The EU referendum revealed people in the UK want to have more control over the decisions that affect them. The arguments of the ‘leave' campaign connected with a growing desire for decisions to be made closer to the people who they will affect. Brussels was often painted as an unaccountable far-away group of elites making decisions against the interests of British people.

Leaving the EU was seen by many as an opportunity to move the decision-making power in Brussels much closer to home.