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The Express Front Page Wasn't Even The Most Bombastic Of The Brexit Papers

Pro-Brexit Newspapers Celebrate Victory, But Ignore Financial Turmoil
Daily Express front page on day of Brexit
Daily Express
Daily Express front page on day of Brexit

The Brexit-backing newspapers have published strident front pages, focussing on the significance of the shock result but not emphasising the economic chaos and uncertainty that followed the vote to leave the EU on Friday.

As the pound fell in value, long-standing Eurosceptic paper the Daily Express published an extraordinary splash saying it had led “world’s most successful newspaper crusade” that ended in “glorious victory”.

While promising 20 pages of coverage inside, the front page itself did not mention the economic turmoil and feared fallout.

Its bombast and self-congratulations were too much for some people.

The Daily Mail, which also advocated a Brexit, said the "quiet people of Britain rose up against an arrogant, out-of-touch political class and a contemptuous Brussels elite".

The "historic edition" also did not mention the economic consequences.

Daily Mail

The headline was criticised by James Chapman, the paper's former political editor, who was left unimpressed in light of how his six-year-old son had reacted to the referendum result.

The notion that Britain had risen up against "political elites" was also questioned, given Cameron's resignation is likely to pave the way for Boris Johnson, a fellow former member of Oxford's Bullingdon Club, to be prime minister.

The Daily Telegraph, which also backed Brexit, said it heralded a "birth of a new Britain". Its front page reported the pound had "bounced back" since hitting a 30-year low.

Daily Telegraph

The papers that backed Remain, including The Guardian and The Mirror, gave the economic fallout much higher prominence and used the picture of an agonised Samantha Cameron standing by her husband as he announced his resignation.

Guardian
Daily Mirror

The Sun, the best selling paper in Britain which was one of the first to back a Brexit, splashed on an exclusive about Cameron's immediate decision to quit, supposedly telling aids he did not want to do the "hard shit" of renegotiating Britain's place in Europe.

The Sun

Other front pages, including the shocked Cameron on the Remain-backing Financial Times and 'Welcome to Boris Island' on the Independent's digital front page, were also praised.

One of the international papers attracting attention was the French daily Libèration, which printed the embarrassing photo of Johnson, Cameron's most likely successor, dangling from a zip wire while holding two British flags. Its headline was simply: "GOOD LUCK."