Britain has voted to leave the European Union (E.U.) It always appeared odd they ever became a part of the E.U. in the first place.
The E.U. comprises several countries in Europe as a trading complex, supposedly with more open border crossings for people and goods, also with the purpose that there be less inter-country tensions. The E.U. was formed so that member countries would find free trading and it would be easier to do business with each other and for people to move back and forth. There is a cost to belong to this union and the United Kingdom was annually contributing 11.3 billion euros to this program, based on the size of their economy. The British Isles did receive some money back, but not very much.
When the post Brexit vote data was analyzed,the vote in England to leave the E.U. was approximately 52 per cent to 48 per cent to remain in the E.U. (not a wide margin). Northern Ireland on the other hand voted to stay in the union. The vote in Northern Ireland was 56 per cent to 44 per cent in favour of remaining in the E.U. Scotland voted 62 per cent to remain in the E.U. and 38 per cent to leave the E.U. This may trigger another referendum in Scotland to leave the United Kingdom. This would not be a wise move and quoting Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party, that it would be prudent to wait and see what can be accomplished with the United Kingdom intact.
When it was evident that the vote to leave the E.U. prevailed over staying in it, there were “shock waves” throughout the world. The value of the British pound dropped somewhat, the price of oil per barrel dropped, and trading amongst some countries became depressed immediately, amongst other effects. It seems that this ‘knee jerk’ reaction may not have been necessary.
Why did the United Kingdom vote to leave the E.U.? Some reasons might be that many people wanted to take back their independence (which Great Britain has always cherished), and have more input into major social economic issues which many Britons felt were over burdening to the Island, namely middle eastern migration.
It is possible that Britain did not see a future in a borderless global economy? Many Britains felt that the money that they handing over to the E.U. would be better spent reinvesting in health care and education economic development and national security.
Britain is the world’s fifth largest economy and being in that position, it will and can, especially if Scotland were to remain a part of the United Kingdom, find new trading areas. It is hoped that Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom, because independently, Scotland’s economy is not all that healthy even with their oil revenues. Together, Scotland and England can make very effective business partners.
Upon leaving the European Union, the United Kingdom will have to negotiate new trade deals with each and every E.U. member country. It appears that there should be no reason why that cannot be accomplished.
The British Isles can pick and choose countries such as Croatia with whom they would type and scale of trade. They can choose what trading that they may wish to do with other countries, and not be obligated to bolster that country’s economy while doing so. Will the standard of living and economy in Britain falter? Probably and maybe very little, if any. If it does, chances are it will bounce back in time and be more healthy than ever. It may surprise some to learn that both Norway and Switzerland have never joined the E.U. and are both healthy and strong economically, albeit in different ways. Will Canada and the United States, along with other countries be willing to consider separate trade deals with Great Britain upon its exit from the European Union? There is no reason why not.
Will the E.U. suffer with Britain leaving the union? It won’t if the union countries make separate trading deals with Britain and it would be to their advantage to do so. Will Britons leaving the E.U. signal the disbanding of the E.U.? Possibly. Other countries may wish to follow the British example, but this likely will not happen given the smaller size and weaker strength of the economies and so the European Union would likely remain very strong.
It is not the end of the world with the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, not in the least, and life will go on as before.
