested	that	the	EU	could	“go	whistle”	if	it	expected	large	sums	of	money	from	Britain	as	part	of	the	Brexit
process,	the	bloc’s	chief	Brexit	negotiator	Michel	Barnier	had	a	deadpan	response	at	hand:	“I’m	not	hearing	any
whistling,	just	the	clock	ticking.”	Some	draw	comparisons	between	Johnson	and	Bertie	Wooster.
Frans	Timmermans,	the	powerful	First	Vice-President	of	the	European	Commission,	has	mocked
Britain’s	ambitions	to	forge	new	global	trading	relationships	after	Brexit	by	comparing	Eurosceptic	politicians	to	a
character	from	Monty	Python.	Speaking	in	the	European	Parliament	in	Strasbourg,	Timmermans	likened	UKIP
MEP	Raymond	Finch	to	the	Black	Knight	in	the	1975	film	Monty	Python	and	the	Holy	Grail.	In	the	film,	King	Arthur
slices	off	the	limbs	of	the	belligerent	Black	Knight,	who	threatens	to	bleed	on	his	adversary	and	bite	his	legs.
Asked	about	the	UK	strategy	of	‘having	our	cake	and	eating	it’,	an	Irish	MEP	dryly	answered	that	‘it	sounds	like
having	your	cake	and	eating	mine’.
One	prominent	Italian	commentator	captured	the	mood	this	way:	“To	be	alone	in	1940	among	the	enemy	was
heroic;	to	be	alone	in	2017	among	friends	is	absurd.”
This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	LSE	Brexit,	nor	of	the	London	School	of
Economics.
Professor	John	Ryan	is	a	Fellow	at	LSE	Ideas	(International	Strategy	and	Diplomacy).	He	was	a	fellow	at	St
Edmund’s	College,	University	of	Cambridge,	and	at	the	European	Integration	section	of	the	German	Institute	for
International	and	Security	Affairs,	Berlin,	Germany.	
LSE Brexit: If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry … Brexit and the renaissance of British humour Page 2 of 2
	
	
Date originally posted: 2017-10-04
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/10/04/if-you-didnt-laugh-youd-cry-brexit-and-the-renaissance-of-british-humour/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/