"Brexit Blog" by Joseph C.
Now that Brexit has finally happened, the question must be raised. Was it worth it? For all those who have somehow stayed out of one of the biggest events in British politics in the 21st century, the Brexit question is the question of whether the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union or leave. The “Leavers” believe that the UK would be both more powerful and less dependent on other nations by leaving the EU. While the “Remainers” believe that staying in the EU would help the economy and strengthen relations with other nations. Disclaimer: My personal views are more inline with the Remainers (I will attempt to be as neutral as possible), and as such, take whatever I say next with a grain of salt.
Brexit began in June of 2016 when there was a referendum for whether the UK should stay in the EU or not. The Leavers won by a slim majority. Since then various politicians have attempted to either delay or speed up the process. Finally, nearly four years later, on January 31, 2020 Brexit finally "got done". As the image shows below, many people did not vote which may have skewed the results to one side.
Brexit began in June of 2016 when there was a referendum for whether the UK should stay in the EU or not. The Leavers won by a slim majority. Since then various politicians have attempted to either delay or speed up the process. Finally, nearly four years later, on January 31, 2020 Brexit finally "got done". As the image shows below, many people did not vote which may have skewed the results to one side.
The EU is the world’s most successful supranational organization. It allows for free trade between member states. However, the UK has argued, due to them not being part of continental Europe, that they would not follow many of the policies laid out in the EU, including not using the common currency, the Euro, and not having open borders to other member states.
The core beliefs of the Leavers are that the European Union is asserting too much control over the UK. They believe that if they were to leave the EU the UK would do much better off financially. This also allows the UK to do its own thing. They also believe that the EU has too much control over the UK and Europe in general
The core beliefs of the Remainers are that the EU is an organization that allows the UK to prosper with good trade deals and healthy relations to its neighbors. They believe that the EU is an organisation that will greatly help the UK both become more successful and more peaceful.
I find that the idea of Brexit to be quite ironic, this is due to the UK being a collection of smaller nations that operate similar to how states do in the US. There are even groups that wish for their respective nations to leave the UK. One of these groups is the Scotish National Party. This is Scotland’s largest political party and wishes to gain independence from the UK. Members of this party often elect members into the Scotish parliament, however (as one would expect) they have never had a Prime Minister. There is also the IRA which wants North Ireland to be independent through… Less peaceful means. North Ireland has historically been a hotspot for independence movements throughout history.
One major figure in Brexit is the current prime minister of the UK, Boris Johnson (though, many brits have started to refer to him as simply Boris). Johnson is known as the figurehead for the leaver side of Britain, stating things like, “I think people are yearning . . . for this great Incubus [Brexit] to be pitchforked off the back of British politics. They want us to get on with some fantastic things for this country.” This quote really shows that Johnson's "get Brexit done" campaign. He believes that many of the problems that plague the country will be solved by Brexit.
Recently the UK has finalized the process of leaving the EU and it has yet to be seen how this will affect both British politics and the British economy in the years to come. What we do know, however, is that this will have effects on not just European politics, but world politics.
As you can see, Brexit is a multi-faceted problem in which there are many great points on both sides. Should Brexit have gone through? How will this affect British political and economic policies? How will this affect the EU?
Works Cited
Calamur, Krishnadev. “The 'Brexit' Campaign: A Cheat Sheet.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 23 June 2016, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/06/uk-brexit-guide/482730/.
Dennis, Felix. “Brexit: the Pros and Cons.” The Week UK, 2019, www.theweek.co.uk/brexit-0.\
Moriarty, Gerry. “Who Are the New IRA and What Have They Done?” The Irish Times, The Irish Times, 23 Apr. 2019, www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/who-are-the-new-ira-and-what-have-they-done-1.3869569.
Rowan, Beth. “The Northern Irish Conflict: A Chronology.” Infoplease, Infoplease, 2017, www.infoplease.com/history/world/the-northern-irish-conflict-a-chronology.
Sturgeon, Nicola. “Scotland's Largest Political Party and Party of Government. Centre Left and Social Democratic.” Scottish National Party, 24 Feb. 1970, www.snp.org/.
Vesey-Byrne, Joe. “Show This Chart to Anyone Who Says Brexit Is the 'Will of the British People'.” indy100, indy100, 29 Jan. 2020, www.indy100.com/article/brexit-leave-remain-52-48-per-cent-voter-turnout-electoral-register-charts-7399226.
Walker, Nigel. “Brexit Timeline: Events Leading to the UK's Exit from the European Union.” Commons Library Briefing - UK Parliament, 24 Jan. 2020, researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7960.
This is a really great topic. I think that the debate within Britain is justified. This is a huge deal for both the country and the EU as a whole. I wonder how this will effect the economies of the EU and Britain, along with travel and currency regulations. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out for Europe.
ReplyDeleteI think that Brexit will be good for Britain. Britain today, both economically and militarily, is a shadow of it's former self. Given that they are arguable the closest ally of the US, we should be fairly concerned about that. Maybe the EU isn't necessarily a big factor in the UK no longer being as significant a world power, but it doesn't help by limiting the UK and restraining it to the policies of the EU.
ReplyDeleteI think Brexit is a bad thing. It seems like leaving the EU is a bad decision for the UK's economy. There are a lot of the world's richest and most powerful countries in the EU. I think it needs to be more than just a majority vote for something like that.
ReplyDeleteBrexit should have gone through because that is what the people voted for. Slowing down a process of something that has already been voted on is not productive. Britain can still make trade deals with other European countries as well. It will be interesting to see how their economy and the other EU countries are affected by it.
ReplyDeleteI feel like since I dont reside within that country I cant say whether it was a good or bad thing since my opinion would not contribute to it. But I feel like it would be a bad thing for their country since it is taking them forever to come to a agreement is seems. I feel like this would affect both the Eu and British political and economic policies since their system of money is different.
ReplyDelete