Brexit

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Brexit results. Blue-shaded areas stand for council areas that voted "Leave". Orange stands for "Remain".
For the political philosophy in favor of Brexit, see Euroskepticism

Brexit is a campaign slogan for 'Britain's Exit' from the European Union. The British people became the first nation to vote on a referendum whether or not to remain in membership to the EU on June 23, 2016. The historic vote shocked the world as the Leave campaign won by a 52–48% margin. Prime Minister David Cameron campaigned to remain in the EU and with the results public, resigned his position. Former London Mayor Boris Johnson was a leader of the Leave camp, though previously supporting Remain. Among the reasons for leaving the EU, regaining self-governance and sovereignty was a top reason.[1]

Polling indicated a tight race, with 44% preferring to stay (anti-Brexit) and 42% supporting leaving the EU (Brexit), as of April 17, 2016.[2] Two weeks after Barack Obama gave his support to Cameron and chided Britain to stay in the EU, a survey says Brexit gained 3% who want out.[3] Final results showed "Leave" with 52% of the vote to "Remain" with 48%, a margin that was 5 points better than polling. This was despite the fact that the "Remain" side was fined several times for cheating and lack of transparency, and despite the British government sending fliers to every citizen to urge them to vote "Remain."[4]

The British High Court ruled on November 3, 2016, that the British government could not unilaterally begin formal exit negotiations with the EU, but rather that parliamentary approval via an Act of Parliament is needed to permit the British Government to trigger Article 50 and begin the withdrawal process.[5] The British government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, skipping the Court of Appeal. On the 1st of February 2017, the British House of Commons approved beginning Brexit negotiations.[6] Amendments were later made in the House of Lords, and each amendment was refused by the House of Commons. The bill eventually became law and on the 29th of March, Theresa May triggered Article 50 and began the withdrawal process from the European Union.

Prime Minister Theresa May officially initiated Brexit on March 29, 2017.[7][8] In the Brexit negotiations, the EU parliament has a very powerful role, and has ruled out certain things the British Government was hoping to achieve (such as trade agreements with individual nation-states, rather than the European Union as an entity), thus acting as a bully to Britain.[9]

Eligible voters

  • Voters must have been 18 or older
  • British, Commonwealth or Irish citizen who resided in Britain.
  • British nationals who lived overseas for less than 15 years could also vote.

Economic impact

Prior to the referendum, the Left and establishment claimed that approving Brexit would lead to terrible economic ruin for the UK. Pro-Brexiteers labeled this hysteria "Project Fear." Financial giants warned the British of credit downgrades. The British Pound dropped significantly as results started pouring in showing Leave doing better than expected.

Contrary to claims by anti-Brexit activists, the British economy did well, and it even improved after the referendum. In early 2017, the chief economist of the Bank of England admitted that hysteric establishment predictions of economic gloom from a pro-Brexit result were wrong and inaccurate.[10] The British finance ministry admitted the same in January 2018.[11] In 2017, British manufacturing grew at its fastest rate since early 2008.[12] Despite contrary claims by "Remain" campaigners, the British Pound climbed to pre-Brexit vote levels in January 2018.[13] Employment also rose.[14] By 2018, British export levels reached the highest level since 2010.[15] Car manufacturing and investment also increased significantly in 2018.[16] The Office for National Statistics found in February 2019 that the British economy was growing faster than that of the Eurozone.[17] European investment more than doubled in nearly three years after the vote.[18]

Despite the economic growth, anti-Brexit activists continued to predict "doom-and-gloom" economic scenarios.[19] However, former prime minister David Cameron, who supported the "Remain" campaign, admitted in January 2018 that Brexit "turned out less badly than we first thought" despite continuing to voice displeasure about it.[20]

Anti-Brexit advocates continued promoting Project Fear, or "Project Hysteria," regarding a potential no-deal "Hard Brexit."[21][22]

Secular leftists, Brexit and mental illness

See also: Secular leftists and psychogenic illness

There is a considerable amount of scientific evidence that suggests that theism is more conducive to mental and physical health than atheism (See:Atheism and health).[23] In addition, atheists have higher suicide rates (see: Atheism and suicide and Atheism and depression).

Politically, most atheists fall on the left side of the political spectrum (see: Atheism and politics and Secular left).

The new atheist Richard Dawkins was against Brexit.[24] Dawkins is a liberal/leftist.[25] Most leftists were against Brexit.

A Eurobarometer poll in 2010 reported that 37% of UK citizens "believed there is a God", 33% believe there is "some sort of spirit or life force" and 25% answered "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[26] See also: British atheism

The Guardian reported about Brexit:

In shrinks’ offices across the country, just as in homes, pubs and offices, people are trying to come to terms with the surprise and shock of the Brexit result. Strangers gather together to talk of how “the world is falling apart”.

Many people feel transported into a dystopian Britain that they “do not recognise, cannot understand”. Thousands are hatching plans to leave the country. Social media are full of suddenly violent flaming between former friends.

Therapists everywhere are reporting shockingly elevated levels of anxiety and despair, with few patients wishing to talk about anything else. Mental health referrals have already begun to mushroom. Why is the Brexit vote affecting us so personally? And, what does this tell us about the make-up of our psyches?[27]

The columnist Patrick West wrote in his article The Post-Brexit Ugliness of the left:

The liberal-left couldn’t understand why people would vote in the name of abstract principles such as ‘democracy’ or ‘freedom’ or ‘self-determination’, because they view everything in terms of their own money and their own public image.

There was a time when it was Tories who sneered at the poor, who deplored them as stupid and feckless. This was in the loadsamoney era of the 1980s, during which the market ruled and we were beholden to the whims of capitalists and the sainted market. There was even a time, many years ago, when the left spoke of principles, of democracy and liberty. How the roles have been reversed. How strange that it’s mostly conservatives who now talk in abstractions, and it’s the left that obsesses about the markets and worry about the FTSE 100, about their own money.[28]

Process for leaving the EU

Despite British leaders' reluctance for achieving a "no deal" hard Brexit, Professor Patrick Minford of Cardiff University estimated that such an exit would actually cost the EU £507 billion with the UK gaining £641 billion.[29] The British establishment claimed that a "no deal" Brexit would have disastrous consequences for Britain, similar to "Project Fear" prior to the referendum, despite the lack of evidence.[30]

The UK parliament passed a bill implementing the referendum decision, becoming law on June 27, 2018, about a year after being introduced.[31][32] Globalists of the EU[33] and in the UK refused to admit their defeat in the referendum by trying to undermine and even reverse Brexit.[34] By July 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May had hurt her country's chances of securing a real Brexit because of several poor decisions and refusal to stand firm against the EU in negotiations.[35] The UK parliament voted to make a clean Brexit more difficult to achieve, increasing the chance of no Brexit.[36]

On November 14, 2018, May announced the UK had reached an agreement with the EU.[37] The agreement was very poorly received by Brexit supporters.[38] Not only was May a weak negotiator, but she also advocated for a bad deal. For example, she requested that a "backstop" be added to the final Brexit deal that would keep the UK in the customs union with no exit.[39] Despite the major concessions to the EU, European countries were still not satisfied and wanted yet more concessions.[40] While May claimed that her deal was the only possible one that the UK could achieve, pro-Brexit MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Davis released their own Brexit plan that would respect British sovereignty.[41] In December 2018, the British government was forced to release legal advice it had received that stated the agreement would be worse for Britain than the government claimed.[42] After the UK surrendered to additional Spanish demands regarding Gibraltar,[43] the EU approved the agreement.[44]

On January 15, 2019, the UK Parliament rejected the deal by a vote of 202 for and 432 against, making it the largest government defeat since World War I.[45] The British establishment, nonetheless, opposed any meaningful Brexit, if any at all.[46] On March 12, 2019, Parliament again rejected May's Brexit deal.[47] May tried to bully pro-Brexit MPs to vote for her bad deal by claiming that Brexit would not happen if they did not vote her way,[48] and she later announced she would vote against a no-deal Brexit despite originally claiming to prefer no-deal over a bad deal.[49] The following day, Parliament – along with May[49] – voted against a no-deal Brexit.[50] The day after that, Parliament voted to delay Brexit,[51] even though May had repeatedly promised that such a delay would not happen.[52][53] Not content with all this, May chose to have Parliament vote once again on her Brexit deal,[54] and the third vote on March 29, 2019, also failed.[55] Not content, May wanted parliament to vote on her deal a fourth time.[56]

Article 50

The Article 50 document was signed by the Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, on the 29th March 2017. It was delivered to Donald Tusk (President of The European Council) who commented there was "no reason to pretend this was a happy day" especially as the UK had been integral to the European Union for 44 years.

Following the acceptance of article 50 there will be two years of intense negotiation to finalise agreements over:

  • current UK and EU nationals living in each other's territories
  • financial liabilities and responsibilities to each other
  • trade and legal agreements

If this is not completed within two years then it is likely that World Trade Organization rules would apply to any future trade unless all EU member nations agree to extend the negotiating period by up to one year.

In December 2018, the European Court of Justice, which always rules in favor of the EU's preferred position, stated that a country could unilaterally reverse Article 50.[57]

Negotiations

The main concern of the British government is to ensure access to the single market for its banking and manufacturing sectors - both major income streams for the UK. Along with this the UK business sector are very concerned about the potential loss of EU (especially Eastern European) labour for many agricultural and low paid roles. Negotiations are proceeding very slowly because of the obstructive tactics of the EU negotiators. They are insisting that Britain must agree to an "exit fee" of over £50 billion before they will start trade talks.[58] They also wanted to discuss the "rights" of EU citizens before such talks.

In July 2018, Theresa May and her cabinet agreed to a very weak negotiating position that would leave the country under the European Court of Justice, effectively in the single market, and under the jurisdiction of many of the EU's regulations.[59] Anti-Brexit Europhiles applauded the negotiating position.[60] In opposition to such a weak agreement, several of her pro-sovereignty ministers resigned,[61][62] including Brexit Minister David Davis[63] and Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.[64] Several other officials also resigned.[65] Pro-"Remain" officials in May's government consolidated their influence over the exit negotiations.[66][67] The UK government also gave the Europhile European Court of Justice the final say over any Brexit issue in the negotiations.[68]

The House of Commons approved May's negotiating position as official UK policy on July 16, 2018, though it also added four amendments to the bill created by pro-Brexit MPs.[69] The following day, it approved a trade bill while rejecting an anti-Brexit amendment to the bill that would have required the government to enter a customs agreement with the EU if free trade negotiations failed, though parliament also voted to require the government to remain under the EU's medicine regulations.[70]

See also

External links

References

  1. Brexit is, at bottom, about self-rule. Washington Examiner. March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  2. https://ig.ft.com/sites/brexit-polling/
  3. Obama fails to swing Britain behind EU as 'Out' takes poll lead, Reuters, April 28, 2016
  4. Kassam, Raheem (March 25, 2018). 5 Ways the Remain Camp Cheated During Brexit…. And Still Lost! Breitbart News. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  5. Brexit court defeat for UK government. BBC. November 3, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  6. Brexit: MPs overwhelmingly back Article 50 bill. BBC. February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  7. Suarez Sang, Lucia I. (March 29, 2017). Brexit triggered: UK prime minister sends letter to European Union to begin divorce. Fox News. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  8. TRIGGERED: Britain Invokes Article 50 to Begin Brexit Process. Breitbart News. March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  9. EU legislators tell UK on Brexit: no parallel talks. Fox News (from the Associated Press). April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  10. Bank of England economist: Brexit predictions were wrong. Fox News. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  11. Reuters: Treasury Says Pre-Referendum ‘Project Fear’ Forecasts No Longer Valid. Breitbart News. January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  12. Deacon, Liam (January 11, 2018). UK Manufacturing Growing at Fastest Rate in a Decade After Brexit Vote. Breitbart News. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  13. Sterling Climbs Above $1.40 to New Post-Brexit-Vote High. Breitbart News. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  14. REUTERS: UK Employment Surges to Record High, Wages Increase. Breitbart News. January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  15. Montgomery, Jack (March 8, 2018). Brexit Boom: British Exports Strongest Since 2010, Defying Pre-Referendum Recession Threats. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  16. Montgomery, Jack (February 4, 2019). Brexit-pocalypse? Surge in UK Car Manufacturing, Huge Investment in Research Centres, New Factories. Breitbart News. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  17. Montgomery, Jack (February 15, 2019). British Economy Defies Anti-Brexiteers to Outpace Europe. Breitbart News. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  18. Friedman, Victoria (March 5, 2019). Brexit Boost: European Investment in UK More Than Doubles Since Brexit Vote. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  19. Montgomery, Jack (January 11, 2018). Project Fear Redux: As Economy Surges, Anti-Brexit Economists Predict Disaster in Report Funded by Sadiq Khan. Breitbart News. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  20. Lane, Oliver JJ (January 24, 2018). David Cameron at Davos: ‘Brexit Has Turned Out Less Badly Than We First Thought’. Breitbart News. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  21. Friedman, Victoria (September 17, 2018). ‘Project Hysteria’: Dire No-Deal Brexit Predictions from the End of Sandwiches to the Sky Falling in. Breitbart News. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  22. Delingpole, James (November 29, 2018). Delingpole: Brexit Project Fear Gives Way to Project Hysteria. Breitbart News. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  23. Multiple references:
  24. Richard Dawkins: Brits have not spoken on Brexit, BBC
  25. Religion and Politics, Richard Dawkins' website
  26. Special Eurobarometer, biotechnology, p. 204". Fieldwork: Jan-Feb 2010.
  27. The EU referendum has caused a mental health crisis by Jay Watts, The Guardian
  28. The Post-Brexit Ugliness of the left by Patrick West
  29. Montgomery, Jack (January 15, 2018). Study: ‘No Deal’ Will Cost the EU £507bn, While Britain Gains £641bn. Breitbart News. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  30. Multiple references:
  31. Gaydos, Ryan (June 26, 2018). Brexit bill becomes law, allowing UK to leave European Union. Fox News. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  32. Manchester, Julia (June 26, 2018). British Brexit bill becomes law. The Hill. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  33. Jasper, William F. (January 7, 2019). Brexit Betrayal and the EU Liars Club. The New American. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  34. Multiple references: See also:
  35. Friedman, Victoria (July 11, 2018). Concessions, Threats, No Confidence: Five Ways ‘Zombie May’ Bungled Brexit. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
    See also:
  36. Multiple references:
  37. Multiple references: See also:
  38. Multiple references: See also:
  39. Deacon, Liam (November 19, 2018). Revealed: May Requested Brexit Customs Union ‘Backstop’ With No Exit, Not EU. Breitbart News. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  40. Deacon, Liam (November 20, 2018). EU Wants MORE Concessions: France Demands Fishing Rights and Spain Calls for Gibraltar Veto. Breitbart News. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  41. Lane, Oliver JJ (November 20, 2018). Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Brexit Group Publishes Full Brexit Antidote to Theresa May’s Betrayal Deal. Breitbart News. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  42. Lane, Oliver JJ (December 5, 2018). Full Scale of Brexit Betrayal Revealed After British Government Forced to Publish Legal Advice. Breitbart News. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  43. Multiple references:
  44. Multiple references: See also:
  45. Multiple references: See also:
  46. Davies, Andrew (March 8, 2019). Brexit dreams and broken promises. Washington Examiner. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  47. Multiple references: See also:
  48. Multiple references:
  49. 49.0 49.1 Schaart, Eline (March 13, 2019). Theresa May confirms she will vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit. Politico. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  50. Multiple references: See also:
  51. Multiple references:
  52. Montgomery, Jack (March 14, 2019). As PM May Moves to Delay Brexit, Here’s All the Times She Promised it On Time. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  53. Lane, Oliver JJ (March 20, 2019). After Promising Brexit on March 29th 108 Times, May Now Requests Delay to June. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  54. Lane, Oliver JJ (March 15, 2019). Wrong Answer, Try Again: Parliament to Vote on May’s Brexit Deal For Third Time. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  55. Multiple references:
  56. Multiple references:
  57. Multiple references:
  58. http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/797852/Brexit-news-EU-expand-Britain-exit-fee-bill-budget-black-hole
  59. Montgomery, Jack (July 6, 2018). TOTAL CAPITULATION: May Proposes Sub-Norway Brexit Deal – Concedes on Goods, Rules, EU Court, and More. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  60. Friedman, Victoria (July 9, 2018). Remainers Congratulate May’s Brexit Betrayal. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  61. Piper, Elizabeth; James, William; MacAskill, Andrew (July 8, 2018). British eurosceptic ministers quit in blow to May's Brexit plan. Reuters. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  62. Murphy, James (July 10, 2018). U.K. Government Reels in the Wake of Brexit-related Resignations. The New American. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  63. Multiple references: See also:
  64. Lane, Oliver JJ (July 9, 2018). British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Resigns Government Amid Brexit Rebellion. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
    See also:
  65. Multiple references:
  66. Deacon, Liam (July 17, 2018). Power Grab: May’s Brexit Bureaucrat Purges 50 Brexit Department Staff. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  67. Deacon, Liam (July 24, 2018). PM’s Bureaucrats Officially Take Charge of Brexit Talks, Brexit Department Snubbed. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  68. Deacon, Liam (July 30, 2018). EU Courts to Have Final Say on Brexit ‘Divorce Bill’ and Millions of Migrants. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  69. Multiple references:
  70. Multiple references: