Brexit: Two Main Arguments For Behind The Idea To Leave The European Union

The exit, more commonly called “Brexit,” is a term referring to the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union or the EU. The government of the United Kingdom is still working towards the actual departure from the EU, as there have already been three instances of an agreement shut down by the government.

On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum to either leave or stay in the European Union. The vote was very close with “leave” side garnering 52% of the vote while the remaining 48% wanted to stay within the European Union. Poll results showed that older people were more in favor of leaving the European Union while younger people wanted to remain. Another statistic showed that citizens of the United Kingdom who were college-educated tended to vote to stay within the European Union also. England and Wales both leaned towards the “leave” side while Scotland and Northern Ireland leaned the other way for the “stay” side.

There were two main arguments for behind the idea to leave the European Union. One is an issue about the migration between member countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom and the second is about the economic effects of being in the European Union.

Being a member of the European Union would allow citizens from their own countries to be to travel to another European Union nation without having to use a visa. Obviously, this would make the day-to-day operations of border stations and airports seem smoother, but there are also concerns for regulations like that. There is the obvious threat of terrorists easily having quick movement between nations and another concern was how the influx of those who were migrating and their effect on the economy. Meaning taking jobs from the native would push the public to stop the large groups of people from coming into the country. There is nothing wrong with having people migrate to one’s country, but in this case, it seemed that poorer European Union countries would then have large groups of their own citizens migrate to the United Kingdom in search of work. No country is without economic hardships or without people who do not have jobs. It is just more work for the country when already trying to aid their own citizens’ new groups come in and then also need help. Most businesses in the United Kingdom had expressed their favor in wanting to remain in the European Union while there was a small amount who wanted to stay. The pulling factor for most of the businesses was that while in the European Union it was just easier to move company assets around and was zero to little hassle.

As mentioned before in the opening paragraph, to date there have been three Brexit agreements that have been rejected by the government. Originally, there was already a date set for Brexit. The day was March 29, 2019, but as it is now October of the same year, the United Kingdom still has not completed Brexit. The United Kingdom will talk with different European Union countries and then the EU itself before leaving. On top of that, whatever piece of legislation is drawn up, both the government of the UK and the EU must accept it. The official term for the document or agreement regarding Brexit is the “withdrawal agreement.” This deal outlines the proceedings on how the United Kingdom will leave the European Union, nothing to do with how things will be operated afterward. The last withdrawal agreement that was rejected occurred in March of 2019, seven months without a new agreement to be voted upon. There have been recent concerns regarding the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, those concerns being about keeping the border safe and conflict-free as the two nations have had issues in the past such as the Troubles. Earlier this month a new plan was introduced regarding the Irish border. It will be addressed when Parliament is once again in session.

As mentioned in the line above, Parliament is not even in session and does not meet again until the fourteenth of this month. The United Kingdom is on its third Prime Minister since the referendum vote was held. David Cameron resigned a day after the original referendum, Theresa May was the Prime Minister until Boris Johnson became it on July 24, 2019. In the early timeline of the Brexit deal, it seemed to go a lot smoother than it is now. Johnson is currently having talks with the European Union and has said if he cannot get them to alter the withdrawal agreement the United Kingdom will leave the EU by October 31, 2019. That would mean that as soon as that is finalized European Union laws would immediately stop applying to the country.

It has been a bumpy road for the United Kingdom and their will to leave the European Union, it is almost over but how it fares afterward depends on if a deal can be reached between the EU and the United Kingdom.