"Bollocks to Brexit" is a

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

and grassroots campaign slogan used by people opposing Brexit, following the result of a 2016 referendum. The slogan received media coverage and legal attention, as well as being used by the Liberal Democrats.

Merchandise

The phrase was printed on yellow fluorescent stickers (reading "Bollocks to Brexit – It's not a done deal"), which were prominently circulated and displayed on anti-Brexit marches, including the People's Vote march in London on 23 March 2019. The stickers were also handed out at major political party conferences in the UK. ''

The New European ''The New European'' is a British pan-European weekly political and cultural newspaper and website. Launched in July 2016 as a response to the United Kingdom's 2016 EU referendum, its readership is aimed at those who voted to remain within t ...

'', a newspaper supporting Britain remaining in the EU, offered a free "Bollocks to Brexit" mug with a subscription. A "Bollocks to Brexit" bus, parodying the

Vote Leave Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leavi ...

campaign bus that appeared during the 2016 referendum, toured the UK and Ireland in 2018. The bus made stops in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern ...

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbr ...

and

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, constituencies of Prime Ministers

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's c ...

and

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 20 ...

, as well as leader of the opposition

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

. It was inadvertently shown on television after it appeared in the background of an ''

ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since con ...

'' broadcast. Subsequently, three

mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

s were decorated with the slogan "Bollocks to Brexit", and prior to the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote ...

were driven around the UK with the aim of promoting

tactical voting Strategic voting, also called tactical voting, sophisticated voting or insincere voting, occurs in voting systems when a voter votes for another candidate or party than their ''sincere preference'' to prevent an undesirable outcome. For example, ...

. In the run-up to the 2019 EU elections, the Liberal Democrat leader

Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet a ...

adopted the phrase as the title of their party manifesto. The party's newly elected MEPs wore the slogan on the back of T-shirts at the opening of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Controversy

The phrase, and merchandise featuring it, attracted legal attention. In March 2018, the Speaker of the House of Commons,

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior ...

was criticised by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

MP and Leave Means Leave advocate Andrew Bridgen for appearing to display a "Bollocks to Brexit" sign in his car. Bercow said that the car belonged to his wife Sally and he could not be held directly responsible for her thoughts and opinions. In October 2018,

Charlie Mullins Sidney Charles Mullins (born 28 October 1952) is a British businessman. He is the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, London's largest independent plumbing company, which he sold in 2021. Early life Mullins is the son of a factory worker father and ...

, founder of

Pimlico Plumbers Pimlico Plumbers is a London-based plumbing firm established in 1979. With revenues of £20m as of 2015, it is London's largest independent plumbing company. Establishment Pimlico Plumbers was established in 1979 by its current managing direct ...

and former Conservative Party donor, was ordered by the local council to take down a large "Bollocks to Brexit" sign on top of a company building in

Waterloo, London Waterloo () is a district in Central London, and part of the Bishops ward of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The ...

. Commuters complained that the sign was distracting and irrelevant to the business, but Mullins defended his right to free speech and the sign remained in place. In March 2019, a man was detained at

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

after he refused to remove a "Bollocks to Brexit" badge upon attempting to board a flight. The same month, a protester on the People's Vote march attached a "Bollocks to Brexit" sticker to the front nameplate of the

Department for International Trade The Department for International Trade (DIT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for striking and extending trade agreements between the United Kingdom and foreign countries, as well as for encouraging foreign investment and ...

office in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

in protest at the

department secretary In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior public servant of an Australian Government or state government department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department. Role A departmental secretary ...

Liam Fox Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Pa ...

. Having commenced on the 'mini tour' to promote tactical voting in the 2019 UK General Election, the driver of one of three minis was stopped by an

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...

officer in November 2019. The officer insisted that the slogan must be removed from the vehicle.

References

External links

*
EU Flag Mafia
- marketer of "Bollocks to Brexit" stickers {{Brexit topics Brexit Obscenity controversies Political controversies Pro-Europeanism in the United Kingdom 2010s neologisms