You stole my title and metaphor! The Charge of the Brexit Brigade Wed Jan 25th, 2017
.  Nevertheless the metaphor is as apt now as it was then - almost 2 years ago - and very little has changed.

The referendum result itself is perhaps the best analogue for the order for the Charge of the Light Brigade, with the UK establishment determined to follow through on that "order" despite mounting evidence that the referendum campaign was corrupted, none of the Brexiteer promises proved realistic, and the damage a no deal Brexit will wreck on the UK economy is increasingly obvious.

The divide in the military command at Balaclava is perhaps also a good metaphor for the divide in the Tory party leadership between Leavers and Remainers.

But as other commentators have also noted, Brexit isn't really about economic growth (or military victory). It celebrates a British fetish for glorious failure, for being brave in the face of adversity, and of almost inviting defeat on occasion if it will feed the myth of glorious Britannia.

That it also covers up splits in the establishment, whether military or political is another side-benefit. No one remembers the enmity and rivalry in the military command, no one is prosecuted for rank incompetence, all is drowned out by "Land of Hope and Glory!". The British commander was later promoted to General and then Field Marshall.

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