Led By Donkeys

British anti-Brexit political campaign group

This article is about the British political campaign group. For the World War I phrase, see Lions led by donkeys.

Led By Donkeys

Established| 10 July 2019 (6 years ago)
Founders| Ben John Stewart, James Sadri, William Rose, Oliver Knowles
Types| organization
Purpose| Anti-Brexit media campaign
Country| United Kingdom

Region served

| UK
Chairpersons|

* Oliver Knowles
* Will Rose
* James Sadri
* Ben Stewart

Website| www.ledbydonkeys.org

Led By Donkeys is a British political campaign group established in December 2018 as an anti-Brexit group, but which has also criticised other actions of the Conservative government. After the 2024 election of a Labour government, it defined itself as an "accountability project" and stated that the Labour government was also fair game.

Since the group's creation its four founders have been calling out what they call "thermonuclear hypocrisy" and used satire targeted at pro-Brexit politicians. Led By Donkeys' main campaign consists of billboards containing past tweets by pro-Brexit politicians, or quotes presented as tweets. These tweets state the politicians' previous political positions, which according to the group have not stood the test of time.

The campaign was initially run as a guerilla operation, in which Led By Donkeys posters were plastered over existing adverts. It was then expanded into a crowdfunded campaign that purchased advertising space on hundreds of billboards across the UK. Later the group staged real-life stunts, including projecting messages on iconic places including the Houses of Parliament and the White Cliffs of Dover, carving giant messages on beaches and fields, and directing crowds to unfurl huge flags at pro-European Union marches. Videos of these messages were subsequently viewed millions of times on social media. The campaign group won the award for Best Social Media Campaign in the 2019 Social Purpose Awards, and won gold in the National Social Impact category in the 2020 Outdoor Media Awards.

The group's name comes from the phrase "lions led by donkeys", referring to British soldiers in the First World War, who were led to their deaths by leaders deemed incompetent and indifferent.

## Background

[edit]

Main article: Brexit

In the Conservative Party's manifesto for the general election in May 2015, the party promised a referendum on the UK's European Union membership by the end of 2017.[1] In the 2016 referendum voters voted by 52% to 48% to leave the European Union.[2] By December 2018 the UK had not yet left.[3]

## Beginning

[edit]

In December 2018, four friends were discussing their frustrations with the ongoing Brexit situation in The Birdcage, a pub in Stoke Newington. All four men had a connection with environmental campaign group Greenpeace; Oliver Knowles and Ben Stewart were employees, and James Sadri and Will Rose had previously been involved with the group.[4] In the referendum, they had all voted to remain in the EU.[5] During this period, the group discovered an old tweet by former prime minister David Cameron. This tweet, dating from before the 2015 election, read "Britain faces a simple and inescapable choice - stability and strong Government with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband".[4] They agreed it would be a shame if Cameron deleted it, as in their view it summed up the "failure of Britain's political leadership".[4] They were also frustrated by the failure, in their opinion, of British media to hold leaders of the Brexit campaign to account.[6] They decided to preserve the tweet by printing it out and pasting it up. Each of them chose a statement from a pro-Brexit politician to go up on billboards as well as "tweets you can't delete", looking for the "most offensive lies, lunacy and hypocrisy" in their view.[7][8] They settled on the following four old claims: "The day after we vote to leave we hold all the cards and can choose the path we want" (Michael Gove, April 2016);[9] "The Free Trade Agreement that we will do with the European Union should be one of the easiest in human history" (Liam Fox, July 2017);[10] "There will be no downside to Brexit, only a considerable upside" (David Davis, October 2016);[11] "Getting out of the EU can be quick and easy – the UK holds most of the cards in any negotiation" (John Redwood, July 2016).[12][13][14] Two years later, by Christmas 2018, with prime minister Theresa May's Brexit deal stuck in parliament, none of these claims had materialised, according to The Guardian.[14][3]

Rose designed the posters. Sadri came up with the name "Lions led by donkeys",[15] a common phrase referring to soldiers in the First World War who were led to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent leaders.[16] They thought it well described the relationship between the British people and their Brexit leaders. Rose shortened it to #LedByDonkeys.[17] They had the five tweets printed at billboard size. The activists bought a ladder, high-visibility jackets to look legitimate, a bucket, a roller and wallpaper paste. On the night of 8 January 2019 they illegally plastered the David Cameron tweet over a finance advert on a billboard on the A10 in Stoke Newington.[18][19] They posted a photo of the billboard to their new Twitter account, and asked journalist Marina Hyde of The Guardian to retweet it; this soon resulted in hashtag #LedByDonkeys trending on Twitter.[20] Within a day, their billboard poster had been plastered over with blue paper.[4]

## Growth

[edit]

A Led By Donkeys billboard in Newcastle

In the time between their day jobs and their family life, at night the group illegally pasted the other four original tweets on billboards around London. The group stated that one of their aims was to spark a discussion amongst Leave voters about the promises of the leading Brexiteers.[21] They therefore chose Dover, a pro-Brexit constituency, as their next location. They selected four additional historical Brexiteer statements, partially from suggestions made by their social media followers, among which was Dominic Raab's 2018 statement "I hadn't quite understood the full extent of this but ... we are particularly reliant on the Dover-Calais crossing".[22][13] On 16 January 2019 the group tweeted photos of the four Dover billboards, along with the message "A busy night on the Brexit frontline. We've covered Dover in the historic quotes of the people responsible for this chaos. Britain is a nation #LedByDonkeys." The group later stated that this was the moment when they went viral.[23] The next day all four posters were removed by the billboard company.[4]

Social media followers asked for billboards all over the country.[6] The activists deplored the tribalism triggered by Brexit and agreed that going national was needed. Their followers suggested that they set up a crowdfunder to raise money to legitimately put billboards up in places far outside London. Initially the group resisted this, considering the fact that their acts were illegal to be an important part of the activism of the project. They also feared they would have to give up their anonymity to get crowdfunding, thus risking fines and convictions. But when people from crowdfunder.co.uk contacted them, they learned that they could stay anonymous, and video footage of the Dover billboards being removed within a day made the group change their mind.[24] They set up a fundraising target of £10,000. It was reached within three hours.[4] By November 2019 the group had raised £500,000 and had become the biggest crowdfunded political campaign in UK history.[25]

The group has described itself in various ways: "a Brexit accountability project",[5] calling out "thermonuclear hypocrisy",[20] and "political street theatre".[26] They did not have a grand plan with big ambitions. Initially, they simply considered it cathartic to do something themselves, namely, hold the Brexiteers to account, which they thought nobody else was doing but should. They said they held them to account by putting the old tweets back into the public space and give people the opportunity to re-read them in "the reality about what's unfolding".[19] They brought the Greenpeace "ethos of the mindbomb of campaigning", where one single picture can shift people's perceptions, to their Led By Donkeys work.[5] Humour plays a key part as well.[20] According to one of the activists, "making fun of politicians has the ability to break through" the partisan atmosphere a bit.[27] They not only made fun of Brexiteers. They also ridiculed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for his ambivalent stance on Brexit with an empty billboard.[28]

It was not known who were behind Led By Donkeys for several months.[29] Nobody at Greenpeace knew that two of their staff were among the founders.[4] Although the activists did give interviews, including with international press such as Al Jazeera, NBC News and NPR, these did not reveal their names; some used fake first names instead.[30][18][16][31][32][19][33] When political website Guido Fawkes claimed on social media that Led By Donkeys was breaching election laws by overspending,[A] the activists realised that it would not be long before their names would be revealed. To pre-empt this, they arranged an interview with The Observer in order to make their identities public themselves.[4][34] Six months later they published a book describing their unexpected adventure, entitled Led By Donkeys: How four friends with a ladder took on Brexit.[35][36]

## Campaigns

[edit]

### Main campaign

[edit]

The main campaign of holding Brexiteers to account has been ongoing.[25][6] Their stated strategy is to research the archives of public statements by pro-Brexit politicians and publicly display those that appear to be at odds with the reality of the day.[5][25] By November 2019 over 300 billboards in predominantly pro-Brexit areas have carried Led By Donkeys messages, and are estimated to have reached 30 million people.[25]

The design of statements as tweets on billboards was tweaked in late January 2019.[37] One of the billboards featured Jacob Rees-Mogg's 2011 statement in the House of Commons that it might make sense to have two referendums. Led By Donkeys had rendered it in its standard tweet format. Rees-Mogg then called the billboard dishonest, not only because he had been talking about different circumstances, but also because he was not yet on Twitter in 2011. From then on Led By Donkeys added a footnote to billboards featuring statements other than tweets. In the case of Rees-Mogg they added "He didn't tweet it, he actually said it! In the House of Commons. What changed?"[38] Once they collaborated with satirical artist Coldwar Steve on a more elaborate billboard shown at pop festival Glastonbury 2019.[39][40]

A Led By Donkeys billboard at the Put It to the People march in March 2019[41]

As time passed, the activists chose other media besides billboards. They have used ad vans,[42] industrial projectors,[43] designs on beaches,[44] fields,[45] and very large crowd flags.[46] The first crowd flag was unfolded on Parliament Square by thousands of anti-Brexit protesters at the conclusion of the Put It to the People march on 23 March 2019. Led By Donkeys hired a helicopter to film the unfolding from the air.[46] The banner showed a 2012 quote from David Davis: "If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy".[47] CBS News called it the defining moment of the day.[46]

When the EU was considering giving the UK an extension to the original Brexit deadline of 29 March 2019, Led By Donkeys used a giant projector to display a video on the White Cliffs of Dover. Their goal was to ask the EU leaders for much more time, so that there could be a second referendum. The video displayed an SOS in blue, with the O made up of yellow stars, to mimic the EU flag. EU leader Guy Verhofstadt tweeted back the next day that it was "quite something to see the White Cliffs of Dover turn blue".[48] Other projections included a video projected onto the Houses of Parliament, asking if Boris Johnson is a criminal, after the Supreme Court ruled he unlawfully suspended parliament;[49] onto Buckingham Palace saying "Your majesty, your new prime minister is a liar";[50] and projections onto Edinburgh Castle;[51] Cardiff Castle;[52] the Titanic Museum in Belfast;[53] and in Brussels.[46] In September 2019 Michael Gove was in charge of preparing the UK for a no-deal Brexit. In March of that year, Gove had written in a Daily Mail article that there is no mandate for a no-deal Brexit: "We didn't vote to leave without a deal". To point out this contradiction, Led By Donkeys carved a large portrait of Gove and this quote in the sandy beach of Redcar.[44] Coinciding with the Let Us Be Heard march on 19 October 2019, Led By Donkeys ploughed a message in 40 meter (130 foot) high letters in a field in Wiltshire, saying "Britain now wants to remain".[54][45] This conclusion was based on a YouGov analysis of 300 polls.[55]

### March to Leave

[edit]

Led By Donkeys billboard in Bristol

In March 2019, it was announced that Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was to organise a two-week pro-Brexit march from Sunderland to London titled March to Leave.[56] Led By Donkeys set up a dedicated crowdfundraiser entitled "Let's take the truth to Farage's Brexit march".[25] They deliberately did not target the marchers, just their leader.[18] The collective hired two advans to accompany the pro-Brexit march, displaying past statements and videoclips of Farage.[56][42] A YouTube videoclip of Farage not being happy with the ad van displaying his 2016 declaration "If Brexit is a disaster I'll go and live abroad" had been watched 2 million times within weeks.[18]

### European Parliament election

[edit]

In April 2019, the Brexit Party set up an official website at thebrexitparty.org, but did not register thebrexitparty.com; Led By Donkeys registered a parody website at that address.[57][58] The Brexit Party did not publish a manifesto prior to the EU elections in May.[59] Led By Donkeys decided to write it for them by putting their past statements and tweets on billboards across the UK, and keep a repository on the parody website.[41] The Led By Donkeys efforts failed to achieve their goal. The Brexit Party won the most seats in the election.[60] Later in 2019, after having received a threatening legal letter from the Brexit Party to cease and desist, citing EU law, the group offered them the web address for over a million pounds.[61]

### Trump's state visit

[edit]

US President Donald Trump has made pro-Brexit statements and praised Farage and Johnson.[62] Prior to Trump's state visit to London in June 2019, Led By Donkeys designed a campaign to diminish the two leading Brexiteers through association with the president, who was considered unpopular in the UK.[63][64] Led By Donkeys projected onto Big Ben a 2015 video of Johnson saying that Trump would be unfit for the presidency.[65] Before they could get arrested, they moved to the Tower of London to project a comparison of Trump's UK approval rating of 21% and former president Barack Obama's of 72%.[66][67] Finally they projected a red USS John S. McCain hat onto the dome of Madame Tussauds, trolling Trump based on news reports that in Japan his aides had orchestrated events to avoid Trump seeing the ship's crew displaying the name of his adversary.[68] The group cancelled plans to project Trump's Access Hollywood tape onto Buckingham Palace during his state dinner with the Queen at the eleventh hour.[69] On their social media account the group posted videos of their stunts. Johnson's Big Ben video was viewed two million times; the three videos together amassed 12 million views on Twitter. Johnson cancelled a previously arranged meeting with Trump.[70]

### Get ready for Brexit

[edit]

Following the government's multimillion-pound Get ready for Brexit advertising campaign in August 2019, with a no-deal Brexit a possibility as the October 31 deadline approached, Led By Donkeys crowdfunded money for a spoof campaign. The group felt the government was overlooking the negative effects of a no-deal Brexit and the ad campaign was poorly designed. They put up billboards in the style of the official campaign but featuring conclusions from the governments own analysis, for example "Get ready for 'possible increased risk of serious organised crime'".[71][72] They subsequently ran a competition for members of the public to see who could best satirise the government's ad campaign. The five winning entries were displayed on billboards across the country.[73] A crowd flag with the message "Get ready for a People's Vote" in the visual design of the government's own campaign was unfolded on Parliament Square during the Let Us Be Heard march in October 2019.[74]

### General Election

[edit]

Leading up to the general election on 12 December 2019 Led By Donkeys continued their main anti-Brexit campaign. In addition to using billboards, ad vans, and projections, they staged various real-world acts, filmed them and spread them on social media.[75][76][77][78] In the final week before the election they crowdfunded over £250,000 within 24 hours to run anti-Johnson ads on Facebook, making them one of the largest spenders on political ads.[75][79] Three ads were each viewed more than one million times.[80] The group organised the carving of a giant message on a Devon beach, with six doctors and nurses writing "You can't trust Boris Johnson with our NHS". [81] GPS technology was used to draw the outlines of the letters and Johnson. The NHS staff filled them in. A similar technique was used when teachers wrote a giant anti-Johnson message in a field in the Peak District.[82] The Led By Donkeys efforts did not achieve their goal. The pro-Brexit parties won the majority of seats, although the parties that campaigned for at least a second referendum received the majority of votes.[83]

### Brexit Day

[edit]

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020.[84] Led By Donkeys projected a video message to the EU onto the White Cliffs of Dover.[85][86] It featured Second World War veterans expressing sadness about leaving the EU, and hope that one day Britain would be together with Europe again.[43] The video of the projection was seen a million times on Brexit Day.[87] Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit coordinator for the European Parliament, responded with "We'll look after your star".[88] The group projected onto Big Ben a compilation of controversial clips of Johnson and Farage, punctuated by fake Big Ben bongs.[89]

### Coronavirus

[edit]

In April 2020, Led By Donkeys projected footage of NHS workers on to the Palace of Westminster. By then 55 NHS staff had died from COVID-19, and prime minister Johnson had just been taken out of intensive care following his own fight with the disease. In the video NHS workers asked Johnson to address the shortages in personal protective equipment in the NHS.[90][91] In May 2020, the group drove an advertising van in front of the house of Johnson's senior advisor Dominic Cummings, as the press was gathered there during the controversy concerning his apparent breaking of lockdown rules.[92] Johnson's "Stay at Home" message was played on the van's videoscreen.[93][94] The activists ran a billboard campaign parodying the government's public health messaging, changing the official "Stay alert, control the virus, save lives" into "Stay alert, government incompetence costs lives".[95][96] In July the group beamed a 10-minute video onto Barnard Castle showing a timeline of the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. On social media this was viewed over 2 million times.[97]

A section of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London

When the US passed 200,000 COVID-19 deaths a timeline of the number of deaths was projected onto Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland, alongside the number of times the president had played golf since the start of the pandemic. The audio is of Trump from before being elected president in 2016, saying he would never play golf if he were president. [98][99] In November 2020 Led By Donkeys worked with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group to project a message from bereaved families onto the Houses of Parliament. The video urged prime minister Johnson to keep his promise to speak to the families who lost loved-ones during the pandemic.[100] They later worked with the bereaved families on the National Covid Memorial Wall, with over 150,000 hearts painted on a wall in Westminster.[101] Dressed as construction workers and looking official, they had already painted the wall and drawn a thousand hearts by the time authorities realised what was happening.[102] When in June 2021 coronavirus restrictions were not lifted, the group published a timeline video in which they argued that the government reacted slow to the new Delta variant because of post-Brexit political manoeuvring.[103]

In August 2021 the group worked with the Good Law Project to produce a video asking questions about the government's procurement conduct during the pandemic, amplifying the accusations of corruption and lack of transparency.[104][105][106] They beamed the video up onto the walls of Westminster Parliament.[104]

Following MP Dawn Butler's ejection from the Commons in July 2021 for stating that prime minister Johnson lied to parliament over and over again, the group collaborated with the Communication Workers Union and projected a video onto the Houses of Parliament of Johnson making claims which they said were lies.[107][108]

### Partygate

[edit]

When the Metropolitan Police declined to investigate whether any rule-breaking parties were held at 10 Downing Street during the 2020 Christmas period lockdown, Led By Donkeys drove a video screen to the Scotland Yard offices. A Line of Duty parody video was played urging the police to change their mind and start an investigation.[109] A few weeks later a second Line of Duty parody with Johnson being questioned by officers was viewed over 5 million times on social media, and shown on morning television shows.[110][111] A third spoof, viewed 1.5 million times within 24 hours, involved Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick being asked by lead investigator Ted Hastings "Who exactly does the Metropolitan Police work for, ma’am?"[112] After the Met had concluded its investigation, and fined over 100 people for breaking the rules, including Johnson, Led By Donkeys projected a six-minute video onto the Houses of Parliament, showing a timeline of parties and rules.[113] The Independent called it "spectacular".[114] They subsequently created a website called followtherules.co.uk showing the 100 times Johnson urged the British public to follow the Covid-19 rules.[115]

### Miscellaneous

[edit]

In December 2020 the group made its dossier on Johnson's statements regarding Brexit available on a website called johnsondossier.com. It contains transcripts of speeches, interviews and newspaper columns Johnson wrote since February 2016. The group's aim is to allow the public, journalists, and others to hold Johnson to account.[116]

In July 2021 Led By Donkeys put up billboards displaying the UK brands that advertised on the new TV show Farage, broadcast on GB News, saying "These companies pay for Nigel Farage to attack RNLI lifeboat crews on his TV show."[117][118] The following week one of the companies, supermarket chain Sainsbury's, announced it had ended their advertising on GB News.[119]

Following the UK Government's indecision to include London-based Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in their sanctions package for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Led By Donkeys placed a blue plaque on the gate of his house. In a viral video it shows the plaque reads: "Billionaire Putin crony Roman Abramovich 1966~ lives here. It's worth £150m but the government won't seize it."[120] The following week the activists put out another Line of Duty spoof video, showing prime minister Johnson being interviewed about the Conservative Party's links to Russian oligarchs.[121]

During the 2022 summer holidays delays at the port of Dover, Led By Donkeys played a video on a truck in the miles long queue, showing quotes from the past by various Brexiteers about there being no danger of delays at Dover. The video was popular on social media.[122]

After the downturn in the financial markets following the announced economic plans by Prime Minister Liz Truss in September 2022, Led By Donkeys placed an oversized blue plaque at 55 Tufton Street, reading "The UK was crashed here". In their video on social media they argued that the thinktanks located here were behind the failed policies.[123]

On 23 February 2023, Led By Donkeys spilled approximately 340 litres of blue and yellow paint on separate directions of the road outside the Russian Embassy in London, re-creating the Ukrainian flag in protest against the Russian aggression in Ukraine.[124][125]

In 2023, the group ran a campaign duping politicians into taking a job for a fake South Korean company. Two leading Conservative politicians, Kwasi Kwarteng and Matt Hancock, were caught on camera agreeing to work for £10,000. The chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, also agreed to take a position as an advocate for £6,000 a day.[126]

In June 2024, the group disrupted an event where Nigel Farage was campaigning for the 2024 general election by slowly unfurling an electric banner behind him featuring an image of Vladimir Putin with the caption "I ♡ Nigel."[127] They similarly disrupted another event in August at which former prime minister Liz Truss was speaking at Beccles Public Hall in Suffolk by unfurling a banner behind her with a picture of a lettuce and the caption "I crashed the economy"; Truss walked out when she realised.[128][129][130][131][132] Speaking of this prank, Stewart, who was arrested following this event, stated that Led By Donkeys was an "accountability project" which was also "not starry-eyed about Labour", and that Labour, which was now in government, was "fair game".[127][133]

## Impact

[edit]

By early 2020, the Led By Donkeys messages had been seen hundreds of millions of times on social media and attracted mainstream media exposure.[6] However, they had failed to help achieve their goal of getting a second referendum on what Brexit should look like.[5] The group's spokesman Stewart said he did not think their efforts had been in vain, despite the UK having left the EU on 31 January 2020: "we didn't set out to try and stop Brexit. We were trying to fill a vacuum left by a broken media ecosystem. The media weren’t holding power to account and we managed to really piss off people like David Davis and others, so we were holding power to account in their place, and that's really what we intended to do". Despite Stewart considering their efforts not being in vain in that they brought evidence of political hypocrisy to a mass audience, he did identify what he sees as a worrying phenomenon: "On both sides of the Atlantic, the concept of shame and political leaders paying a price for lying and dissembling is in retreat."[6]

Led By Donkeys vowed to continue their work after Brexit Day.[134] Stewart said "there’s much still to fight for ... Our future relationship with Europe has not yet been defined."[135] "We’re not shutting up shop just yet”.[6] In an interview with the Guardian in 2024 the group said they had only just got started. [133]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Columnist Dawn Foster of The Guardian did not believe the billboards have changed anybody's opinion. Specifically regarding the Brexit Party manifesto billboards, she believed them to be counterproductive and that they actually helped spread the beliefs. One billboard, featuring Ann Widdecombe's quote "homosexual acts are wrongful" with the headline "Target gay people", was meant to warn voters of her homophobic beliefs. Foster called it fundamentally flawed, saying that to most it would seem like an anti-gay campaign, and that the group had overlooked the fact that most people would not see it as a warning.[41] Led By Donkeys pulled the billboard within 24 hours after a social media backlash, acknowledged their mistake, and apologised for any unintentional pain caused to the gay community.[136]

In January 2019 Led By Donkeys illegally put up a quote by Boris Johnson near the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Solihull, a place affected by recent job losses.[137][138] The quote in question was a response Johnson gave in 2018 to business concerns about a hard Brexit: he responded with a simple "Fuck business".[139][140] The Birmingham Mail reported the following day that the local community had reacted with fury as the billboard was near a school. However, one local interviewed said "In an ideal world the billboard wouldn't be there, but in an ideal world our foreign secretary wouldn't be the type of person who thinks 'f***k business' is an acceptable response to people losing their jobs."[137]

Writing in the marketing industry magazine Campaign, Angus Macadam thought the creative content was "quite brilliant in its meditative simplicity" and added "these messages hinge on and are driven by the one thing we currently miss most in politics: inarguable truth".[141] In the same magazine Eliza Williams called the group's campaign "witty" and "subversive".[142] Advertising expert Ian Henderson said brands should draw inspiration from Led By Donkeys if they want their out-of-home advertising to leave a digital footprint.[143] Journalist Raymond Snoddy, a former BBC News 24 presenter, wrote that the activists have exposed the UK media's failures to hold the government to account: "By concentrating on the here and now, the ever breaking news, the media has been swept along without pausing enough to think enough about the enormity of what has happened and how we've got there. ... The only certainty is that Led By Donkeys can be relied upon to rise to the occasion on both Boris Johnson and Brexit."[97]

Journalist Ian Burrell wrote in February 2022, after the Line of Duty parody videos appeared on the morning TV shows, that the group's wide reach stems from their creative ideas. He praised the "slick production" of the videos, including the commissioning of authors and journalists such as former BBC Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler, to collaborate on projects.[111]

Led By Donkeys won the award for Best Social Media Campaign in the 2019 Social Purpose Awards organised by marketing website The Drum.[25] They were awarded gold in the National Social Impact category of the 2020 Outdoor Media Awards, which is run by Clear Channel UK in partnership with Campaign.[144]

The group and its campaigns are the focus of a book by Philip Seargeant which explores tactics of political activism in the linguistic landscape.[145]

## See also

[edit]

* Cold War Steve

## Notes

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ The Electoral Commission later confirmed that Led By Donkeys did not break any spending rules.[34]

### References

[edit]

1. ^ "At-a-glance: Conservative manifesto". BBC News. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
2. ^ "EU Referendum Results". BBC News. 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
3. ^ a b "Theresa May calls off MPs' vote on her Brexit deal". BBC News. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Sherwood, Harriet (25 May 2019). "Led By Donkeys show their faces at last: 'No one knew it was us'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
5. ^ a b c d e Krishnan Guru-Murthy (presenter) (1 November 2019). Led by donkeys. Channel 4 News. Ways to change the world.
6. ^ a b c d e f O'Donoghue, Patrick (1 February 2020). "The Brexit Accountability Project". The University Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
7. ^ "Led By Donkeys: "Make it a tweet you can't delete"". Bloomberg Television. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
8. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 2.
9. ^ "Magical thinking: Brexit was scheduled for March 29th. Wasn't it meant to be easy?". The Economist. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
10. ^ "EU trade deal 'easiest in human history'". BBC News. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
11. ^ Parker, George; Allen, Kate (10 October 2016). "David Davis brushes off Brexit retaliation fears". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
12. ^ Devlin, Kate (17 January 2019). "Guerrilla billboards give Brexit a pasting". The Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
13. ^ a b Miller, Nick (1 February 2019). "It began at the pub: the campaign to shame Brexit's biggest 'donkeys'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
14. ^ a b Henley, Jon; Roberts, Dan (28 March 2018). "11 Brexit promises the government quietly dropped". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
15. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 4.
16. ^ a b Wollaston, Sam (7 February 2019). "Four men with a ladder: the billboard campaigners battling Brexit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
17. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 5.
18. ^ a b c d Bedingfield, Will (29 March 2019). "How the viral Led By Donkeys anti-Brexit campaign is haunting flip-flopping politicians". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
19. ^ a b c Gillett, Francesca (5 April 2019). "Led by Donkeys and Brexit Express: Why campaigners are using the humble billboard". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
20. ^ a b c Lewis, Tim (19 October 2019). "Led By Donkeys: 'There is a political power in laughing at these people'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
21. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 19–21.
22. ^ "Dominic Raab under fire over Dover-Calais comments". BBC News. 8 November 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
23. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 37.
24. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 40–42.
25. ^ a b c d e f "How Led By Donkeys created the biggest Crowdfunder political campaign in UK history". The Drum. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
26. ^ Spanier, Gideon (5 November 2019). "Led By Donkeys: We are creating political street theatre". Campaign. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
27. ^ Williams, Eliza (3 October 2019). "The best and worst of James Sadri of Led By Donkeys". Creative Review. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
28. ^ Quinn, Ben (12 February 2019). "'Love Jez, h8 Brexit': billboard graffiti show ire at Corbyn's stance". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
29. ^ Bridge, Mark (27 May 2019). "European elections 2019: Anti-Brexit ad team revealed to be Greenpeace campaigners". The Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
30. ^ Seddon, Sean (10 March 2019). "The North East man behind the viral anti-Brexit posters". Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
31. ^ Lawless, Jill (17 February 2019). "In Brexit Limbo, UK Veers Between High Anxiety, Grim Humor". NBC News. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
32. ^ Langfitt, Frank; Alwyine-Mosely, Samuel (13 February 2019). "As Brexit Deadline Looms, Billboards Call Out Politicians' 'Quick And Easy' Claims". NPR. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
33. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 56.
34. ^ a b Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 102.
35. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019.
36. ^ "Led by Donkeys: How four friends with a ladder took on Brexit". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
37. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 49.
38. ^ Evans, Greg (31 January 2019). "Jacob Rees-Mogg calls billboard featuring his quote on a second referendum 'fundamentally dishonest'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
39. ^ McLean, Max (26 June 2019). "Anti-Brexit campaigners take aim at Johnson with Glastonbury billboard". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
40. ^ O’Neill, Brendan (1 July 2019). "The great irony of Stormzy's Glastonbury set". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
41. ^ a b c Foster, Dawn (19 May 2019). "Why the Led By Donkeys billboards won't change anyone's mind on Brexit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
42. ^ a b Jones, Stephen (18 March 2019). "Farage targeted with 'where's Nigel' signs on anti-Brexit march". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
43. ^ a b "Passengers on first post-Brexit ferry from Calais to Dover say leaving EU is 'depressing and stupid'". The Telegraph. 1 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
44. ^ a b "Gove portrait 'visible from space' drawn on beach in Brexit protest". The Guardian. 1 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
45. ^ a b Kasolowsky, Raissa (18 October 2019). "Anti-Brexit campaigners plow giant message into an English field". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
46. ^ a b c d "How one campaign group is using humor to hold politicians accountable". CBS News. 6 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
47. ^ Rahim, Zamira (23 March 2019). "Brexit protesters unfurl giant banner mocking David Davis". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
48. ^ Evans, Greg (5 April 2019). "Dominic Raab's infamous quote about the Dover-Calais crossing appears in huge anti-Brexit projection on the cliffs of Dover". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
49. ^ Hassan, Jennifer (11 September 2019). "'Is the Prime Minister a criminal?' projected onto British Parliament". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
50. ^ "Boris Johnson called 'liar' in Buckingham Palace stunt". BBC News. 24 July 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
51. ^ Mcilkenny, Stephen (5 September 2019). "Edinburgh Castle lit up with 'lying Tory' Rees-Mogg meme". Herald Scotland. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
52. ^ Williams, Kathryn (7 September 2019). "A massive image of Boris Johnson dressed as a duck has appeared on Cardiff Castle". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
53. ^ Evans, Greg (6 September 2019). "Boris Johnson's 'Titanic success of Brexit' quote projected onto Titanic museum in Belfast". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
54. ^ Jones, Amy (18 October 2019). "Brexit deal latest news: Boost for Boris Johnson as Tory rebels and Labour MPs back his deal". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
55. ^ Duncan, Conrad (18 October 2019). "Led By Donkeys plough anti-Brexit message into field saying 'Britain Now Wants To Remain'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
56. ^ a b "Brexit 'Leave Means Leave' march sets off from Sunderland". BBC News. 16 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
57. ^ "Anti-Brexit activists take over Farage's new party site". RTE. 12 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
58. ^ Stubley, Peter (12 April 2019). "Brexit Party URL taken hostage by pro-EU group because Farage forgot to register the website". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
59. ^ Evans, Greg (24 April 2019). "Nigel Farage says 'we will talk about The Brexit Party's manifesto after EU elections' and people are making the same point". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
60. ^ "European Election 2019: UK results in maps and charts". BBC News. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
61. ^ Conway, Joanna; Woolgar, Alex (5 December 2019). "Fighting dirty in a digital space". The Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
62. ^ Shipman, Tim (2 June 2019). "Donald Trump interview: send in Nigel Farage and go for no-deal Brexit, says president". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
63. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 106.
64. ^ "Royal Family Hosts Trump in U.K. State Visit". The New York Times. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
65. ^ Waters, Rowenna (3 June 2019). "Boris Johnson's criticisms of Donald Trump projected onto Big Ben in Led By Donkeys stunt". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
66. ^ Rayner, Gordon (4 June 2019). "Donald Trump visit: President pays tribute to Theresa May before enjoying dinner with Prince Charles and Camilla". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
67. ^ O'Kane, Caitlin (3 June 2019). "Anti-Brexit group taunts Trump with images of USS John McCain and Obama's approval rating projected onto London landmarks". CBS News. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
68. ^ Bort, Ryan (4 June 2019). "The Best Ways London Is Trolling Trump". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
69. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 106–107.
70. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 110.
71. ^ Quinn, Ben (25 September 2019). "Get ready for Brexit satire: Led By Donkeys launches billboard contest". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
72. ^ Oakes, Omr (26 September 2019). "Led By Donkeys invites public to design new ads". Campaign. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
73. ^ Quinn, Ben (12 October 2019). "Brexit the horror film: billboards mock government's 'get ready' campaign". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
74. ^ Rahim, Zamira (19 October 2019). "Brexit march: Brexit: 'One million' protesters demand second referendum as Boris Johnson loses key vote". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
75. ^ a b Kelly, Jemima; Blood, David (12 December 2019). "Labour and Conservatives poured money into last-minute online adverts". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
76. ^ "'Try putting this in your pocket': anti-Brexit group target Conservative HQ over child in hospital photo". The Mercury. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
77. ^ Noble, Will (4 December 2019). "Trump Appears On This Terrifying NHS Billboard In West London". Londonist. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
78. ^ Booth, William; Adam, Karla; Birnbaum, Michael (30 January 2020). "On Brexit Day, Britain's 'remainers' to host sad dinner parties, while 'leavers' celebrate in Parliament Square". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
79. ^ Bridge, Mark (9 December 2019). "Jeremy Corbyn wins Instagram battle for young voters". The Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
80. ^ Smith, Joseph; McIntyre, Niamh; Pegg, David (12 December 2019). "How parties used Facebook, Instagram and Google ads". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
81. ^ Smith, Colleen (8 December 2019). "Anti-Boris Johnson film shot by NHS staff on Devon beach". Devon Live. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
82. ^ Smith, Colleen (11 December 2019). "Claim anti-Boris Johnson film is 'fake' disputed by its makers". Devon Live. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
83. ^ Taub, Amanda (16 December 2019). "The U.K. Election Explained, in One Number". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
84. ^ "Brexit: UK to quit EU at 23:00, as PM promises 'new dawn'". BBC News. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
85. ^ "Brexiters burn EU flags as army veterans mourn European departure". Al Jazeera. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
86. ^ Wright, Oliver (1 February 2020). "Be optimistic and make it work, Tony Blair tells Remainers". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
87. ^ Hayward, Will (31 January 2020). "This is the Welshman whose Brexit video was projected on to the White Cliffs of Dover". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
88. ^ Koli, John (31 January 2020). "'Sad' veterans project love letter to EU on White Cliffs of Dover ahead hours before Brexit". Moose Gazette. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
89. ^ Bell, Victoria (1 February 2020). "Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage mocked in anti-Brexit film beamed onto Big Ben clock tower". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
90. ^ "The Observer view on the coronavirus errors that have cost precious lives". The Guardian. 19 April 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
91. ^ "Coronavirus: Boris Johnson out of intensive care but remains in hospital". BBC News. 9 April 2020. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
92. ^ "UK PM Johnson stands by senior adviser Cummings over lockdown drive". Reuters. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
93. ^ Oppenheim, Maya (24 May 2020). "Van plays Boris Johnson's 'Stay Home' message outside Dominic Cummings' house after lockdown rule-breaking revelations". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
94. ^ Gardner, Bill; Rayner, Gordon; Diver, Tony; Evans, Martin (24 May 2020). "A 'Domnishambles': Dominic Cummings holds on in Boris Johnson's office despite Cabinet losing faith and face". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
95. ^ Cleary, Emily (8 June 2020). "Coronavirus: UK government joint worst in the world for handling COVID-19 crisis, poll finds". Yahoo News UK. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
96. ^ Rayner, Gordon (20 May 2020). "'Keep distance': New coronavirus slogan to run alongside 'Stay Alert'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
97. ^ a b Snoddy, Raymond (15 July 2020). "It takes donkeys to clean up media's mess". Mediatel News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
98. ^ Mclaughlin, Martyn (22 September 2020). "Protesters project US Covid-19 death toll on Donald Trump's Turnberry property". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
99. ^ S, Sangameswaran (22 September 2020). "U.S. surpasses grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
100. ^ Evans, Greg (19 November 2020). "Message beamed onto parliament urging Boris Johnson to follow through on his promise to meet families affected by the pandemic". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
101. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (18 July 2021). "Wall of love: the incredible story behind the national Covid memorial". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
102. ^ Lawford, Emily (7 April 2022). "Led By Donkeys: "We became a guerrilla posting operation"". Prospect. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
103. ^ Plummer, Kate (22 June 2021). "Freedom Day: Led By Donkeys video shows how government mistakes delayed end of coronavirus lockdown". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
104. ^ a b Young, Gregor (11 August 2021). "Led by Donkeys exposes Tory cronyism in Westminster Parliament clip". The National. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
105. ^ Greenwood, George (13 August 2021). "After eight months government finally to name fast-tracked PPE firms". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
106. ^ Bradley, Jane; Gebrekidan, Selam; McCann, Allison (17 December 2020). "Waste, Negligence and Cronyism: Inside Britain's Pandemic Spending". New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
107. ^ O'Dell, Liam (13 August 2021). "Video calling Boris Johnson a 'liar' projected onto Houses of Parliament". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
108. ^ Morris, Sophie (22 July 2021). "COVID-19: Labour MP asked to leave the Commons after saying Boris Johnson has 'lied... over and over again' during pandemic". Sky News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
109. ^ "Line of Duty parody takes on the Downing Street party allegations in latest Led By Donkeys video". The Independent. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
110. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (19 January 2022). "Boris Johnson grilled by Line of Duty team in spoof video viewed by 5m". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
111. ^ a b Burrell, Ian (6 February 2022). "When Line of Duty met Boris Johnson: Social media phenomenon Led By Donkeys is now a media powerhouse". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
112. ^ Browning, Oliver (29 January 2022). "Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick grilled by AC-12 in latest viral video". The Independent. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
113. ^ "Led By Donkeys project Partygate timeline onto Parliament". Yahoo News. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
114. ^ Thompson, Sophie (24 May 2022). "Led By Donkeys does spectacular projection of the Partygate timeline onto parliament". the Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
115. ^ O'Dell, Liam (30 May 2022). "Led By Donkeys expose 100 times Boris Johnson told us to 'follow the rules' he broke". The Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
116. ^ "The Johnson Dossier". Led by Donkeys. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
117. ^ McCarthy, John (2 August 2021). "Led By Donkeys billboards pressure brands still funding GB News after Farage hire". The Drum. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
118. ^ Bold, Ben (2 August 2021). "Led By Donkeys accuses brands of 'paying' for Farage to attack RNLI on GB News". Campaign. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
119. ^ Plummer, Kate (7 August 2021). "Sainsbury's ends advertising campaign with GB News following backlash over Nigel Farage". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
120. ^ Abraham, Ellie (4 March 2022). "Led By Donkeys video calls out government for failing to sanction Roman Abramovich". The Independent. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
121. ^ Nicholson, Kate (17 March 2022). "Spoof Line Of Duty Video Takes Aim At Boris Johnson Again – This Time Over Russia". HuffPost. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
122. ^ McGroarty, Adam (25 July 2022). "Led by Donkeys displays Brexit message amongst A20 Dover queues". Kent Live. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
123. ^ Sommerlad, Joe (18 October 2022). "What is 55 Tufton Street? The house that 'crashed' the UK economy". The Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
124. ^ "Protest group paints Ukrainian flag outside Russian embassy in London". MSN. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
125. ^ "Led By Donkeys paint Russian Embassy road in Ukrainian flag colours". BBC News. 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
126. ^ "Top Tory MPs ask for £10,000 a day to work for fake Korean company". The Guardian. 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
127. ^ a b Sherwood, Harriet (2024-08-17). "'Labour is fair game': Led By Donkeys says it will hold government to account". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
128. ^ "Lettuce banner interrupts Liz Truss on stage in Beccles". BBC News. 2024-08-14. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
129. ^ Penna, Dominic (2024-08-14). "'Not funny': Liz Truss says lettuce stunt crosses the line". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
130. ^ "Staff reveal theory over how Liz Truss Beccles lettuce stunt was pulled off". East Anglian Daily Times. 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
131. ^ Adu, Aletha (2024-08-14). "Liz Truss leaves stage over 'I crashed the economy' lettuce banner". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
132. ^ Led By Donkeys (2024-08-13). Liz Truss, Trump and the Lettuce 🥬. Retrieved 2024-08-18 - via YouTube.
133. ^ a b Williams, Zoe (16 September 2024). "'I've never been so driven': Led By Donkeys on mocking Liz Truss, duping Matt Hancock and renaming Michelle Mone's yacht". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
134. ^ "Aye Write festival highlights: our pick of the line-up". The Times. 29 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
135. ^ Booth, William; Adam, Karla; Birnbaum, Michael (30 January 2020). "On Brexit Day, Britain's 'remainers' to host sad dinner parties, while 'leavers' celebrate in Parliament Square". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
136. ^ Led By Donkeys 2019, p. 98.
137. ^ a b Hulse, Cathrina (20 January 2019). "Fury over giant 'f***' billboard ad posted on busy road near school". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
138. ^ Rodger, James (14 January 2019). "Boris Johnson reckons he knows more about car manufacturing than Jaguar Land Rover CEO". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
139. ^ Crisp, James; Foster, Peter; Rayner, Gordon (23 June 2018). "EU diplomats shocked by Boris's 'four-letter reply' to business concerns about Brexit". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
140. ^ "Boris Johnson challenged over Brexit business 'expletive'". BBC News. 26 June 2018. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
141. ^ Macadam, Angus (26 March 2019). "Lessons from the ads that captured the People's Vote march". Campaign. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
142. ^ Williams, Eliza (10 December 2019). "Trends of the Year: Creativity and Activism". Campaign. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
143. ^ Stewart, Rebecca (15 May 2020). "When billboards go viral". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
144. ^ Bidlake, Suzanne (12 June 2020). "BBC 'Dracula' picks up Outdoor Media Awards 2020 Grand Prix". Campaign. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
145. ^ Seargeant, Philip (2023). Political Activism in the Linguistic Landscape: Or, how to use Public Space as a Medium for Protest. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. ISBN 9781800416819.

### Sources

[edit]

* Led By Donkeys (2019). Led By Donkeys: How four friends with a ladder took on Brexit. London: Atlantic books. ISBN 978-1-83895-019-4.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, and Brexit

* Renegotiation
* Referendum results
* Negotiations
* Withdrawal agreement
* Northern Ireland protocol
* Trade negotiation
* Trade and Cooperation Agreement
* Windsor Framework
* Timeline

Referendum question|

"Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?"

Referendum legislation|

* European Union Referendum Act 2015
* Gibraltar
* European Union Referendum (Date of Referendum etc.) Regulations 2016
* The European Union Referendum (Conduct) Regulations 2016

Background|

| Treaties|

* Rome
* 1972 Accession Treaty
* Single European Act
* Maastricht
* Amsterdam
* Nice
* European Constitution
* Lisbon
* UK opt-outs from EU legislation

|

Legislation|

* European Communities Act 1972
* Amendments: 1986
* 1993
* 1998
* 2002
* 2008
* 2011
* European Economic Area Act 1993

Proposed bills|

* European Union Bill 2004–05
* European Communities Act 1972 (Repeal) Bills
* European Union (Referendum) Bill 2013–14

Elections|

* 2014 European Parliament election
* 2015 general election

By-elections|

* 2014 Clacton
* 2014 Heywood and Middleton
* 2014 Rochester and Strood

Other|

* UK accession
* 1973 EC enlargement
* UK membership
* 1975 EC membership referendum
* UK rebate
* Bruges speech
* No. No. No.
* Black Wednesday
* EEA
* Maastricht Rebels
* The European Union: In or Out
* Bloomberg speech
* Russian interference
* Balance of Competences Review
* 2015–16 renegotiation
* Euroscepticism in the UK

Campaign|

* Issues
* Opinion polling
* Endorsements
* Project Fear
* Unlawful campaigning allegations
* Brexit: The Movie
* Pro-EU leaflet

Campaign
organisations|

| Remain|

* Britain Stronger in Europe (official campaign)
* Labour In for Britain

|

Leave|

* Vote Leave (official campaign)
* Leave.EU
* BeLeave
* Grassroots Out
* Labour Leave
* Campaign for an Independent Britain
* The Freedom Association
* Better Off Out
* Get Britain Out
* Bruges Group

Aftermath of
referendum|

| Political party
leadership elections|

* Conservative
* 2016
* 2019
* Scottish, February 2020
* Labour
* UKIP

|

Opposition to Brexit|

* Proposed second referendum
* People's Vote
* Petition to revoke Article 50
* Led By Donkeys
* Bollocks to Brexit

Elections|

* 2017 local
* 2017 general
* 2018 local
* 2019 local
* 2019 European Parliament
* Brexit Party
* 2019 general

By-elections|

* 2016 Witney
* 2016 Richmond Park
* 2016 Sleaford and North Hykeham
* 2017 Copeland
* 2017 Stoke-on-Trent Central
* 2019 Peterborough
* 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire

Other|

* International reactions
* March to Leave
* Brexit Alliance
* Blue Collar Conservativism
* Brexit Party
* Independent Alliance for Reform

Brexit process|

* Miller I case
* Invocation of Article 50
* Negotiations
* Brexit divorce bill
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* Withdrawal agreement
* Parliamentary votes
* No-deal Brexit
* Operation Yellowhammer
* Prorogation of Parliament
* Miller II / Cherry case
* Trade negotiation between the UK and the EU
* Fish for finance
* EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)

Impact of Brexit
and
potential effects|

| on Northern Ireland and
the Republic of Ireland|

* 2024 Northern Ireland Executive formation
* Brexit and the Irish border
* Northern Ireland Protocol
* proposed changes
* Irish Sea border
* Windsor Framework

|

Other|

* on Gibraltar
* on the EU
* Science and technology
* Economic effects
* EU–UK relations after Brexit

Brexit legislation|

| White papers|

* Brexit plan
* Repeal Bill plan
* Chequers plan
* Brexit withdrawal agreement plan

|

Enacted|

* Notification of Withdrawal Act 2017
* Withdrawal Act 2018 (Gibraltar)
* Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018
* Cooper–Letwin Act
* Benn Act
* Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020 (Gibraltar)
* Internal Market Act 2020
* Future Relationship Act 2020
* UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2020
* Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023

Proposed|

* Terms of Withdrawal from EU (Referendum) Bills
* UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill 2018
* European Union Withdrawal Agreement (Public Vote) Bill 2017–19

Related|

* Brexit 50p coin
* Change Britain
* Change UK
* Chaos with Ed Miliband
* European Research Group
* "Enemies of the People"
* Leave Means Leave
* Led By Donkeys
* More United
* Northern Future Forum
* The New European
* Open Britain
* Proposed second Scottish independence referendum
* Reform UK
* Rue du Brexit
* Terminology (Glossary)
* Tufton Street
* United Ireland
* Voting pencil conspiracy theory
* Retained EU law
* 2017 Diane Abbott–David Davis controversy

Media depictions|

* Remainiacs (2017)
* Postcards from the 48% (2018)
* Not Tonight (2018)
* Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019)
* @BorderIrish (2018–2020)

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template