"Straight down" - British regret about Brexit

TT

Published 12.08

           

           

           

           

           

           

          The economy in Britain is doing badly after Brexit, not least in the countryside. In Hindley outside              Wigan, new owners are being sought for the closed pub "Fågeln i handen".

          1 / 6Photo: Wiktor Nummelin/TT

Ten years have passed since Britain decided to wave goodbye to the EU.

Now it stings - even where almost everyone voted for Brexit.

- We shot ourselves in the foot, say voters in Wigan.

When 1984 author George Orwell once wanted to describe poor England, he took as his starting point the hardships of miners in the northwest.

“The Road to Wigan Pier” from 1937 became a classic and, ironically, also created a tourist attraction when, 50 years later, smart entrepreneurs transformed the poor area by the canal between Leeds and Liverpool into an entertainment district.

The situation today is equally deadly ironic, when vagrants and drug addicts have taken over where pubs and nightclubs have closed.

The British economy is not doing well. And the residents that TT talks to on the street in Wigan know what to blame.

“Everything has gone straight downhill since we left the EU,” sighs Amy.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” says Jeremy.

“Enormous problems”

Exact figures are not easy to calculate, but various studies point, for example, to a decrease in GDP of 6-8 percent, a 4 percent decline in productivity and a 15 percent loss for trade.

Trade Minister Chris Bryant from the social democratic Labour Party longs to go back.

– I hope that in my lifetime we will be welcomed back to the heart of Europe as members of the EU. Brexit has created enormous problems for the British economy, he told the AFP news agency during a visit to the European Parliament in May.

But just coming back is not easy. Not even Bryant’s own government dares to openly advocate a “Brexit” – a re-entry.

New start with the EU

Speaking positively about the EU is still sensitive, after years of British criticism of Brussels. The Labour government has nevertheless launched what is being called a “new start” in relations with the EU, with negotiations on everything from food regulations and emissions trading to AI development and university exchanges.

However, it is far from smooth sailing. A planned summit between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa has been steadily postponed throughout the spring and now risks being delayed until this autumn.

This is due not least to the uncertainty at the moment surrounding the hard-pressed Starmer and his position and future. But also to disagreement over how many European students can be accepted in the UK and vice versa.

Tailwind for Farage

Surveys in the spring show that around 60 percent of those surveyed in the UK today would vote to remain in the EU. At the same time, it is still arch-Brexitist Nigel Farage and his Reform Party who have the most tailwind in public opinion at the moment.

The immigration issue is still as hot as it was ten years ago. Back then, Farage and others pointed to the EU as responsible for all the problems related to migrants, refugees and guest workers. The fact that the UK has since left the union does not prevent politicians and debaters from continuing to blame the problems on the influx from EU countries across the English Channel or the land border with Ireland.

In recent weeks alone, high-profile violent crimes by perpetrators of foreign origin in Southampton and Belfast have led to widespread riots.

Is the country breaking apart?

The EU issue is likely to continue to have political explosive power in the UK for many years – with the potential to shake up the entire state structure.

The regions of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all currently led by parties that want to break away from London and return to the EU.

As the electoral system stands, where it is enough to be the largest in each constituency, rather than having an overall majority, England could be heading in the other direction and pushing for an even more nationalist anti-EU government under Farage after the next election, at the latest in 2029.

Scotland is already pushing for another referendum on independence.

– We must unite in Scotland to ensure that our parliament is fully Farage-protected. This means being able to decide on our constitutional future before 2029, without Farage being able to block us, said regional government leader John Swinney in a speech after the local elections in early May.

“Embarrassing”

In Wigan, more than 60 percent voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. Here, people are now sighing heavily about isolation and reduced opportunities to travel and work in other countries.

“And our reputation in other countries has deteriorated. Now we are lumped in with the Americans,” says Amy, who still hopes for a turnaround and re-entry into the EU in due course.

Ethan and Jeremy, on their way home from the local college, are not as hopeful.

– Probably not. I think it would be too embarrassing to make a U-turn, says Ethan.

FACTS

Chronology: Britain and the EU

* January 1, 1973: Britain – along with Denmark and Ireland – joins the then EC.

* June 23, 2016: 52 percent of Britons vote to leave the EU in a referendum. As a result of the Remain side’s defeat, Prime Minister David Cameron of the Conservative Party resigns and is replaced by then Home Secretary Theresa May.

* October 17, 2019: Agreement is reached on a withdrawal agreement after negotiations between the European Commission and the UK’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who replaced May in the summer.

* January 31, 2020: The United Kingdom formally leaves the EU, albeit with various transitional rules until the end of December of the same year.