As Boris Johnson spearheads ‘Change Britain’ campaign to ensure Brexit is a success, I say it’s NOT about Leavers and Remainers… now it’s all about Doers

THE first six months of this year saw Britain start a journey that would lead in June to a majority of us voting to leave the European Union.

During the referendum I chaired Vote Leave. Many of my family, friends and ­colleagues thought differently from me.

During the referendum, I met hundreds of Remain activists and supporters and I respected the fact that they felt as passionately as I did that their cause was right and just.

In June the people voted, bringing to an end a ­campaign that was hard-fought and sometimes ­bruising.

The result of the vote was close but it was also decisive.

The referendum exposed divisions in our society. But it also re-engaged the electorate with our politics and the question of what kind of a country we want to be and where we want to go.

The journey Britain began at the start of the year does not end with the referendum.

Make Britain ­stronger, fairer

In many ways this was the beginning. The vote means this country will undergo the biggest change in 40 years in our diplomatic, trade and economic relationships.

It also creates a unique opportunity to review our democratic and constitutional arrangements.

Making the most of these opportunities is going to take careful, hard work.

Of course there are ­challenges ahead, but there is also a tremendous prize — a unique chance to change our country for the better, to make Britain stronger, fairer, better governed and more prosperous.

The challenge is not just ours. Our neighbours on the European continent need to find their own way forward in difficult circumstances for the eurozone. The stability of the ­European economy ­matters to us and it is important that they succeed.

We need to get on with the task of building a new ­relationship with the nations of the EU and, in doing so, help shape the next chapter in Europe’s history.

On all of this there is real work to be done, much of it unglamorous, and a need for the best people to come together to complete the task.

The referendum also marked a more profound political change than just a transfer of occupancy in Downing Street.

It has forced us to acknowledge that people in large sections of the UK have lost faith in political parties and the Westminster elite.

While millions in this country enjoy unprecedented prosperity and freedoms, many Leave voters felt their jobs under threat, their prospects and those of their children narrowing and the public services they rely on coming under growing strain. They still do.

They voted in the referendum for change and it is up to us in power to begin to make that happen.

The referendum debate divided families and there is still some of the feeling of disorientation that ran through July as we all came to terms with the ­enormity of the change.

Some on both sides seem attracted to fighting old ­battles, but the ­British people are impatient and expect us to roll up our sleeves and get down to work.

This isn’t a time for ­Leavers and Remainers — now is a time for Doers.

Change Britain is looking to work with Doers, whatever their politics, whatever their side in the referendum. We are a cross-party campaign which aspires to build a powerful coalition of individuals and organisations from across politics and the “real world” outside.

What will unite this group is a desire to make our exit from the EU a success for ­everyone in Britain.

We want to build a country that is open, outward-looking and internationalist, that has strong and sustainable ­relationships with European nations and great ambitions for its people, wherever they come from and however long they have lived here.

It is an extraordinary task but this is an extraordinary time. And this is an extraordinary country with the potential to thrive and be a force for good in the 21st Century. Please join us and Change Britain.