A British expat in Vancouver describes the implications of the EU Brexit referendum
Last night I was sitting on the beach in Kitsilano, watching the Brexit results come in. Next to me was my friend from my U.K. university—a fellow European expat, originally from Belgium. In the last few weeks she had given up a great job in Canada, left her house, and bought a ticket to return to England to start a new career at a medical journal. As the realization that the U.K. had left the EU sunk in, she cried. As of right now, no one can tell her if she will be legally allowed to work in England anymore.
Her flight leaves at midday today. She doesn’t know whether she should get on the plane. And after last night’s result, she doesn’t know whether she wants to.
The U.K.’s decision to leave the EU is, at least for some, a choice based on xenophobia. Running the Leave campaign with racist propaganda, leader Nigel Farage decorated the streets with pictures of lines of young male Middle Eastern migrants. Despite being reported to police for its role in stirring hate crimes, those images still remain on billboards. One is just outside my family home.
Members of the ultra–right wing party the English Defense League attached themselves to the Leave campaign. Former British National Party political leader Nick Griffin—a man convicted of “distributing material likely to incite racial hatred”—took an active part in anti-EU rallies. We both went to the same university.
Last week, MP and Remain supporter Jo Cox was brutally shot and stabbed to death by a supporter of the extreme right wing. The gunman told the court during his trial that his name was “death to traitors, freedom for Britain.” Jo Cox was murdered two counties away from my grandma’s hometown.
I'm not saying that every Leave voter had xenophobia at the forefront of their mind. But these issues are certainly not just in the background. They're all very close to home.
The ramifications of the vote will be huge. The U.K.’s currency dropped to its lowest level in 31 years in just a few hours. The price of goods and services will go up, and it will be near-impossible for a young person to secure a mortgage. At the same time, those who already have their money in bricks and mortar will see a huge decrease in their assets, with forecasters predicting up to a 25% loss. I’m lucky. Not all of my money is in British pounds. But the people I grew up with have just lost their savings.
That doesn’t even scratch the surface. In 2014, Scotland had a referendum to determine whether it should remain a member of the U.K. The vote passed by the narrowest of margins, keeping the country in the fold. But last night, the entirety of Scotland voted to remain in the EU. It’s incredibly likely that the country will have another U.K. referendum—and that, this time, it will leave for good. That move will allow it to potentially rejoin the European Union—meaning that any English-speaking international companies aiming to trade with the EU will build their base in Edinburgh or Glasgow. That will greatly weaken London’s involvement in international trade and cause the value of the pound to fall even more. Forget all my friends losing their savings. Now we’re talking uncertain debt.
And it gets worse. Global trading is, of course, based on confidence. Economic strength relies on political stability—and Britain no longer has that security. England’s Prime Minister David Cameron resigned today, opening the door to a political free-for-all. Don’t get me wrong—Cameron was a terrible leader. But his decision to bow out at such a crucial time is not just irresponsible, but immoral.
The EU referendum means so much more than the U.K. being able to control its own borders, set its own laws, and work out its own trade agreements. This vote means the rise of hate crime, the decline of the greatest free healthcare service in the world, and a lengthy period of political and economic instability. This vote defies logic.
When I left the country for good two years ago, my mum told me I was doing the right thing. “Get out while you can,” she said. “There’s nothing left for you in England.”
Today, for the first time, I believe she was correct.
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