BrexitCentral
BrexitCentral was a British pro-Brexit news and political commentary website that operated from 2016 until January 2020.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
BrexitCentral was a British political news and commentary website established in 2016 to promote a favorable interpretation of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. Founded by Matthew Elliott, who had led the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 referendum, the site presented itself as a platform for developing and communicating a positive post-Brexit vision. Its editorial and policy output focused on Brexit-related news, arguments for national sovereignty, deregulation, free-market economics, and the political opportunities associated with leaving the EU. The website emerged directly from the political and organizational environment surrounding the referendum campaign. Its first editor was Jonathan Isaby, a former co-editor of ConservativeHome and former political director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance. The site also employed or published material by people connected to the Vote Leave campaign, including Darren Grimes. This personnel overlap led critics and journalists to characterize BrexitCentral as a continuation of the referendum campaign’s communications operation rather than as an entirely independent news outlet. BuzzFeed News reported that most of the site’s small staff had previously worked on Vote Leave and that its registered headquarters was in the same building as the campaign’s headquarters. By 2018, BrexitCentral’s offices were reported to be in Millbank Tower in London. The site was also associated in reporting with the Westminster policy and advocacy networks surrounding 55 and 57 Tufton Street. OpenDemocracy described meetings involving staff from BrexitCentral and the TaxPayers’ Alliance, while The Guardian placed the site among free-market organizations that had gained access to senior political figures during Boris Johnson’s government. Former Vote Leave staffer Shahmir Sanni similarly described BrexitCentral as part of a broader network of right-leaning think tanks and campaign groups. BrexitCentral sought influence through commentary, political access, and policy debate rather than through consumer products. In 2017, reports that the website had been granted parliamentary lobby passes prompted criticism from Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who argued that an organization closely associated with Vote Leave was being given unusually direct access to Parliament. The site also attracted fact-checking scrutiny. In 2019, the BBC reported that a BrexitCentral claim suggesting that every EU member state would be required to adopt the euro after 2020 was incorrect. The publication’s contributors included figures from across the British policy debate, although its editorial identity remained strongly pro-Brexit. Claire Ainsley, later associated with Labour Party policy under Sir Keir Starmer, wrote for the site in 2016 about the possibility of using Brexit to improve the prospects of people who had voted Leave. BrexitCentral ceased operating in January 2020, as the United Kingdom finalized its Withdrawal Agreement and moved into the next stage of its relationship with the EU. According to Matthew Elliott, remaining funds were redirected into two £10,000 grants for young policymakers developing projects intended to contribute to political and policy debate. The grants went to Chris Barnard and the leadership of the British Conservation Alliance, and to Richard Johnson, a lecturer in US politics at Queen Mary University of London.
History
BrexitCentral was created in 2016 in the aftermath of the United Kingdom’s referendum on membership of the European Union. Its founder, Matthew Elliott, had been chief executive of Vote Leave, the official campaign that supported leaving the EU. The new publication was intended to continue the political and intellectual work of the referendum campaign by giving supporters of Brexit a platform for news, argument and policy development. The site’s stated purpose was to advance a positive account of Britain after Brexit. Its coverage and commentary therefore concentrated on the political consequences of withdrawal, the prospects for regulatory and economic reform, and the claim that leaving the EU could expand democratic accountability and national self-government. BrexitCentral was not a general-interest newspaper with a broad commercial product range; it was primarily a political communications and commentary outlet. Jonathan Isaby served as its first editor. Before joining BrexitCentral, he had been co-editor of ConservativeHome and political director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance. The publication also employed Darren Grimes, another former Vote Leave staff member. The prominence of former campaign personnel became a defining feature of the site’s public identity. BuzzFeed News reported that five of its seven employees had explicitly worked on Vote Leave and that the site’s registered address was in the same building as the campaign’s former headquarters. These links encouraged critics to describe BrexitCentral as a form of institutional continuity between the referendum campaign and the subsequent Brexit debate. The site’s connections extended beyond its staffing. By 2018, its offices were reported to be in Millbank Tower in London, while other reporting associated it with the Westminster advocacy environment around 55 and 57 Tufton Street. OpenDemocracy described meetings jointly chaired by personnel linked to BrexitCentral and the TaxPayers’ Alliance. The Guardian later included BrexitCentral among a group of strongly free-market think tanks and advocacy organizations said to have obtained significant access to the government of Boris Johnson. Shahmir Sanni, a former Vote Leave employee, also described the site as part of a network that included the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Adam Smith Institute. BrexitCentral’s political influence was accompanied by controversy over access and accountability. In 2017, reports that it had received parliamentary lobby passes raised questions about whether former campaign organizations were being granted privileged access to Parliament. Stephen Kinnock, a Labour MP, criticized what he saw as the transformation of a Vote Leave-linked campaign apparatus into an organization with direct access to parliamentary briefings. The site also faced criticism over the accuracy of some of its claims. In 2019, the BBC identified as false a BrexitCentral statement that all EU countries would be required to join the euro after 2020. Despite its clear pro-Brexit orientation, the publication was not limited exclusively to writers from one political background. Claire Ainsley, who had led the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and later became associated with Labour policy under Sir Keir Starmer, contributed an article in 2016 arguing that Brexit could be used to improve the prospects of many Leave voters. Such contributions allowed the site to present itself as a venue for a wider post-referendum debate, even though its overall editorial position remained firmly supportive of Brexit. BrexitCentral ended publication in January 2020, when the United Kingdom completed the parliamentary and legal process surrounding the Withdrawal Agreement. Matthew Elliott said that surplus funds were redirected into two £10,000 grants for young policymakers. One grant supported Chris Barnard and the leadership of the British Conservation Alliance, while the other went to Richard Johnson, a lecturer in US politics at Queen Mary University of London. The closure marked the end of BrexitCentral as an active publication, although its influence and relationships remained part of wider discussions about the campaign groups, think tanks and media platforms that shaped British Brexit politics.
- 2020
Website closes
[1]BrexitCentral ceased operating in January after the United Kingdom finalized its Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
- 2020
Remaining funds distributed as policy grants
[1]Two £10,000 grants were awarded to young policymakers and policy organizations using funds left after the website’s closure.
- 2019
BBC disputes euro-adoption claim
[4]The BBC reported that a BrexitCentral claim about compulsory euro adoption by all EU countries was inaccurate.
- 2018
London office reported at Millbank Tower
[1]Reporting placed BrexitCentral’s offices at Millbank Tower and discussed its links to Westminster policy networks.
- 2017
Parliamentary access becomes controversial
[2]Reports that BrexitCentral had been granted parliamentary lobby passes triggered criticism concerning its links to the former Vote Leave campaign.
- 2016
BrexitCentral is founded
[1]Matthew Elliott founded BrexitCentral after the EU referendum campaign to promote a favorable vision of Britain outside the European Union.
- 2016
Jonathan Isaby becomes first editor
[1]Jonathan Isaby, previously associated with ConservativeHome and the TaxPayers’ Alliance, became the website’s first editor.
Products and positioning
A pro-Brexit political news and commentary platform advocating a positive, sovereignty-oriented and generally free-market vision of the United Kingdom outside the European Union.
Political news and commentary · 2016
BrexitCentral website
The website was BrexitCentral’s principal offering. It published news, analysis, opinion and policy arguments supporting the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. Its editorial agenda emphasized sovereignty, post-Brexit opportunity, regulatory flexibility and a positive political narrative for Leave voters. The site operated as a digital publication rather than as a conventional consumer media business with print, broadcast or retail products.
Policy advocacy · 2016
Post-Brexit policy commentary
BrexitCentral used essays and commentary to explore what Britain might do after leaving the EU. Topics included economic policy, democratic accountability, deregulation and the social consequences of Brexit. The content was designed to influence political debate and provide intellectual support for a pro-Brexit agenda, rather than to offer neutral academic research or conventional breaking-news reporting.
Controversies
2019
Inaccurate claim about EU euro adoption
The BBC reported that BrexitCentral had incorrectly claimed that all EU countries would be forced to adopt the euro after 2020.
2017
Vote Leave staffing and headquarters links
Journalistic reporting drew attention to the large proportion of BrexitCentral staff who had previously worked on Vote Leave and to the reported overlap between the campaign’s former premises and the website’s registered headquarters. Critics argued that the site appeared to function as a continuation of the referendum campaign.
2017
Lobby-pass access controversy
The granting of parliamentary lobby passes to BrexitCentral employees was criticized as giving a Vote Leave-linked organization unusually direct access to parliamentary briefings and political activity.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Positive vision of Britain after Brexit
United Kingdom
BrexitCentral’s central editorial campaign was to promote a constructive and optimistic account of life outside the European Union, framing Brexit as an opportunity for greater sovereignty and policy change.
Outcome. The platform remained active through the Brexit implementation period but closed in January 2020 after the Withdrawal Agreement was finalized.
Brand decisions
2020
Close the publication after the Withdrawal AgreementStrategyBackground
BrexitCentral had operated during the referendum aftermath and the parliamentary process leading to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU.
Action taken
The website ceased operations in January 2020 as the United Kingdom finalized its Withdrawal Agreement.
Aftermath
Remaining funds were redirected into two £10,000 grants for young policymakers and policy projects.
Grant value. £10,000 per grant (2020)
Recent events
- 2020
BrexitCentral shuts down and redirects remaining funds[1]
Other
The website closed in January as the United Kingdom finalized its Withdrawal Agreement. Remaining funds were used for two grants supporting young policy researchers and campaigners.
- 2019
BBC challenges BrexitCentral euro claim[4]
Other
The BBC reported that a BrexitCentral claim that all EU countries would be compelled to adopt the euro after 2020 was false.
- 2018
BrexitCentral reported among Westminster free-market policy networks[3]
Other
Coverage connected BrexitCentral with meetings and advocacy networks operating around 55 and 57 Tufton Street and with wider free-market groups active in Westminster.
- 2016
BrexitCentral launches as a pro-Brexit news and policy website[1]
Other
Matthew Elliott established BrexitCentral after the referendum campaign to promote arguments for Brexit and articulate a favorable vision of Britain outside the European Union.
Sources4 sources
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