10 Years of Brexit

Jun 23
3 min read

23rd June 2016 will forever be etched into my memory because it was the day of the Brexit referendum. A culmination of decades spent questioning the value of the EU and its relevance in everyday British politics. Vote Remain vs Vote Leave, one of our most divisive votes ever, splitting parties apart.

It’s been 10 years since the electorate (with a high turnout of 72%) chose to leave the EU, causing years of negotiations, uncertainty, and fractured relationships with countries.

Brexit continues to impact British politics - how we interact with countries, what standards we implement (in water hygiene and human rights), what deals we make. Our economy and the Pound Sterling have never recovered to the strength it was pre-Brexit. Many blame COVID, the cost of living crisis, but Brexit set in motion many events that have led to where we are today.

I was so shocked with the result because it seemed like a given that Vote Remain would win. All the exit polls indicated so. And I guess that’s the lesson. We assume so easily in politics that things cannot change or must go the way stats indicate. But every now and then, there is a seismic shift. The electorate voted to Leave, and this wasn’t at all predicted.

I could discuss all day the ethics of the Vote Leave campaign, which centred on immigration as the key concern, as well as the multiple fines for breaking election laws in England and Wales. The point here is - Brexit happened, and despite attempts to rejoin or call another referendum - it’s here to stay.

I’ve always said that we won’t realise the lasting impacts of Brexit until much later. Already, the UK is vastly different to ten years ago. I wonder how it will be in another ten years. Brexit’s emphasis on immigration has led to the rise of the prolific Reform, where my home city of Manchester, a notoriously liberal city (where Marx and Engels met), is where three Reform councillors sit. The rise of the far-right has been enabled because the electorate wants to believe in a notion or cause that will make things better, even if it disproportionately impacts groups of people such as ethnic minorities.

Now, I know some will say that Reform is hardly a threat with Labour as the current government. But the stats and recent by-elections indicate increased support. Take Andy Burnham’s success in Makerfield, for example. The credible threat to Burnham wasn’t the Conservatives, as a historic indicator, but Reform. Reform came second with over 15,000 votes. Whilst this was 9,000 votes fewer than Labour’s win, it’s still concerning that the alternative to Labour in electoral votes is a far-right party, not the Conservatives or the Greens.

Brexit changed the political course of the United Kingdom indefinitely. And it continues to do so. I wonder if we’ll end up rejoining in another twenty years, depending on how the country turns out.

The real question here is - to those who voted Leave, was it worth it? Did the £350 million weekly sum to the EU end up invested into the NHS? Were the pledges promised in 2016 upheld?

Or was it all broken campaign promises designed to whip up rhetoric and force the spotlight on divisive issues instead of dealing with everyday concerns?

I guess that’s for you to decide.