Why Brexit Optimism Should Be Alive and Well!

Why Brexit Optimism Should Be Alive and Well!

In recent years within the UK when we refer to the ‘b-word’ we don’t mean a swear word, we mean that pesky word that doesn’t seem to vanish from our TV set, social media timeline or everyday conversations. This mysterious word is obviously ‘Brexit,’ the decision made on June 23rd, 2016, by the British people to leave the European Union. Yet as a nation we seem unable to move on from this public vote as many politicians and campaigners seem unwilling to accept the democratic result of the “People’s Vote.”

One of the most prominent ideas of Brexit is control, the famous, widely repeated line of ‘take back control of our money, our borders and our laws.’ The simple idea of a nation-state making its own decisions for their own people. Specifically looking at the money aspect of EU control even disregarding the £60billion deficit the UK has with the EU within regard to trade relations in 2016. We still paid a membership fee of £17.4billion in 2016 which in weekly terms is £335million per week, similar to the controversial and widely criticized £350million claim made by Boris Johnson leading up to the Brexit referendum. Even though this number is high, the European Union does give the UK a rebate, however even after this rebate the membership fee still relates to £13.4billion or £254million per week. So in conclusion to this point, no matter what way you cut it, we send the EU incredibly high sums of money that we never see again, of which we could use to help other aspects of our country, including UK public services we all desperately rely on.

Secondly, Immigration, the issue that was highly debated in leading up to the 2016 decision. The EU has overextended control of Britain’s immigration policy because of the ‘four freedoms’ under EU law. One of these freedoms is ‘Freedom of Movement’ which means any EU citizen can come to the UK with no UK law able to stop or even limit the numbers of economic migrants from the European Union. That’s 446.5million people who have an unequivocal right to come to the UK. The reality of immigration is that it’s needed for our nation’s prosperity nonetheless giving close to 450million people the legal right to come to our country is clearly insane and ludicrous.

The closing point of the 3 control talking points is ‘Our Laws.’ When you hear that the EU is undemocratic, they are referring to the EU Commission who is the unelected body of the European Union but they Commission are the only part of the institution that can make laws. On top of that control all EU laws that affect the UK overrides any UK law legislation which means the UK can’t repeal, replace or revoke any EU law that is subjected to the UK even if the UK votes against the deal in the EU parliament as you only need 16 of the 28 member states to agree to the proposed legislation before it becomes law. On top of this undemocratic disgrace, the EU courts have more control than the most prominent court in the UK, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. This means a decision made by the highest court in the land can be overturned by EU Courts.

The economic argument for Brexit is that after we leave the European Union we can trade with the rest of the world as the EU has total control over all UK trade deals with other countries. The Remain argument for economic trade is that we can get better deals if we trade as a big block however even in theory this doesn’t work because when negotiating a trade deal, the EU has to take all 28 member states wishes into account as if the United Kingdom were negotiating alone they would only take there own wishes into account, therefore creating a better deal for our country and an increased chance for a successful agreement. This doesn’t only work in theory, it works in practice too! The EU with a population of 513.5million people has failed to reach a trade deal with China but Iceland who has a population of 340,000 has managed to salvage a deal with China. The United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries have aired their interests in having a free-trade deal with the UK post-Brexit. The UK’s future economic prospects look better and better as the days go by, this is why leaving the EU’s failed economic and political project is a very good thing for us to do.

However, with the newly appointed pro-Brexit Prime Minister of Boris Johnson, Brexit is looking more likely than ever. And with all the pressure of a second referendum from those who willingly ignore the people’s decision, rebel MP’s who threaten to bring down their own government and constant media bias against the idea of Brexit, it is incredibly refreshing to have a pro-Brexit Prime Minister who speaks about Brexit with the positivity it deserves. I’m writing this article to break free from the negative remain crowded space of the mainstream media and explain the incredible good Brexit will do for our country and reinvigorate why Britain voted for Brexit in the first place.

– Nick Mitchell (Fife, Scotland)