BREXIT: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
BY ANUJ MALHOTRA
o it came as an immense shock to
S me when I woke up on the morning of
June 24 to discover that Britishers had
voted to leave the European Union,
Prime Minister had resigned, and
Scotland was considering a referendum that
could bring to an end the very existence of the
United Kingdom. So that was an immense shock
for me, and it was an immense shock for many
people around the globe, but it was also
something that, over the following several
days, created a complete political meltdown in
Britain. Everybody was blaming everybody
else. People blamed the Prime Minister for
calling the referendum in the first place. They
blamed the leader of the opposition for not
fighting it hard enough. The young accused the
old. The educated blamed the less well-
educated. That complete meltdown was made
even worse by the most tragic element of
it: levels of xenophobia and racist abuse in the
streets of Britain at a level that were never seen
before.
But my question is really it is something
that took place overnight or there are
some deeper structural factors?
So, to understand about BREXIT it becomes
important to have a handful insight on:
What is EU?
The European Union - often known as the EU - is an
economic and political partnership involving 28
European countries. It began after World War Two
to foster economic co-operation, with the idea that
countries which trade together are more likely to
avoid going to war with each other.
It has since grown to become a "single market"
allowing goods and people to move around,
basically as if the member states were one country.
It has its own currency, the euro, which is used by
19 of the member countries, its own parliament and
it now sets rules in a wide range of areas - including
on the environment, transport, consumer rights
and even things such as mobile phone charges.
UK comprises of how many
Countries?
The United Kingdom (UK) comprises four
countries: England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
So now, what does BREXIT mean?
It is a word that has become used as a shorthand
way of saying the UK leaving the EU - merging the
words BRITAIN and EXIT to get BREXIT, in a same
way as a possible Greek exit from the euro was
dubbed Grexit in the past.
Now, the question is why is Britain
leaving European Union?
If we look at why those who wanted to leave we
call them "Leavers," as opposed to "Remainers".
We see two factors in the opinion polls that really
mattered. The first was immigration, and the
second sovereignty, and these represent a desire
for people to take back control of their own lives
and the feeling that they are unrepresented by
politicians. But those ideas are ones that signify
fear and alienation.
What was the breakdown across
the UK and its significance?
England voted strongly for Brexit, by 53.4% to
46.6%, as did Wales, with Leave getting 52.5% of
the vote and Remain 47.5%. Scotland and
Northern Ireland both backed staying in the EU.
Scotland backed Remain by 62% to 38%, while
55.8% in Northern Ireland voted Remain and
44.2% Leave.
Brexit teaches us many things about our
society and about societies around the world. It
highlights in ways that we seem embarrassingly
unaware of how divided our societies are. The
vote split along lines of age, education, class and
geography. Young people didn't turn out to vote
in great numbers, but those that did wanted to
remain. Older people really wanted to leave the
European Union.
 Steps to UK leaving European
Union

What has happened since the

referendum?

Britain has got a new Prime Minister - Theresa

May. The former home secretary took over from
David Cameron, who resigned on the day after
losing the referendum.

Like Mr Cameron, Mrs May was against Britain

leaving the EU but she says she will respect the
will of the people. She has said "Brexit means
Brexit" but there is still a lot of debate about
what that will mean in practice.

What about the economy?

The UK economy appears to have weathered the

initial shock of the Brexit vote, although the value
of the pound remains near a 30-year low, but
opinion is sharply divided over the long-term
effects of leaving the EU. Britain also lost its top
AAA credit rating, meaning the cost of
government borrowing will be higher. But share
prices have recovered from a dramatic slump in
value, with both the FTSE 100 and the broader
FTSE 250 index, which includes more British-
based businesses, trading higher than before the
referendum.
What does this mean for Scotland?
In the wake of the Leave result that it is
"democratically unacceptable" that Scotland
faces being taken out of the EU when it voted to
Remain. A second independence referendum for
the country is now "highly likely". As analysed by
the geographical breakdown of referendum it
was clear that Scotland wanted to remain in EU
but are forced to have an exit from it.

2
Who wanted the UK to leave the secure as part of the 28 nation club, rather than
EU? going it alone.

The UK Independence Party, which received What about businesses?

nearly four million votes - 13% of those cast - in
May's general election, has campaigned for many
years for Britain's exit from the EU. They were
joined in their call during the referendum
campaign by about half the Conservative Party's
MPs, including Boris Johnson and five members
of the then Cabinet. A handful of Labour MPs and
Northern Ireland party were also in favour of
leaving.
Big business venture - with a few exceptions -
tended to be in favour of Britain staying in the EU
because it makes it easier for them to move
money, people and products around the world.
Given the crucial role of London as a financial
centre, many jobs are prone to be lost to other
hubs in the EU.

What were their reasons for

wanting the UK to leave?

They said Britain was being held back by the EU,

because they had imposed too many rules on
business and charged billions of pounds a year in
membership fees for little in return. They also
wanted Britain to take back full control of its
borders and reduce the number of people
coming here to live and/or work.

Who wanted the UK to stay in the
EU?
Then PM was the leading voice in the Remain
campaign, after reaching an agreement with
other European Union leaders that would have
changed the terms of Britain's membership had
the country voted to stay in.
Remain campaign was also backed by US
President Barack Obama and other EU nations
such as France and Germany.
Has Brexit made house prices fall?
Not enough solid data has been published yet to
accurately conclude the Brexit effect on house
prices. Industry figures have pointed to
"uncertainty" among buyers and sellers that
could potentially change the housing market. It
found that house prices are expected to fall
across the UK in the three months after the
referendum vote. However, the dip in prices is
only expected to persist over the 12 months

What were their reasons for

wanting the UK to stay?

Those campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU

said it gets a big boost from membership - it
makes selling things to other EU countries easier
and, they argued, the flow of immigrants, most
of whom are young and keen to work, fuels
economic growth and helps pay for public
services.

They also said Britain's status in the world would

be damaged by leaving and that we are more

3
Was there an increase in crime The UK's future?
rates after referendum?
The Brexit vote will fuel concerns in Westminster
that the future of the United Kingdom is now in
serious doubt.

The Scots warned during the campaign that if - as

has happened - the UK overall voted to leave the
EU but Scots voted to remain, Scotland would be
taken out of the EU "against its will" and this
could be the trigger for another independence
vote.

Senior SNP figures have said the vote shows

Scotland sees its future in the EU and the issue of
its own constitutional status could be revisited.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the issue

is now back "on the table" while her predecessor
has gone further, saying a second vote could take
place within the next two and a half years,
depending on how long it takes the UK to depart.

What are other members There are also concerns in Northern Ireland
sentiments towards EU after about the implications of the Brexit vote for its
BREXIT? relationship with the Republic of Ireland. Remain
campaigners warned that a Brexit vote could
herald the return of "hard" border controls
between the North and South. The Irish
government has said the future of the border is
one of a number of priority issues in its
contingency planning.

Sinn Fein has called for a vote on the

reunification of Ireland but this has been rejected
by the UK government.