Rudyard Kipling ‘would have been a Brexiteer’: Biographer claims author’s love for the British constitution would ‘almost certainly’ have put him in the Leave camp

Kipling was a political poet who was adamantly against the League of Nations
This likely meant he would have disliked a political union of European states
Kipling was the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature aged 41
But the poet's conservative views have tarnished his image over time

Published: 01:12 GMT, 1 July 2017 | Updated: 13:34 GMT, 1 July 2017

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Rudyard Kipling would have backed Brexit, his biographer has claimed.

Andrew Lycett said the Nobel prize-winning author’s respect for the British constitution would ‘almost certainly’ have put him in the Leave camp.

The Oxford-educated biographer said Kipling was a political poet who made clear he was against the League of Nations – and therefore would probably have disliked Brussels.

Born in India in 1865, Kipling became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature

Speaking at the Chalke Valley History Festival, sponsored by the Daily Mail, he said: ‘I don’t think he was a great proponent of people getting together to do good internationally.’

Born in India in 1865, Kipling grew from early critical success to international celebrity as he became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature aged 41.

But the poet - who became a personal friend of King George V – faded over time as his reputation became tarnished over conservative views that some believed to be old-fashioned.

Kipling was an imperialist who believed in Britain’s innate superiority and saw it as a moral responsibility to protect and pass on his deeply-held political, racial and religious principles.

Kipling believed in Britain's innate superiority over its imperial subjects

Mr Lycett said Kipling was ‘totally politically incorrect’ and over time became a sort of ‘persona non grata’ – but added that academics were now beginning to re-evaluate his work.

He said he was often asked where Kipling would have stood on Europe and Brexit, with the poet particularly anti-German but with a ‘fervent love’ for France.

He said: ‘With his conservative respect for the British constitution, he would almost certainly have been in the leave camp.’

Kipling's biographer said his 'respect for the British constitution' would almost certainly put the author in the leave camp

When asked to expand on his point after the speech, he said: ‘Kipling was a great Englishman. In his poems, he was always writing about political issues in a way that is out of fashion at the moment. He was prepared to go out there and write about political issues.’

He added: ‘I don’t think he would have liked Brussels. He didn’t like the League of Nations, for example. So let’s put it this way, I don’t think he was a great proponent of people getting together to do good internationally.’