Brexit pub crawl launches in Bristol

Wander into any Wetherspoon pub in Bristol or across the UK for a quiet pint and you can’t help but notice the display of pro-Brexit paraphernalia.

Wetherspoon News, the chain’s free in-house publication outlines what it terms the “circle of deceit” around the current situation regarding the draft deal for exiting the EU, while posters and stands on tables reiterate more of the same message.

There was more of a buzz in the air than you might usually expect on a Wednesday morning in the Commercial Rooms on Corn Street as Tim Martin, owner of Wetherspoon and outspoken leave campaigner, officially launched his Brexit pub crawl.

Over the next few weeks, he will be visiting a number of his pubs around the country to campaign for the hard Brexit that he believes in and encouraging debate among the general public.

It comes as analysis from a range of government departments predict the UK will be significantly worse off under all Brexit scenarios.

But Martin is convinced the story being told by the mainstream media – or metropolitan elite as he calls it – is a myth and he is setting out on a mission to bypass such outlets and instigate debate on the ground.

Tim Martin (back row, centre) with a group of Wetherspoon staff and members of the public in The Commercial Rooms

Speaking about his belief in a ‘no deal’ Brexit, Martin said: “If we leave without a deal, we can copy countries like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and adopt a free trade approach.

“We regain control and become more democratic, while the EU is becoming increasingly undemocratic.”

Martin maintains that Britain has no legal obligation to pay £39 billion to the EU upon exiting the union and is dismissive of the deal that Prime Minister Theresa May has negotiated.

The National Crime Agency is currently investigating Thornbury-based multi-millionaire Arron Banks and associates for suspected criminal offences related to funds donated to the Leave.EU during the referendum campaign.

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Read more: Arron Banks referred to National Crime Agency 

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On Wednesday morning, Martin stressed that he was a member of the official Vote Leave group, not Leave.EU, but dismissed concerns about the legitimacy of the vote in June 2016.

“I met people who campaigned for leave and I never met any Russians,” he said, in reference to allegations that Russian money helped fund the leave campaign.

“All the issues that arose were reported at the time. It was a good old political bun fight, but the public is used to that.

“It’s slightly insulting to the public’s intelligence to say they were duped.”

As the owner of a major pub chain, Martin is putting his politics into practice and has phased out a number of non-British European products “partly as an experiment to show it can be done without hitting the business and partly to show the UK is in a strong bargaining position”.

He is not a member of any political party and disagreed with much of the anti-immigration rhetoric peddled by the likes of UKIP during the referendum campaign.

“I strongly believe that if the country is to be successful over the next 20-30 years, we need a level of immigration,” said Martin. “But that should be decided by MPs we elect.”

Summing up what he hopes to achieve over the next few weeks, he said: “Even if we disagree, it’s good to have a debate. We cannot just leave it to the Financial Times and Question Time.”

There are those who clearly welcome his efforts to use his platform to campaign for the cause he believes in, with one customer coming across to shake his hand and thank Martin for all he is doing.

David Gilleland (left – pictured with Tim Martin) says the current Brexit situation is a shambles

Sitting with his pint and a copy of the Guardian, David Gilleland is happy enough to have a photo with the Wetherspoon boss. “I voted to get out and now it’s in absolute bloody shambles,” said David.

But others completely disagree with the hard Brexit viewpoint.

Joining the group, Jonathan said he is firmly in the remain camp and has come along in a bid to better understand the views underpinning the hard Brexit campaigners.

He works for a large engineering company in Bristol and says the EU has been vital in a lot of the work and research he has completed.

“I recently got EU funding for a four-year, cross-country research programme,” said Jonathan. “That kind of collaboration is a golden opportunity. It’s 2018, not 1918.

“It’s not just products and services, it’s knowledge and information that are crossing European borders all the time.

“All that intellectual property – if that opportunity goes and we are looking inward, that’s such a shame.”

Jonathan said that his office has a high number of workers from across the EU, adding: “The values of the peace of Europe: we have to take it seriously and value it.

“European collaborations are vital, geographically we are closer to Europe than to Australia and New Zealand. When we collaborate, we are greater than the sum of our parts and that’s an opportunity.”

A number of Wetherspoon staff from across the region have turned out to join Martin on his mini-bus tour, that is due to stop in Gloucester after Bristol, followed by Cardiff.

Among them, it’s a mixed bag of opinions. One staff members says that a lot of employees are pro-remain, but generally keep work separate from politics.

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin launched his Brexit pub crawl at the Commercial Rooms on Corn Street

Read more: ‘Brexit is a consequence of big problems in Britain’