“Does Brexit Even Matter” – Joel Sheldon
Brexit is a very big deal. It will most likely trigger the dissolution of the United Kingdom, once a vehicle for the largest empire in history, an organisation with a fifth of the world’s population and a quarter of its land surface under it’s belt. Because of this many global institutions rest on a presumption – as Britain has been a hub of business enterprise for worldwide co-operations for so long – that financial stability is expected.
However, as is becoming ever more evident, that stability that was once felt across the world, is quickly diminishing into a very large pile of “I have absolutely no idea what to do next”.
The United Kingdom is on an extremely short stilt. The two Irelands, with one half in the EU and the other out, will be under great pressure to reunify. We have already seen big changes in the British political parties: The Liberal Democrats have been almost annihilated, Labour is, to put it bluntly, eviscerating itself, and the Tories have seemingly been reconstituted as a nationalist party. The elephant in the room is London, no question. But what is ahead for London’s future? And that of the rest of the UK for that matter?
London is of course the main concentration of the, all too obviously shrinking, political, administrative, media, financial and commercial power of the UK . It was from London that the campaign to leave the EU was headed. Basically, a bunch of old people who have reaped the benefit of the younger generations putting the work in, but don’t care about what happens to them in the future. Or, a bunch of business tycoons who don’t need to worry because they’re lounging on sofas made of gold, eating caviar, while waiting for their roasted swan to be served. Those with a sliver spoon in their mouth.
Simply speaking, the UK is an utter mess and there are many unresolved questions which add up to a creeping political and constitutional crisis that could get out of hand at any time:
– Scottish independence
– The reunification of Ireland
– The concentration of power and wealth in London
– Loss of empire and of global influence
– Racist paranoia over immigration
No wonder the British people are confused. There is too much to merely think about here, let alone to be able to do something about it. Brexit was never the main issue. Being in or out of Europe means little next to the ensuing break-up of the United Kingdom.
This is the problem, what all the people who chose to leave didn’t realise (among that fact that they didn’t know what was going to happen anyway), was the fact this catastrophe is turning into the flame that will light the biggest upset, I would argue, in the UK’s history.
Therefore, Brexit still definitely matters. Although it is becoming an increasingly boring topic on news websites and apps, it is a very pivotal situation. The future of the UK’s relations with Europe, our trade, our travel and the general politics of our constitution rest upon Brexit. We are splitting away from those who have been our allies for so long.
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