Britain Leaves the EU - The Aftermath of Brexit

[Equinox]

Well, with the effects of Brexit just now beginning, all we can do is wait and prepare ourselves for the long reaching consequences. For those of you who don't know, Trevor Noah of The Daily
Show explains it best. For members living in the UK, how are things like, for other members in the rest of Europe, how much of Brexit do you think will affect you?

 

[Haunted Water]

From what I've heard from news, brexit will be catastrophic for the European Union. I see why.
UK was pretty much the bulk of EU's military. Without that, the union may struggle to hold power.

 

[Athena]

From what I've heard from news, brexit will be catastrophic for the European Union. I see why.
UK was pretty much the bulk of EU's military. Without that, the union may struggle to hold power.

The European Union is solely a political/economic union and has nothing to do with military power. You may instead be thinking of NATO, which is a military alliance with several European and North American countries as members, and there are no signs the UK is planning to leave that.

 

[Haunted Water]

The European Union is solely a political/economic union and has nothing to do with military power. You may instead be thinking of NATO, which is a military alliance with several European and North American countries as members, and there are no signs the UK is planning to leave that.

Quite possible that I got those two alliances mixed up.
Point is, EU's survival is dependent upon the strength of numbers. If, say France, were to leave, it may deliver a death blow to the alliance.

 

[Athena]

That is really the biggest downside to the Brexit that I can see, being a mainland European resident and all. The vote has given a huge boost to independence parties across the EU, and you're already seeing separatists hoping to leverage the UK's departure to rally behind independence votes of their own, like my own country's very own Geert Wilders and his cry for a "Nexit". Whether this will actually lead to something concrete is far in the future though. Brexit could be the catalyst that leads to the end of the EU project, but it will be a good many years before the dominoes finish falling.

 

[Celever]

I don't think that the short term highs for other independence parties will result in anything. A referendum in our country was called only so that the now-majority party would get a majority. The leader was against leaving pretty much more than anyone else, and a lot of the leave votes were cast only as a sort of "well you shouldn't have called an election then, ya dummie". It's such specific circumstances which I just don't think will actually happen again. Plus, the UK didn't even use the same currency as the rest of the EU (members are supposed to use the euro but we got out of it), so economically our leaving doesn't effect them a great deal.

In terms of for residents inside the UK, the main foreseeable consequence is an abolition of our free healthcare, which was protected by the EU. The government in power rn is very right wing, and a lot of funding goes to it. Not as much tax money is payed towards the failing NHS as what's paid directly into the Queen's treasury (who doesn't do anything), but you get the point.

The other main consequence is our PM stepped down, so there's probably gonna be a new general election soon. It's a shame because I won't be old enough to vote in it, whereas I was gonna be old enough to vote in the next general election (which would have been in 2020) but it's whatever. :U

Oh, and we have to redo all our trade laws so our economy has crashed hardcore. It's really bad because our currency was actually on a bit of a high, so the crash is really hard.

 

[Equinox]

...a lot of the leave votes were cast only as a sort of "well you shouldn't have called an election then, ya dummie". It's such specific circumstances which I just don't think will actually happen again.

Unfortunately though, many people also reasoned that leaving the EU would make your refugees and immigrants leave too :/ it's a shame the Trump mindset has infected the UK (and most of Europe) and yet Trump still appears to be a laughing stock over there. Also, it would seem many people in the UK didn't even know what the EU was and googled it hours after the vote -__-

 

[Mr.Muffin]

The pound has already bounced back.

I think the EU falling apart would be a really interesting thing to witness. I am team America, so the EU falling wouldn't really hurt me. I wonder who will leave next?

 

[Celever]

Unfortunately though, many people also reasoned that leaving the EU would make your refugees and immigrants leave too :/ it's a shame the Trump mindset has infected the UK (and most of Europe) and yet Trump still appears to be a laughing stock over there. Also, it would seem many people in the UK didn't even know what the EU was and googled it hours after the vote -__-

Hey hey, we had the Trump mindset first, don't take all the credit! >:L UKIP (the UK Independence Party) had been gaining momentum since before Trump was on the map, smh.

I don't think many people believed that the refugees and immigrants would be kicked out so much as simply more of them not being allowed in. Because clearly the net migration of 100,000 people per year is way too much for the country to hold. It was primarily the logic behind older votes I think, whereas younger voters did it moreso to be rebels. And there were one or two other reasons, such as the country losing sovereignty (in the entire time the UK has been in the EU we have been in the minority of a vote 70 times) and security (though sharing information about criminals within the EU was our primary method of security). The reasons were misshaped by politicians.

The pound has already bounced back.

I think the EU falling apart would be a really interesting thing to witness. I am team America, so the EU falling wouldn't really hurt me. I wonder who will leave next?

It's not gonna happen tbh. The main two countries who've had liberation uprisings are the Netherlands and France. I don't think the Netherlands will ever leave because many of the reasons used in the UK referendum don't really apply. Holland has liberal laws, moreso than the rest of the EU, so the whole sovereignty thing isn't apparent. I don't think migration is seen as a major issue there (less than 2% of the population is considered a migrant, according to a 2014 census I found). So I just don't think the motion will pass.

France is the one to look into for a possible second exit because their government is extremely right wing and the population is hyper patriotic. That's p much the only reason the UK left. A lot of the reasons forcefed to the UK population also apply to France. However, it still feels like a reach to me... I just can't foresee a country leaving without looking at the effect leaving has had on our country, which is very little. So if the radical option delivers minute change, a population will traditionally want to stay conservative.

Not that it wouldn't be kinda interesting to see. Some of the Bremain campaigners said that if there's a domino effect Europe will be embroiled in a WWIII, which, considering the EU was set up to keep the peace after WWII instead of the League of Nations, isn't a super outlandish claim. So uh, that could be fun.

 

[bbninjas]

For a poor Aussie bloke isolated from the rest of the world's politics, could someone give me a quick rundown on what Brexit is? From my skim read, it seems like it is a ban on immigration into Europe, but I could easily be wrong. Unfortunately that video Equinox linked is unavailable.

 

[thegrovylekid]

For a poor Aussie bloke isolated from the rest of the world's politics, could someone give me a quick rundown on what Brexit is? From my skim read, it seems like it is a ban on immigration into Europe, but I could easily be wrong. Unfortunately that video Equinox linked is unavailable.

Basically, Great Britain has voted to leave the European Union.

 

[WastedSkyPirate]

@bbninjas There is a helpful summary by the BBC here.

The United Kingdom is part of the European Union. In very real terms, being part of the EU means that the UK can trade with the other 27 member states free of tariffs and trade barriers and I (as a British national) can live and work in any other EU country without a visa (it's bloody great and makes perfect sense in the age of globalisation). However, over the past 5-10 years, public attitudes towards membership have been shifting- partly due to the right wing government framing the debate (e.g. "immigration is too high", "we pay a lot of money to the EU every week", "laws are passed by the EU that we can't control") without focusing on the abundance of positives (e.g. free movement of labour, goods and services, access to the single market, protection for workers rights, EU structural funds for the regeneration of deprived areas, etc.).

This framing has led to the gradual increase of anti-immigration rhetoric within the media and public. So much so that, in an attempt to win votes at general election in May 2015, the Conservative party made a manifesto pledge to hold a referendum on whether the UK should remain or leave the EU if they won the election. Unfortunately, the Conservative party did win the May 2015 general election and, hence, the UK held a referendum on membership of the EU on 23 June 2016.

The United Kingdom voted to Leave the EU with a 52 - 48 percent majority.

The pound has already bounced back.

Can you please link me to your source as I've been unable to find information that supports your claim?

In the short space of time since the result of the referendum was announced, the value of the pound has plummeted dramatically against the Euro (source: XE.com). The fall is such that the pound is at its lowest position against the Euro in a 2 year period. Against the US dollar, the fall is even more dramatic.

 

[Secret Agent Seal]

For members living in the UK, how are things like

Life is mostly normal for now, although the fallout has yet to truly reach us. A 10% drop in the value of our currency can only lead to recession, tax increases, etc.

With that said, I have never known my country to be so politically divided. It was such a close vote, lead by a campaign filled with lies and manipulation. You can imagine that there are a lot of people, myself included, who are very upset with this result. Hate crime has risen since the referendum and it disgusts us.

Speaking of politics, our parties are in tatters. Conservatives are ripping themselves to shreds. Labour won't back the only respectable leader they have. Who is going to lead the UK out of this mess? Even that slimy rat Farage has jumped ship. Christ, I'm actually nostalgic for Cameron.

How is the UK going to get a good deal out of this? EU won't begin negotiations until Article 50 is triggered, which is when the 2 year countdown will begin. Is 2 years enough time to re-negotiate decades worth of agreements and laws? Hell if I know. It's not as if the Leave campaign actually bothered to plan for this eventuality. I can only hope that article 50 gets delayed and delayed, to the point where we feel the need to hold a second referendum at which point the public will unanimously vote "Remain".

It is not a proud time to be British. The referendum should never have been held because true democracy is crap and most people had no idea what it was they were actually voting for. This is why we elect parties and leaders who actually have a clear understanding of how the system works.

 

[WastedSkyPirate]

@Secret Agent Seal Well said.

It was such a close vote, lead by a campaign filled with lies and manipulation. You can imagine that there are a lot of people, myself included, who are very upset with this result. Hate crime has risen since the referendum and it disgusts us.

My partner is Polish and has lived in the UK for 5 years. Following the leave vote, she feels like a foreigner for the first time during her time in this country. It breaks my heart to see how this vote has affected her - every day she is anxious for her future and doesn't know what rights she will retain. Prior to the referendum, she was considering moving jobs but now she's concerned that employers won't want to recruit EU nationals in case they require visas in the near future.

Quite frankly, I am ashamed to be British at the moment (and even more ashamed to be English). I had always thought of this country as a multi-cultural, diverse and welcoming nation that values people from abroad learning and living here and appreciates their contribution to our society and economy. I'm also completely appalled at the leave campaign's blatant lies and despicable anti-immigrant tone. On the morning after the result, the leaders of the leave campaign came out on national television and basically said all of their promises couldn't be kept! They duped the public into leaving the EU and now we're all going to be shafted...

 

[Secret Agent Seal]

My partner is Polish and has lived in the UK for 5 years. Following the leave vote, she feels like a foreigner for the first time during her time in this country. It breaks my heart to see how this vote has affected her - every day she is anxious for her future and doesn't know what rights she will retain. Prior to the referendum, she was considering moving jobs but now she's concerned that employers won't want to recruit EU nationals in case they require visas in the near future.

I'm sincerely sorry to hear that.

Your partner is not the only one who feels this way. I work with many people from overseas (not just from the EU) who are no longer feeling so welcome themselves. They jokingly say that they're reconsidering their career options, but the jokes are becoming progressively more serious.

I worry about the future of R&D in the UK. Many of our most brilliant scientists and doctors come from overseas, and they come to the UK specifically because A) The welcoming atmosphere, B) The strength of the pound and C) The good investment into R&D from the EU (who pay more into this sector than we pay them). The referendum seems to have screwed up every one of these points.


The reverse is also true -- scientists and doctors are among the first to go in the event that their home economy begins to shrink. The UK will probably suffer a brain drain as a result.

 

[WastedSkyPirate]

I'm sincerely sorry to hear that.

Your partner is not the only one who feels this way. I work with many people from overseas (not just from the EU) who are no longer feeling so welcome themselves. They jokingly say that they're reconsidering their career options, but the jokes are becoming progressively more serious.

Thanks mate.

I work in the renewable energy sector (which has already been the victim of Tory policy this year) with a lot of EU nationals; they are understandably concerned for their rights/careers too. If you go back 10 years or so, there were very few people in the UK with the necessary experience to develop megawatt level renewable energy plants - all of the experience was on the continent in countries like Spain. The people that chose to emigrate to the UK from abroad have played a massive role in building the industry here.

But I digress. The political situation in the UK is crazy at the moment - far from stable - and I'm very concerned about the outcome of the Conservative leadership contest. As you said, I'm actually nostalgic for David Cameron. He was a plonker but at least he was *mostly* harmless. The candidates vying for the role of Prime Minister now are a lot more right wing and that's worrying!

 

[Equinox]

It is unfortunate to hear all of this! Desperation breeds extremism, and extremism leads to stupidity. There were also people that voted to leave the EU because they thought this would somehow get rid of the immigrants that live in the UK, ironic for them wanting to keep Trump out, it's the same mindset pretty much, and I think Trump has caught onto this because he's been circling Brexit like a vulture :/ fingers crossed Trump doesn't form an alliance over there