The decision has been made. There will be inevitable rhetoric today and for a few days to come, with recriminations and blame being thrown around, but that really is irrelevant and wasted energy – the important thing now is to move forward and rebuild for the future.
Was it the right decision? Time will tell. Was the EU “bad” or “good” for the UK? “Both” is probably the correct answer. It is undoubtedly true that the UK joined an economic union rather than the political creature which grew out of it. There were many good aspects which benefited many and which may now be rescinded, such as the ability for UK citizens to live and work in any EU country. We will have to see how that will be dealt with, as a significant number of those individuals are holders of property and investment abroad and have become integral parts of mainland European businesses and activities. For them, the decision may be bad. On the other hand, there is no doubt that UK citizens had become very tired of the degree of EU control being exercised over domestic items such as over-ruling UK laws and requiring practices which might work on the mainland, but may not have been applicable in the UK (an example is the significantly increased cost for farmers to dispose of dead livestock, as they were “legally” prohibited from burying them as they had previously). In those aspects, the separation is good.
The markets and Pound have dropped today, which is to be expected – there is a degree of destabilization and uncertainty being felt – but to shout that “the sky is falling” is perhaps a little premature… 🙂
What is needed now is political unity with a will to move forward and develop programs and packages designed to restabilize and promote the UK as a trading partner for other corners of the world. Europe will remain a market – there will not be a sudden cessation of purchasing everything from the UK – but it behoves domestic industry to investigate the now open doors elsewhere as well. What to me is a greater concern at this point is the potential for the petty bickering, backbiting, blame and the wringing of hands to overpower the nation’s ability to rebound. This on a political level, but also an individual level. Come on UK! Where’s that traditional “stiff upper lip”? Get on with it! This isn’t play time in the school playground! 🙂
Perhaps too, the end result is going to be good for the rest of Europe as well. Perhaps it will cause the EU to consider why the UK voted to withdraw, and to ponder on whether there are issues within their own structure and practices which led to that decision and which would be better changed.
For the moment however, the UK’s focus needs to be on development and stabilization. Let’s hope that the right minds can prevail and that the Nation can indeed be steered forward with a view to maintaining – not “becoming again”, but maintaining – its “Greatness” (with the addition of Northern Ireland and other parts not included in the usual definition of “Great Britain” being similarly served).
