Brexit: Aftermath of the Historic Vote

Waking up on a sunny Thursday morning on the 23rd of June to the news that the Brexit campaign succeeded was simply one word: shocking. I often thought of Great Britain as a conservative country that did not enjoy the idea of change as previously demonstrated in the past; David Cameron was re-elected Prime Minister the previous year and Scotland had voted against a referendum. As a result of this, I had assumed that an issue as huge as leaving the EU- a trading group that Great Britain had involved its affairs with for 43 years- was a mere empty threat.

Once my short grieving process was over (with the help of a cup of tea) and I had finally accepted the truth: Brexit means Brexit. My peaceful morning was short-lived after I quickly learned that David Cameron- one of the strongest campaigners for the Leave Party- had stepped down from his role of Prime Minister. Yet another devastating blow. After my second cup of PG Tips, I realised why Brexit turned out to be the superior decision. Looking back at the month of rivalry and heavy campaigning, I noticed that the Leave Campaign was way more “active” in spreading the message of “British Pride”. Nigel Farage made headlines with the infamous bus that claimed the £350 million “we send to the EU each week” could be used to “fund the NHS instead”. This strategy was more effective than Labour’s somewhat desperate ads on every newspaper that simply stated: “I’m IN”.

We send the EU £350 million a week, let’s fund our NHS instead
Despite the immediate drop to the value of the British pound, the economy seems to be boosting- especially within tourism- as the rest of Europe sees Britain as the next Greece: the new cheap holiday hotspot since the economy has “crashed”. This in turn, has led to a record-rise in August of spending within the services sector- a sector that accounts for approximately 80% of the UK’s economy.

So whilst I initially saw the conclusion of the EU referendum as a disaster, it also suggests hope for the UK- or as my father likes to call it: ‘The New Switzerland’. Who knows, maybe Brexit may be one of the new improvements to the country- a decision that could be as historic and hopeful as legalising gay marriage, Sadiq Khan being voted as London’s first Muslim Mayor, and Theresa May becoming Britain’s second female prime minister.  BJ