Brexit trigger

There is no going back for Britain now after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, giving the European Union official notice of its intention to leave the union. After last June’s shock vote for Brexit, Britain will now feel the ramifications of its decision. Over the next two years, Britain and the EU will discuss the terms of its departure – and it is likely to cost Britain a lot. Some estimates put the figure Britain will have to pay at 60 billion pounds. After that, Britain will have to sign new trade deals with the EU, which has promised to take a tough stance to deter other countries from following the British lead. Then there is the question of free movement across borders. There are around four million citizens of the EU – either continental Europeans working in Britain or Brits in continental Europe – who may end up stranded. One of the biggest reasons for Brexit was the xenophobic fear or migrants and refugees crossing into Britain, and hardliners will adamantly oppose giving residency rights to EU citizens or continued visa-free travel. Britain is essentially isolating itself with Brexit and now it will suffer the economic effects of what was a startlingly racist campaign.

Brexit could also mean the end of Britain as we know it. Scotland, which has always been far more liberal than England, overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU and now the Scottish parliament has voted to call for a second referendum. The pro-EU sentiment in Scotland gives a new referendum–– which May is trying to block till the two-year Brexit process is complete – a greater chance of success. Northern Ireland, too, could decide to go its own way. Britain’s new border with the EU will be the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If free movement is not allowed across this border, it could jeopardise the Irish peace process. Northern Ireland may then decide it is not worth staying in Britain. None of these questions was raised during the mendacious Brexit campaign, when the UKIP and its ilk misleadingly claimed that Britain was paying billions of pounds to the EU that could instead be used to improve the National Health Service and other social services. Now, they are forced to admit that was just demagoguery. If anything, Britain has cost itself even more thanks to the economic effects of Brexits. Those effects are about to get a lot more painful as the British are forced to deal with the ramifications of its short-sightedness.