Today is the day I’ve been dreading. It’s a black day. Our last day as part of the European Union. Tomorrow are now a “sovereign nation” as the Brexiteers tell us, one free to “take back control” of our own borders and our own government.
So now we make new trading agreements with everyone. Everyone that now knows we stand alone, unsupported, not part of an alliance, without allies and without muscle.
We won’t be getting good deals, we’ll be getting the deals that the far-right want. Deals that Trump wants. Deals that will put America first and the UK much further down the pecking order.
We’ve already seen firms collapse or move their headquarters out of the UK. London will no-longer be the gateway to Europe.
But it’s much worse than that. I have a few predictions:
- Scotland will vote to leave the UK and re-joins the EU, thus rendering a political swing in what remains of the UK to the right-wing, permanently.
- A new faction of the IRA will restart the war in Northern Ireland as tensions mount over the border with the Republic.
- What’s left of the UK signs a trade deal with the US, leading to:
- Further privatisation of the NHS to American Healthcare and Insurance companies.
- The influx of genetically modified beef, genetically modified grain and Chlorinated Chicken into the UK.
- The lowering of European “standards” in safety and employment law.
- Hundreds of thousands of Europeans will leave the UK rendering the Building and Farming Industries and NHS short of workers, amongst other industry sectors.
- The pound will fall against the Euro, causing the cost of goods to rise in the UK, leading to:
- More UK companies go bust as the cost of good and transport goes up and the number of UK citizens travelling goes down.
- A rise in inflation and the number of unemployed
- A sustained recession
It will take us years to get back to the level of “prosperity” we used to have, and in the meantime what’s left of the “welfare state” will have been sold off. Perhaps is 10 years time we will be able to hold our heads up high again. The brexiteers will tell us “we told you so” and conveniently forget the years of pain that we had to endure.
Farage and his cronies have waved goodbye to the EU Parliament, making the UK look small and foolish.
I am ashamed.
As a child of Europe (born in France, grew up in Germany, German Dad, English mum), I have been following the whole process quite closely. My sister is leaving in London as a German citizen. Now that the day has come, I feel with all of you who are forced to follow the result of ego driven and puffed up populists. Unfortunately, it seems as if humans prefer to get an answer to the most complicated questions of our time to which society cannot easily provide solutions, even if these answers are obvious rubbish.
I am still optimistic that the worlds habitant one day will be united, regardless of color, thinking, or language. This is the only way we can survive as humans, looking at the global challenges of our time, such as water scarcity, the climate crisis and poverty. The politicians who do not see this will be forced to leave. These are the last years for such people like trump.
All the best in these hard times. I still am very sad and also feel ashamed for Europe and for our former generation who fought for an idea of unity without boarders regardless of language and culture.
Thanks Crish
I too hope for a collective, collaborative world, not a diversive one, or else the Human race is indeed destined for extinction.
Pete