Brexit and the Need for Second Referendum By Dr LIAQAT MALIK LLM Ph.D
Introduction
Brexit is the portmanteau of two terms including “Britain” and “exit”. Brexit is the event of a split between Britain and the European Union which has resulted in changing their relationship based on migration, security, and trade (Hunt and Wheeler, 2017). Since the idea was proposed, the benefits and drawbacks of Brexit are debated regarding its membership in the “European Community of Nations”. In this regard, David Cameron who was the Prime Minister in 2013 had agreed on holding a national referendum on “European Union (EU)” membership for resolving this issue (Vasilopoulou, 2016). However, the referendum offered an unclear solution which was “Remain” or “Leave”. Moreover, this offer had resulted in causing a political uproar in Europe. The idea of Brexit had remained unresolved (Schoof, et al., 2015). Thus, this assignment will focus on identifying the advantages and disadvantages of Brexit and appraise the concept of the second referendum as a solution.
Advantages of Brexit
Cost Saving
One of the benefits of Brexit is its capability to save the cost. In the referendum, Britain had to pay ￡13.1 billion for EU membership, whereas, received only ￡4.5 billion by spending. Through this figure, the loss of ￡8.6 billion can be calculated in a year only (Hunt and Wheeler, 2017). Therefore, it is demonstrated that if Brexit remains, a large amount can be saved which can be utilised for different useful purposes (Dhingra, et al., 2016).
Forced Immigration Issue
According to the EU laws, member countries are not allowed to deny migration of any person belonging to other member countries. Under this law, approximately 800,000 individuals had moved in the UK and utilise the country’s resources for their benefits. Through Brexit, the UK can maintain the migration structure which is appropriate for the country (Dhingra, et al., 2016).
Job Opportunities
According to the research, 3 million employments are estimated to be associated with trading processes. Although Brexit may impact these employments, however, there is still a possibility of increasing the employment opportunities for the people of the nation. Increase in trade through available opportunities may contribute to employment growth as well (Belke and Gros, 2017).
Disadvantages of Brexit
EU Membership
One of the main disadvantages that have been observed is the trade-off for the UK after the split of Britain from the EU. Several options are identified which could be adapted by the UK as a trading model. Furthermore, countries including Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland (European Economic Area-EEA) have developed a bilateral agreement with EU countries by adapting some EU laws but still cannot impact these laws or policies. If such condition is adapted by the UK, the trading system of the country can be negatively affected despite having open borders (Schoof, et al., 2015).
Labour Shortage
Although the decrease in the immigration rate may help to create more job opportunities for the people of the country, however, it can also cause labour shortages. Such decrease directly reduces the population of the country which results in declining demand for domestic products and services. This decline harms the different industrial and economic sector because of skill shortages (Hunt and Wheeler, 2017).
Second Referendum
Keir Starmer, the secretary of Shadow Brexit had negotiated that his party would vote for Brexit on the agreement of the second referendum. Furthermore, many political bodies in Britain had also supported the approval for the second referendum as a solution for ending the political chaos (Belke and Gros, 2017). It has been argued by the members of Remain campaign that another referendum would be beneficial in resolving this Brexit issue. Specific questions must be added in the referendum to give the public options instead of holding elections (Schoof, et al., 2015).
In March 2017, the UK had started the procedure of leaving under Article 50 of the EU Treaty. However, the UK can revoke such notification and remains a member of the EU without modification in the veto powers or budget (Vasilopoulou, 2016). Thus, the second referendum must be approved as a possible solution to end this issue. The questions which can be included are: Do you want to leave with or without a deal or do you want to stay in the EU? This demand can be supported by the election of 2016 in which 52% of people voted for Brexit despite the disagreement of Leave campaign (Dhingra, et al., 2016).
Conclusion
Brexit has known to cause a political disagreement in the government concerning its benefits and drawbacks on the nations. The people must consider both the advantages and disadvantages of Brexit and the influence it can have on the trading system. The government and the concerned members have to find a common ground to resolve this political dispute through effective measures. Thus, the second referendum must be considered by the people to develop an effective solution in this context.
References
Belke, A. and Gros, D., 2017. The economic impact of Brexit: Evidence from modelling free trade agreements. Atlantic Economic Journal, 45(3), pp.317-331.
Dhingra, S., Ottaviano, G., Sampson, T. and Van Reenen, J., 2016. The impact of Brexit on foreign investment in the UK. BREXIT 2016, 24, p.2.
Hunt, A. and Wheeler, B., 2017. Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. BBC News, 25.
Schoof, U., Petersen, T., Aichele, R. and Felbermayr, G., 2015. Brexit–potential economic consequences if the UK exits the EU. Bertelsmann Stiftung, 8.
Vasilopoulou, S., 2016. UK Euroscepticism and the Brexit referendum. The Political Quarterly, 87(2), pp.219-227.