this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2023
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Just out of curiosity, what negatives do you see there being?
Off the top of my head:
Councils/areas that received EU funding that are now feeling the pinch, especially in areas like Wales.
The sheer number of job losses (see the Digby Jones Index for examples).
Reduced movement, and an inability to hire in some industries, with zero flexibility of movement elsewhere. While I'm all for trade deals with the US and Australia, they almost definitely won't be allowing British citizens an easier time to move.
Lots of these don't particularly affect people in the South East, and in many places that were both Labour and Brexit strongholds, poverty and underfunding are the norm anyway, so it's not like things getting "worse" are noticeable.
There was a great article a while back called "the sociology of Brexit". Sadly, I can't find it any more, but it explained the above far better than I could, and indicated why many that voted to leave the EU wouldn't change their mind, regardless of what happens.
None of these seem to be dependent on being a member of the EU, only dependent on a competent government making good financial and budgetary choices and good treaties.
To me these are problems which have been only revealed by brexit, not caused by it.
I'd say they're both. A competent government would ensure that we plug any gaps, and they would have already agreed trade deals with major nations that surpass what we already had with the EU in terms of free trade or movement. While I wouldn't want to see the UK become the new Mexico of the US, I can see lots of British people happily performing seasonal and manual work in the US, and open markets for students to study in both countries.
I'd strongly disagree when it comes to the top two points. They're just not possible when Britain is such a tiny country. We shot ourselves in the foot when we left, because we had zero leverage against the EU.
Logically then you're saying that as a member of the EU we got money handed to us, sourced ultimately from larger/richer nations like Germany.
For me, this is a reason to leave the EU, not be part of it.