Not As Easy As Expected

Brexit got its start in 2016, when the majority of UK citizens voted in favour of leaving the European Union. The public vote turnout was surely higher than expected – over 30 million people voted, while 17,4 million voted leave. Brexit was supposed to happen 2 years after the referendum – on 29 March 2019. Theresa May delayed the deadline 2 times after her Brexit deal was rejected, as she pushed its date to 31 October 2019. After more than 3 years of planning, Brexit finally went through on 31 January 2020.

The New Prime Minister Managed to Help Conclude the 4-year Struggle

On 24 July 2019, Boris Johnson, a former mayor of London and a supporter of one-nation conservatism, was chosen to be the new prime minister of the UK. He has been criticizing the European Union for a long time, and was one of the key figures during the Vote Leave campaign which pleaded Brexit. During his first speech after being elected as PM, he stated that the UK was due to leave on 31 October 2019. After that, the Government spent a total of £2,1 billion while making preparations for Brexit. Johnson later asked the Queen to prorogue parliament (prorogation=an act used to mark the end of a parliamentary session), which she accepted, but was later proven to be unlawful and therefore rendered of no effect. Soon after he became PM, Johnson announced that an extra of 20 000 police officers would be hired, £1,8 billion would be spent for improving equipment in hospitals and funding per pupil would be increased to £5 000. He also promised to support Chinese infrastructure investment effort, claiming to keep the UK “the most open economy in Europe” for its investment. 

Who Voted ‘leave’ And Why

As mentioned earlier, the Brexit referendum in 2016 attracted 17,4 million UK citizens to voting stations. The outcome was really tight with 52% voting for the Leave side and 48% for the Remain side. Although people don’t usually talk about who/what they voted for and why, Brexit is such an intriguing topic that it’s almost inevitable not to discuss your opinion about it. Most of the people who opted for the Leave side are Conservative supporters and members of older generations who claim that Britain is better-off econimically on its own and that too many foreigners have already immigrated into the UK and have been able to get a British citizenship. On the other hand, people who opted for the Remain side are the ones who are hoping to live in a country which accepts differences, offers jobs for people aspiring to live in the UK, as well as provide a better future for the present UK citizens. 

How It Affects the Economy

As the ‘leave’ result wasn’t expected, many industries weren’t prepared for this. At the moment, the value of the pound is at its lowest level in 30 years. If the UK proposes constraints on immigrants, it could seriously hurt Britain’s labour force. With Brexit finally concluded, it wouldn’t be surprising if Scotland decides to leave the UK and join the EU as a separate country, as there had already been referendums deciding about Scotland’s future as an independent country. For EU citizens, travelling to the UK will soon not be possible only with an ID card and they will only be able to travel with their passports. Apart from that, the UK will now need to pay a Divorce Bill currently estimated at £39 billion.

Written by Alitas Narančić