European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of states that are found in European. It has primarily 28 members who have established a free single market ensuring that goods and people can move freely within the member states (EU, 2018). It also plays a major role in formation of laws in terms of legislation and in regional development of the involved states. To enhance the free trade a common currency was established, the Euro, which was used among 19 states (EU, 2018).
A referendum was held on 23rd June 2016 to decide whether Britain would exit or remain from the EU. According to the Guardian, 2018 the turnout was 71.8% where 30 million and more people voted. 51.9% of the people voted for the Britain exit (Brexit) and 48.1% voted against the Brexit. It meant that the majority of Britons had decided that they needed to leave the EU and this was scheduled to happen on 29th March 2019 at 11pm Britain time.
There were four reasons that were tabled for the exit from the EU. These were that Britain felt the need to be a sovereign nation again and therefore regain its powerful states independently from the EU. The other reason brought forward was that Britain felt restrained in her growth since the country could not make trade ties freely without involving other states such as China. The third reason discussed was that Britain had no control of her borders since Poland joined EU in 2004 (About the EU, 2018). This has led to laborers taking advantage of the free migration laws to flood Britain. The last reason was that Britain wanted to free herself from the situation whereby non-elected members are the ones who made decisions on legislation (Political Insights, 2018).
But this did not go easy as they had planned and it has led to a lot of opposition from members in parliament and even from members in May Theresa’s Party, who is spear heading the Brexit talks (BBC News, 2018). The reasons making it hard for the exit include.
Perspective of Other EU Members
Britain has had many EU countries or states looking up to it. The exit would affect the overall perspective of other states on Britain. According to BBC News (2018) Britain would be seen as the country that walked away and wrecked EU. Therefore, the goodwill that they are always associated with would be lost massively. Most people look at the Brexit as a means to demolition of Britain and other EU states’ economy.
The Migration Policy
Boris Johnson, a leader of the leave campaign was interviewed by the BBC and he clarified that he is not only pro-immigration but also pro-immigrants. This shows that the exit would entail formation of new migration policies by Britain. The move would affect the overall economy of Britain since the recruitment of workers from other countries is crucial for the growth. As a matter of fact, the EU immigrants from the other states pay more taxes than benefits. Many countries inclusive of Britain would tend to blame immigrants for their problems which is usually not the case in many aspects (Jacobs, 2018).
Reputation
Britain is among the four major contributors and players in today’s world. It would be a major downfall to lose this position and it can only be reinforced by remaining in the EU. The world out there according to The Guardian (2018) is uncertain about the threats from Middle East, terrorism, reestablished Russia and Nations threatening with nuclear warfare. NATO can only be stronger if Britain remains in the EU and also they need to cooperate with nations such as France and Germany to establish better development and diplomacy (The Guardian, 2018).
Trade and Economy
£400 billion a year of income in Britain comes from trade ties established with the other EU states (Latest UK News, 2018). Statistics further shows that when it comes to jobs, 1 out of 10 are directly traced to the EU states and therefore this could lead to a 10% loss in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Britain (Latest UK News, 2018). Most international companies tend to invest billions of money in Britain since they see it as an easy way to reach consumers in other EU states. Therefore, this would lead to a major economic disaster. An exit would lead to Britain being at the mercy of the EU laws and regulations on trading and therefore they would not be able to shape or even influence those laws as they seem fit to them. Thousands of jobs would be lost and firms and companies would relocate leading to a major downfall in the economy (Jacob, 2018).
Some leaders have made a call to other nations to boycott the British-made products if Britain exits from the EU. The leaders believe that the exit would damage the organization. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) made a statement that 57% of the Britain-made cars are sold to the EU market (SMMT, 2016). The exit would lead to other bigger suppliers such as the USA and China flooding these markets
Intervention
1914 and 1939 saw Europe being divided in terms of rival nations. Ordinary people who have accepted that the world has progressed since then would not like this to re-occur. Since Britain joined EU in 1976, the EU made a major step forward economically and politically and became a force to reckon with (Jacob, 2018). It is human nature for most people to blame the nation’s problems on EU such as the ‘living wage’ which did not concern the EU as a whole but Britain as a nation. This and other problems are majorly internal and the government of Britain is responsible for their solution. Therefore, it is important to understand that EU was formed to promote peace and stability across Europe. Europe has been involved in a lot of internal wars and struggles and only the EU can stabilize it and bring about peace and democracy
Healthcare
There were wrong claims that were being broadcasted by the ‘leave’ campaign supporters which made one of their supporters on 9th June, Sarah Wollaston a Tory MP, to join the ‘stay’ campaign. Many health grants that are of vital benefit to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) are majorly supported by the EU states. The healthcare agreement pertaining to the EU members led to many Britain citizens attaining the EHIC card getting treatment in other countries.
Consequences
According to Churchill, Britain went to war for Europe without calculating the cost of that war on herself (Jacob, 2018). This could mean that Europe owes Britain for its generosity but if it leaves EU it will no longer be termed as a nation that saved Europe but a nation that abandoned it. The exit according to IMF would cause a fall of the sterling pound by 10-20% thereby affecting the stock market of Britain (Wheeler, 2018). It would affect pensions, balance of trade and investment in Britain. The other nations remaining behind will try to win investors and lure them away from the deserting Britain.
Collateral damages would involve a breakup of the Scottish nationalists with the UK. The exit can also lead to a quick collapse of the EU in general.
References
About the EU (2018) - European Union - European Commission. Retrieved from
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu_en on May 14th 2018
Brexit Means Brexit – But What Does Brexit Mean? (2017). Political Insight,8(1), 3-3.
Jacobs, F. B. (2018). The Cultural Impacts of Brexit. The EU after Brexit,79-83.
Latest UK news. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news
Wheeler, A. H. (2018, May 10). Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics on May 14th 2018
SMMT | Supporting " promoting the UK automotive industry. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.SMMT.com/ on May 14th 2018
