Politicsuk politicseu referendumbrexit

27 Times EU Referendum Campaign Made Us Say: WTF?

Best. Referendum. Ever
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By 

Senior Editor, HuffPost UK

1
Sir Bob Geldof Brands Nigel Farage A Wanker In Flotilla Face-Off
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Nigel Farage and Sir Bob Geldof clashed on the River Thames. The Ukip leader led a flotilla of fishing boats up the river to protest against EU fishing policies - but Sir Bob steered a counter measure, and from his own boat made a ‘wanker’ gesture at the MEP. Full story.
2
'Brexit' Concert Shambles
Leave.EU
Sister Sledge, Not Buck's Fizz, an Elvis impersonator, East 17, Alesha Dixon and two-fifths of 5ive were among the acts to cancel on the Leave.EU-organised BpopLive once they realised its political leanings. After three attempts, it never happened. Full story.
3
Mick Hucknall V Jeremy Corbyn
Simply Red star Mick Hucknall called the Labour leader a ‘spineless coward’ for refusing to campaign strongly enough for Remain. Senior Labour sources labelled the Tweets “low level and ignorant abuse from a musical and political has-been”. Full story.
4
Tom Watson Sings Holding Back The Tears
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson responded by taking the mic at the unveiling of a new poster. Full story.
5
Maggie's Sweater Revived
CommonMarket/BBC
A jumper worn by Margaret Thatcher during the 1975 referendum - featuring the nine countries that then made up the Common Market - was brought back to life. Yours for £45. Full story.
6
Magic Darts
Darts legend Bobby George backs Remain and invents #DontFuckMyFuture. The last day of the campaign was nuts.
7
Boris Goes Bananas
Boris Johnson claimed the EU stops shops from selling bananas in bunches of more than two or three. All supermarkets sell bananas in bunches of more than three. Full story.
8
Protester Dressed As Gorilla ‘Punched In Face’ At Boris Rally
Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
But Johnson was confronted by protesters dressed as a gorilla and a banana - and the gorilla was allegedly punched in the face. Full story.
9
Iain Duncan Smith: I’m Not Anti-Foreigner As I’m Part Japanese
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Brexit campaigner Iain Duncan Smith claimed the fact he is “part-Japanese” shows he is not “blaming foreigners” for the high level of migration to the UK. Full story.
10
Student Accuses David Cameron Of ‘Waffling’
Soraya Bouazzaoui was one of many angry audience members the TV 'debates' spawned. The English Literature student at Southampton Solent University divided opinion. Full story.
11
Stronger In’s #Votin' Video
The Britain Stronger in Europe group's brash video and series of posters marked the launch of #VOTIN - youth culture distilled into an uneasy relationship with the letter “g”. Full story.
12
'Posh Spice' Bosses Leave
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/victoria-beckham-has-accused-a-brexit-campaign-of-misrepresenting-her-views-the-on-eu-referendum_uk_57691792e4b0a4f99adc75c8
Victoria Beckham attacked a Brexit campaign for misrepresenting comments she made 20 years ago in order to make it look like she disagreed with her husband on the EU referendum. Full story.
13
Tory MP Deletes 'Sniffing Dirty Socks' Tweet
PA/Twitter
Tory MP Nadine Dorries, campaigning for ‘Brexit’, launched a fierce attack on Chancellor George Osborne after respected Tory Andrew Tyrie announced he was backing Remain - she but swiftly retracted the comment after discovering sock sniffing is “actually a sexual fetish”. Full story.
14
#CatsAgainstBrexit
People took to Twitter to rally against a possible ‘Brexit’ in the spirit of #DogsAtPollingStations. Full story.
15
Tim Farron Does The 'John Barnes Rap'
Former England footballer John Barnes denied Michael Gove’s claim he backed Brexit, making a passionate defence of the EU and saying he would be “flabbergasted” if we left it. The Lib Dem leader made this tribute. Full story.
16
'Brexit' Condoms
Vote Leave campaigners began distributing 'Brexit'-themed condoms on campus at Southampton University. Slogans on the special sheaths included “It’s risker to stay in” and “The safer choice”. Full story.
17
David Icke Backs Leave
Arguably the world’s best-known conspiracy theorist labelled the EU a “dictatorship", hitting out at the “dark suits running your life” and that real reform is “completely absent” in David Cameron’s deal with the EU. Full story.
18
Cross-Party Lols
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Remain's Paddy Ashdown, David Cameron and Neil Kinnock share a joke. They're not supposed to like each other. Full story.
19
Boris Waves A Pasty
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Boris Johnson brandishes a Cornish pasty as he set off on a ‘Brexit’ battlebus from Truro - only for critics to seize on the dish being protected by Europe. Full story.
20
Bullshit 'Brexit' Leaflets
Countries in Africa forecast to join the EU include Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Total nonsense. There was a lot of it.
21
Nicholas Soames' Tweets
Not so much a moment as a constant source of delight. Tory MP, Churchill's grandson and Remainer who took the fight to his own side - like Michael 'Gover' Gove. Full story.
22
Fiendishly Complicated Graphs
The Treasury published its analysis of the short-term economic impact of ‘Brexit’ - 83 pages of graphs, charts and equations that included this mind-bender. Full story.
23
Farage's 'Vile' Immigration Poster
Philip Toscano/PA Wire
Nigel Farage launching an EU referendum poster campaign branded "vile" by George Osborne, comparing it to extremist literature produced in the 1930s. Full story.
24
'Get That Lie Off Your Bus'
On ITV, senior Labour MP Angela Eagle seized on the much-questioned statistic emblazoned on the side of the official Vote Leave bus and leaflets - claiming the UK hands Brussels £350 million a week. Full story.
25
The TV Debate Conspiracy Theory
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/vote-leave-brexit-campaign-accused-of-shocking-bullying-tactics-against-itv_uk_57344737e4b0b11a329e7ec2
Vote Leave threatened to take ITV to court as it did not want Nigel Farage representing the ‘Leave’ camp on TV. Its political editor Robert Peston responded to claims it was "fixing the debates" and warnings "there will be consequences for its future". Full story.
26
The Remain Job
Dylan Martinez/PA Wire
David Cameron shared a stage with Labour’s Harriet Harman, Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Green Party’s Natalie Bennett. Three of the quartet stood in front of the icon of British industry, the Mini, while Green Party leader Bennett opted for a Brompton bicycle. It was all a bit The Italian Job. Full story.
27
Brexit: The Movie
A film focussed on EU regulations, trade and EU waste - and stereotypes. Full story.

Before You Go

River Thames taken over by EU Brexit debate
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A boat from the 'Fishing for Leave' campaign group sprays a boat from the 'In' campaign with water. (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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Sir Bob Geldof gives his view on Nigel Farage (credit:Getty)
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A boat carrying supporters for the Remain in the EU campaign including Sir Bob Geldof shout and wave at Brexit fishing boats as they sail up the river Thames. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
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A police boat chases pro-Remain campaingers in inflatable dinghies as they try to disrupt a flotilla of fishing vessels campaigning to leave the European Union as they sail up the river Thames. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A boat carrying supporters for the Remain in the EU campaign including Sir Bob Geldof (C) shout and wave at Brexit fishing boats. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
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A police boat chases pro-Remain campaigners in inflatable dinghies. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A boat decked out in flags and banners from the 'Fishing for Leave' campaign group. (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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Supporters of the EU Remain camp attach banners to Tower Bridge as they await a flotilla of fishing boats campaigning for Brexit to pass under the bridge. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
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A boat from the 'Fishing for Leave' campaign group and smaller boats from the 'In' campaign join a flotilla along the Thames River . (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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A boat carrying supporters for the Remain in the EU campaign including Sir Bob Geldof (C) shout and wave. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
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A man wearing a Union Jack shirt and shorts stands on board a boat from the 'Fishing for Leave'. (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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Boats from the 'Fishing for Leave' campaign group join a flotilla. (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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Boats from the 'Fishing for Leave' campaign. (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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People wave balloons and and flags. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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(credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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Boats from the 'Fishing for Leave' campaign group. (credit:Jack Taylor via Getty Images)
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Musician and campaigner Bob Geldof (C) joins a counter demonstration. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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Remain campaigners in dinghies try to disrupt a demonstration by a flotilla of fishing vessels. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A pro-Remain inflatable dinghy sails in front of a flotilla of fishing vessels. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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Pro-Remain campaigners sail an inflatable dinghy. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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Pro-Remain campaigners sail an inflatable dinghy past a flotilla. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A boat forming part of a flotilla of fishing vessels campaigning to leave the European Union. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A pro-Remain inflatable dinghy sails in front of a flotilla of fishing vessels. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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The crew stands on the deck of a boat. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A police boat chases pro-Remain campaigners in inflatable dinghies as they try to disrupt a flotilla of fishing vessels. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A pro-Remain inflatable dinghy sails in front of a flotilla of fishing vessels . (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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A boat forming part of a Fishing for Leave pro-Brexit "flotilla" makes its way along the River Thames in London. (credit:John Stillwell/PA Wire)
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Bob Geldof on board a boat taking part in a pro-EU counter demonstration. (credit:Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
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A boat carrying supporters for the Remain in the EU campaign shout and wave at Brexit fishing boats. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
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Nigel Farage (L) leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, waves from one of the boats in a flotilla. (credit:Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)
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Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe come alongside Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party in a boat to ask him to be a guest on their television show 'The Last Leg' on the River Thames on June 15, 2016 in London, England. Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP, is campaigning for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union in a referendum being held. (credit:Jeff Spicer via Getty Images)
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Nigel Farage poses in a passenger boat. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
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Comedian, Josh Widdicombe sails down the River Thames in London to show his support for staying the EU in next week's referendum. (credit:Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
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(credit:Jeff Spicer via Getty Images)
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