Brexit marks the end of a golden age for Britain

I was born right around the time that the debate across Britain was hotting up - should Britain join the "Common Market" as it was then known. My family, being left-wing were generally against the idea of connecting up with Europe and handing over power abroad. It's not that they weren't liberal and progressive in their outlook, both my parents having spent formative years in far-flung corners of the former British empire. Heck, my mother prided herself on cooking moussaka and paella from scratch with authentic ingredients. But the general thinking in the early 1970s amongst British people was less favourable, with many citizens having lived through World War II, and generally mistrustful of France & Germany. 

Others felt that there were real financial opportunities to be leveraged as the financial ties with the British Commonwealth crumbled. In reality, Britain was as divided then as it is today on the question of Europe. The main difference of course is that almost 50 years ago, none of us had the learnings and real world experience of "life on the inside" of the Europe continent.

Even though Britain has been part of Europe ever since maps were first created centuries ago, the British have always talked about Europe as if they are on the outside. For the British, Europe means the physical land-mass of mainland Europe. Sometimes this might have given the (wrongful) impression that Britain has always seen itself as separate, but, my dear "European" cousins, for many of us, this was merely a geographic label of convenience, not an intention to create division!

Equally, Britain has long been a thorn in the side of the Common Market, which became the EEC (European Economic Community), with in turn transitioned into the EC (European Community), which ultimately became the EU. British politicians have long argued against handing over too much power to Brussels, challenged the convention around too much centralisation of policy, and railed against too many handouts to particular groups. Whilst many European leaders might outwardly grumble about British belligerence and stubbornness, the wiser politicians and diplomats valued the role played by Britain in representing the challenger and agitator. It is only right and proper to question decisions and action that affect such a huge community of people. British leaders such as Margaret Thatcher may have been reviled by many within EU institutions, but at least she had their respect!

Britain has reaped huge benefits from being a member of the community - enriching the life of my generation and those that followed. The choice and range of food and drinks, the ability to travel freely, learn languages, work anywhere we wanted and leverage the financial and security benefits of the EU bloc have, in reality, been taken for granted. We don't even see the benefits any more, because they have been with us so long. For those who have chosen to stay in Britain, the next decade will highlight some of those lost benefits as they slip away.

But Britain has also brought a lot of benefits to the EU, in particular around security, counter-terrorism, financial services and banking and smoothing the path between the USA and the EU. The skills and knowledge of Britain in European institutions such as Interpol will be sorely missed if ties have to be severed. Likewise, the banking centre of excellence that is London may loose some skills and expertise to Paris, Frankfurt or elsewhere, but in reality, Britain will still remain a financial services powerhouse (albeit somewhat weakened) after Brexit is complete.

So as midnight strikes in Brussels on Friday 31st January, which is 11pm in Britain and 11pm in my newly adopted home country of Portugal, many of us will shed a tear at the loss, turmoil and altogether unnecessary schism that will open up as Britain officially exits the EU. It genuinely feels like it was never going to happen, but now those of us who love and value the EU need to accept this sad moment. No turning back, no last minute reprieve, but a tragic moment in history that marks the end of an era. Good luck, Britain, you have a lonely road ahead of you.