Guy Verhofstadt has resumed his criticism of Brexit, claiming Britain has suffered “four years of horror” since quitting the bloc.
The former Prime Minister of Belgium even described the process as self-harm – triggering a scornful reaction on social media.
Mr Verhofstadt, now an MEP who served as the European Parliament’s Brexit representative in the turbulent years after the 2016 referendum, rarely misses an opportunity to voice his disaster for Britain’s decision.
His latest message, shared on X, formerly Twitter, shared a new Evening Standard poll published yesterday suggesting 57 percent of Britons believed Brexit had been more of a failure than a success, with 13 percent thinking the opposite.
He commented: “After 4 years of horror… 4:1 Brits believe Brexit was a failure.
“For how long is Britain going to continue to self-harm this way?!”
Multiple X users waded in with comments, including Graham Stanley, who said: “We’ve never coming back and giving you loads of money again pal, jog on.”
Referring to ongoing protests in France, Germany and Belgium, Mark Brymer said: “Ask your farmers if they are happy with EU Policy.”
Rob Phillips commented: “Faster growth than Germany since Brexit. You’re a fanatic. An extremist.”
Others were supportive, with Marion Sharp posting: “I’m not a Brit, I’m a Scot. We voted to remain and we’re dragged into this farce. Northern Ireland has a great deal.”
Last night’s message marked the second time in less than 24 hours Mr Verhofstadt had addressed the subject.
In a separate post on X, he shared a clip featuring European Movement chairman Mike Galsworthy encouraging people to get involved in the organisation, which is campaigning for a return to the bloc.
Mr Galsworthy commented: “At European Movement UK we’ve just passed 22,000 members – more than 4x what it was a few years back.
“Brexit has failed. Polls now show 60 percent for joining the EU (and much higher in youth).
“So it’s time to talk about the future.”
Speaking yesterday, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said Brexit was a “seismic moment in British politics” and “something of that magnitude is going to take time to filter through”.
Ms Atkins cited the Covid vaccine rollout as a prime example of the UK’s ability to move quicker than the EU after leaving the bloc.
She told reporters: “I’ll give you one very positive example of how being free from the EU enabled us to make real change to our society and that, of course, was through the vaccination programme during Covid.
“We were able to come out of lockdown faster than any other country, because we were able to make those decisions about the vaccination programme and roll it out as quickly as we did.”
Tthe pharmaceutical industry viewed the UK’s position outside the EU as a “real game changer for them”, Ms Atkins claimed.
She added: “I think we really are going to see some really exciting opportunities in the years ahead of us.”
