On Thursday 23rd of June, the United Kingdom held a referendum on whether it should remain in the European Union or leave. The referendum was proposed by Prime Minister David Cameron to pander to elements in his party and undercut the popularity of the Nigel Farage led United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). Prime Minister David Cameron supported Britain staying in the EU as did Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Scottish Nationalist Party Leader, Nicola Sturgeon. On the other side, former Mayor of London Boris Johnson was supported by Justice Secretary, Michael Cove and Nigel Farage. The Leave campaign proved successful with 52% of the vote over 48% of votes for Remain. The complicated process of exit could be long fraught as negotiations between Britain and the EU could take up to 2 years. The vote eventually cost David Cameron his job as he announced that he will be resigning after the results and raised questions on the efficiency of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The Brexit vote has displayed the divisions within the UK and has raised further questions on the future of the European Union that could spell the end of the EU and the UK as we know it. Firstly, the generational divide. People aged betwen 18 to 49 overwhelmingly voted to stay in the EU with over 60% of those aged between 18 to 35 while those aged 49 and over voted to leave with over 60% between 65 and above. Sections of the younger generation have blamed the older generation who are less likely to face the consequences of the Brexit Vote and are also more wedded to the ideas of Britain’s imperialist past. Already, they are over a million people who have signed a petition for a 2nd referendum.
Secondly, the divisions within the United Kingdom. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the European Union while England and Wales voted to leave. This has raised questions on the future of the United Kingdom as Scotland rightly wants another referendum to become independent to join the European Union which was one of the reasons they voted to stay in the UK back in 2014. Northern Ireland voiced the possibility of uniting with the Republic of Ireland as one country. Places like Greater London voted to stay while regions like the North-East and North-West who have overseen a diminished industrial capacity voted to leave. This further raised questions about London become independent with over ten thousand people signing a petition to make London independent. Frankly, that will remain a pipe dream.
The events to follow the Brexit Vote was pretty remarkable. The Pound Sterling fell to its lowest against the dollar since 1985. The global economy did not react well with Brexit as $2 trillion dollars was lost after the vote. The New York Stock Exchange, Stock Exchanges in Asia and Europe recorded poor numbers. Outside the UK, the likes of Donald Trump, Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen have viewed the results favourably while the likes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel have taken the counter view.
The fall out of the vote is still taking shape. The political landscape has been altered by David Cameron’s resignation as Prime Minister. Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn has seen mass resignations from his shadow cabinet and been given a vote of no confidence. However with Article 50 which effectively ends the UK’s membership, yet to be triggered it’ll fall on the next British Prime Minister to conduct the hard negotiations that will preferably yield a decent deal with the EU that engenders economic stability while staying responsible on immigration and access to the Single Market. The Brexit vote could unite Europe or cause a domino effect which could sound a death knell with other countries seeking to follow suit. However, this raises questions on how the global economy works. In a recent interview, Bernie Sanders stated his fear that the Brexit vote could harm international cooperation but also stated that the global economy does not work for everyone so the vote shows a rejection of neoliberalism that could spark worldwide. However, the referendum was Cameron’s undoing as he planned the vote in the first place. Whether he was overconfident, the Brexit vote will leave a big stain to Cameron’s legacy and leaves a big blow to the concept of a united Europe.
Here’s a video from HBO Last Week Tonight host John Oliver on his reaction to Brexit