british regret "brexit", but "turning back" may be more difficult
2024-09-28
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according to british media reports, british people will hold a large-scale demonstration in london, the capital, on the 28th local time, calling for "rejoining the european union."
this will be the third time after october 2022 and september 2023 that the british people have held large-scale demonstrations to express this demand.
screenshot of a report by the british "northeast online" news network
in fact, since the united kingdom officially "brexit" on january 31, 2020, the economic, trade and immigration issues complained by the "brexit" supporters have not improved, but have continued to worsen; they believe that "brexit" is wrong. it is also emerging in all walks of life in british society.
how to solve the series of sequelae left by britain's "brexit" failed to find an answer during the previous conservative governments. now it has become a difficult problem before the labor government.
'profound and ongoing strangulation'
the first thing to be affected after "brexit" is the trade relationship between the uk and the eu. the free trade and zero-tariff treatment originally enjoyed within the eu no longer exist, and have been replaced by cumbersome customs inspections and a new tariff system.
hugh bloom runs a cattle farm in surrey, england. he said that after britain's "brexit", it was much more troublesome for him to replace even one machine part than before, which directly affected the operation of the cattle farm.
bloom: "a lot of the machines we use are made in the eu. in the past, (if something went wrong with some parts), we would just call or send an email and the parts would arrive in 24 hours. now because of the different due to customs regulations and border friction, parts may take a week to arrive.”
hugh bloom (photo from the financial times)
dave seward is the founder of an innovative company in the uk that provides customized automation products to pharmaceutical companies. affected by the new post-brexit trade rules, his company has lost half of its revenue.
seward: "we used to have a huge market on our doorstep, the eu, and we could trade as if we were in the local market. now we have to deal with german rules, italian rules, spanish rules... i wonder, how do we to align with our closest trading partners.”
dave seward (photo from financial times)
many british small and medium-sized businesses that rely on trading with eu partners have been squeezed out of the market due to the rising cost of importing goods from eu countries and a surge in related paperwork.
a recent report released by aston university business school in the uk shows that "brexit" is having a "profound and continuing strangulation effect" on goods trade between the uk and the eu.
it is estimated that between 2021 and 2023, the uk's annual merchandise exports to the eu will decrease by 17% compared with the situation before "brexit". moreover, the negative impact of "brexit" will intensify as time goes by, and the trade decline in 2023 will be more obvious than in previous years.
screenshot of cnn report
the hit to trade has a direct impact on the british economy.
forecasts from the british office for budget responsibility (obr) show that in the long term, the new trade relationship will shrink the british economy by 4% compared with the uk remaining within the eu.
london mayor sadiq khan previously warned that the british economy has shrunk by 6% since brexit, equivalent to an annual loss of 140 billion pounds (approximately us$178 billion); by 2035, this will a reduction will reach 10%.
screenshot of reuters report (title picture shows sadiq khan)
'this remains a politically toxic topic in the uk'
immigration issues were also one of the main factors that led to the uk's original referendum vote to "brexit".
"brexiters" once firmly believed that taking back "border control" would help reduce the presence of foreigners in the uk. however, after the uk truly "brexit", the number of immigrants has not decreased but increased.
data show that the number of net immigrants in the uk will reach a record high of 764,000 in 2022, and will still be as high as 700,000 in 2023, more than three times higher than before brexit in 2019.
screenshot of the official website of the british house of commons library
in this regard, the american "atlantic monthly" website once published an article saying that britain's "brexit" was a failure. anyone who voted for brexit to reduce immigration will be disappointed.
and indeed it is. as time goes by, more and more british people begin to believe that britain’s “brexit” has caused unexpected damage to the country.
in a survey last month by the british polling firm redfield & wilton strategies, 56% of britons said they would vote for britain to rejoin the eu if a second referendum were held now.
screenshot of redfield & wilton strategies polling report
another british polling agency, yougan survey company, also came to the same conclusion: nearly two-thirds (62%) of british voters surveyed said that "brexit" was a failure; 59% of the voters surveyed supported it. rejoin the eu in a new referendum.
screenshot of "youguan" company poll report
however, after many twists and turns, the uk has finally exited the eu. is it really ready to "turn back"?
since taking office in july, the new british prime minister starmer has visited germany, france, ireland and other eu countries, advocating a "reset" of relations with the eu.
according to reports, starmer will also discuss the matter with european commission president von der leyen during his first visit to the eu headquarters in brussels next week as part of the "reset" envisioned plan.
but starmer made it clear earlier this month that the "reset" is intended to bring britain and europe closer in many aspects and does not mean that the uk will return to the eu. after all, this is still a "politically toxic" topics.
screenshot of afp report
the australian media recently published an article entitled "british people regret leaving the eu, but can they still go back?" "the article stated that although british public opinion favors returning to the eu, starmer seems to regard the holding of a second referendum as a "divisive and potentially damaging interference."
the article believes that no matter what the "brexit" beliefs of the british leaders are, they do not want the country to re-enact the conflicts and divisions of the past, and do not want the "brexit" and "remain" factions to meet again at the family dinner table. an endless debate ensued.
screenshot of the report from the australian financial review
