Ah, Brexit. The buzzword in today's society, the word that makes everyone (well, mostly) want to curl up in a ball, stick their head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. The word that will probably cause me to lose a few followers since I've been told in the past, in no uncertain words, that people don't like to read about politics. People aren't interested in politics. Well, too bad, kiddos, we're talking about it. Since the UK political system has reached breaking point recently after the Tory MPs called a vote of confidence for Theresa May in December, they've voted down her deal and more votes are set to take place, I think it's something I need to address.
Question is for a lot of people: what even is Brexit? Well, all the "no one knows" jokes aside, Brexit essentially is slang for "Britain Exit" a.k.a. Britain's Exit from the EU. In June 2016, as everyone knows, the country voted on a 52/48 majority to leave the European Union. As you can probably tell if you follow me on Twitter or if you have any common sense, I'm not a fan of this majority. The EU, simply, is a group of 28 countries in Europe, who have agreements to allow simpler trade and free movement between these countries for anyone to live and work. We first joined the EU (then the EEC) in 1973 when Edward Heath was PM.
So where is Brexit now? Good question, and I am going to make a "no one knows" joke because really, no one knows. On 29th March 2017, something called Article 50 was triggered, meaning the UK had 2 years to negotiate with the EU and come up with a withdrawal agreement or divorce deal before we actually leave the EU. Essentially, this is the list of terms on which we leave - it includes what goes on with trade agreements, Northern Ireland borders and a whole host of other things that need to be smoothed over and knots that need tying up into a neat little "Leave" parcel.
Although...that's not quite what's happened now, is it? Nice little Leave parcel turned into big old Brexit mess, didn't it? And many, many people have no idea exactly what that mess is. However, the mess is due to be tidied up by the 29th March (I am gonna stop using the 'mess' analogy now as it's getting sliiightly confusing!) as that's the date we are due to leave the European Union. The big problem with that is that we have no idea on what terms we are leaving yet. There are three different options (in simple terms) and they are Theresa May's deal, a no deal Brexit and finally, no Brexit at all.
The problem is that Theresa May's deal has already been voted down by MPs. The problem now is, they haven't exactly said what's on the table instead. Many government ministers are trying to convince the EU to make changes to that deal to make it more acceptable to those who voted it down, and they are set to vote again on Tuesday 12th March (today!!) on this deal. But as new info comes to light this morning, it turns out that actually, May's 'revised' deal is pretty much the same as the deal that got voted down before. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox (who advises the government on all things legal) has essentially said that legal risks haven't changed, and that the UK will not have legal means of exiting the backstop (don't worry, I will address this soon) without the EU agreeing. But, if by some unknown miracle May's (un)revised deal goes through, we leave the EU on the 29th March with that deal. But if that fails? The vote goes to a no deal Brexit.
Effectively, no deal means we crash the hell out of the European Union with no divorce bill, no coherent exit plan and no way of moving forward. Without wanting to be a 'fearmongering Remainer' as I have been called on Twitter before, a no deal Brexit would be an unthinkable disaster. We would cut all ties immediately and we would have to follow WTO rules while also trying to negotiate free-trade deals. This would hugely increase tariffs on goods (aka what you buy in shops), EU citizens having practically no rights in the UK, hundreds of firms moving out of the UK causing extreme job loss...it spells disaster. So there will be another vote to determine whether no deal is what we want/ If that fails? We go to delaying the f*ck out of it.
In my opinion as a staunch Remainer and ardent Europhile (need I remind you that just over 70% of 18-24 year olds voted against Brexit - imagine what that would've been if 16-17 year olds had been allowed to vote?!) delaying Brexit is the best course of action. Revoking Article 50 and extending the exit date is the best course of action and subsequently taking it back to the people with a People's Vote. Democracy is basically crumbling and Westminster is clearly incompetent of delivering us a decent deal.
Next time on Let's Talk About Brexit...we talk about a People's Vote, what Brexit means for young people & social justice, and what the hell a rounder's position is doing in Brexit negotiations???
Em xx
