The Brexit Round-Up
Oh, we’re all screwed by the way.
I don’t understand Brexit. At all. I’m not sure anyone really does. So I took it upon myself to share my new-found knowledge with this article.
Here are some common misconceptions about Brexit, solved, to begin:
- Brexit was started by David Cameron, NOT Theresa May
- Leaving the EU does NOT mean leaving Europe, it means leaving the European trade organisation
- No one really knows what’s going on, even if they pretend to
- No, Brexit isn’t an excuse to air your chauvinist opinions
- Is an official second referendum really going to solve anything? There’s little concrete evidence of a significant number of people changing their minds. The majority of people favour the government getting on with it, whether Remain or Leave, according to a survey by Deltapoll.
Where did it all begin?
Brexit was started by the-then Prime Minister David Cameron (famously had intercourse with a pig at university) in June 2012, claiming thatBritain needed to change their trading relationship with the rest of the EU. This evolved into other MPs (but not Cameron) suggesting Britain would be better off trading outside of EU regulations. No-one made any plans or set out any guidelines so it was very much the blind leading the blind. The question of an EU referendum (vote) on whether or not to leave the EU was passed through parliament in December 2015, and the actual vote itself happened in June 2016. The day after the referendum, David Cameron resigned, as he did not want to leave the EU.
He was succeeded by Theresa May as prime minister. By this point, the economy is in jeopardy, the U.K. is in turmoil, and Theresa May has got to deal with it all. Best of luck, Madam.
What did Joe Public think? Ignorance doesn’t discriminate, even if the voters do.
A big vote was organised, and the majority (barely) swung in the direction of leaving the EU. Preparations began.
The following then ensued: May suggested a crap deal to the EU; the EU hated it, MPs hated it, even May herself probably hated it, so the deal was rejected. Further deals May came up with were equally as rejectable, whilst MPs couldn’t agree on a plan, since no one set of guidelines appeared to please everyone. The general public, meanwhile, sat back in confusion and waited to see if avocados went up in price. This* was* what we voted for… right?
Post-referendum polls and research disagree. Results revealed the majority of voters were misinformed due to the lack of information they received. Many voted for arguably Nationalist reasons to keep “immigrant job-stealers” etc. out of the UK. This discourse was aided by the oh-so-wonderful campaigns of UKIP, further spreading misinformation since Brexit had never stipulated an anti-immigration nation, anyway.
StaleMayte
So the political leaders of the country can’t sort anything out, and the public have already had their say (kind of). Clearly the only other sensible option according to May would be to produce no guidelines for Brexit (‘no deal’) and be at the mercy of the EU, right?
Yeah, parliament didn’t agree either, and voted against no deal twice. May wanted Britain to leave the EU without a deal, unless something was agreed. But Parliament didn’t want to leave the EU - with or without a deal on the table. The UK was due to leave the European Union on 29th March 2019, regardless of whether there was a deal with the EU or not. This is unless a decision was made to extend Article 50, part of the legislation on the time period with which parliament is allowed to debate before needing to make a decision.
A motion passed to extend article 50, which means the new date for making a decision on Brexit is the 12th April. Put it in your calendars, friends — I’m going to drink all the German beer my body can hold, and if I end up in hospital, at least according to Tory buses the NHS is £350 million pounds richer.
Many are blanket-blaming parliament for not doing enough. The problem isn’t that MPs can’t negotiate in general, its that there isn’t enough MPs to vote for a majority in any direction. As a result the agreement is too split on different areas.
So where are they now?
Since his resignation and the crumbling of the nation, David Cameron has been having on-and-off holibobs (yes, for 3 years) and watching Britain burn from a sun-bed somewhere abroad. All whilst getting paid £800,000 to write a book — presumably on how not to run a country.
Theresa May is currently being laughed at by her party and the general public for the state of Brexit. I think she needs to go to IKEA and get a new cabinet.
May has said she’ll step down as PM if her deal gets through, might resign if she can’t and likely faces a censure motion. But considering the state of her predicted replacements (Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock and the devil himself, Michael Gove), Theresa leaving isn’t going to make a lick of difference for the country.
So what’s next?
On the 1st April (yes, I see the irony too), the House of Commons will hold a second day of indicative voting to consider different Brexit options. If the Commons can vote for a specific plan for Brexit, then attention will move to the response of the government. If no agreement can be made, the future will again be uncertain, which could possibly lead to further delays, EU parliament elections, possibly a second referendum, no deal, a general election, another vote of no confidence, or maybe even no Brexit at all.
The only thing that is certain, is that uncertainty is proving to be ultra-destructive for the country.
So why should I care about Brexit?
- Brexit could cause shortages/ less availability of medical products that have to be shipped from the EU, including insulin, gender-growth hormones and other essential materials, causing monopolies, price surges, and unavailability of essential drugs.
- The damage and uncertainty has taken its toll on Britain’s economy, as Brexit slowed the UK’s economic growth to 1.3 percent in 2018. The pound is continuing to drop significantly in value in relation to other currencies — which affects us all.
- Brexit has caused an unsure future of travel, including border issues with the Republic of Ireland. No more St. Patrick’s Day celebrations!
- Customs delays could likely cause food shortages
- Tariffs would be re-imposed, meaning imported goods will go up in price (avocado toast is about to get a lot more expensive).
- Most importantly, this is everyone’s future, not just those involved with politics
What can I do?
- Perhaps the most important thing amongst all this is stay informed, and keep other people informed. Don’t just partake in the ostrich effect.
- The above is especially important in the rare case of another vote/referendum. Don’t just vote who your parents/friend/ girlfriend/ teacher/ neighbour/ local racist are voting. Look into things. Oh, and register to vote too.
- Keep conversations open and empathetic. This is affecting a lot of different people in a lot of different ways, especially immigrants and people dependent on the current state of Britain.
- It seems a bit dramatic and may not be applicable, but manage your cash amongst the uncertain future of the economy, just in case.
The country will have to adapt to whatever changes are made, but one thing’s for sure: we won’t ever give up hope for our Great Britain.
