Brexit is a very controversial political issue facing the European Union and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom, or U.K., consists of four nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. (England, Wales, and Scotland make up Great Britain) The European Union, or EU, is a group of 28 European countries that share political and economic relations. The EU helps to ensure and promote greater political, economic, and social cooperation. It was formed after World War II to spark economic cooperation hoping that countries would trade together, which would decrease the likelihood of these countries going to war with each other. Brexit is the term used for the U.K leaving the European Union, which the citizens of the U.K. were able to vote on (Wheeler and Hunt). Anyone of voting age was able to take part in the vote, which happened on June 23, 2016. The vote passed by 51.9% to 48.1% and the U.K. is to detach from the EU on March 29, 2019 (Sliwinski). There were two sides to the argument, one side opposed to leaving the European Union and one side which favored leaving the EU. The side opposed to leaving the EU’s argument was that it is necessary for Britain, which is a small island, to remain a part of a larger unit to continue to prosper economically and remain secure. Those in favor of leaving the EU’s argument disparaged the perceived overreach from Brussels, where the EU institutions are located, which they disputed would threaten Britain’s sovereignty (Sliwinski).
There are many reasons and arguments for and against Brexit, especially on major political topics. For immigration, the argument to leave the European Union was that the U.K. would never be able to control immigration until it leaves the EU, because “freedom of movement” allows other EU citizens the automatic right to live in any other EU country. The argument against leaving the EU in terms of immigration is that leaving the EU will not stop the immigration problem; it would actually make it worse. This is because with the U.K. leaving the EU, border control will come right to the U.K.’s front door, where border control will move from Calais, France to Dover, UK (Riley-Smith). For crime, the “European Arrest Warrant” allows U.K. citizens to be sent to other countries and charged for crimes, often minor ones, in foreign court. Leaving the EU would stop this from happening. The argument for crime in staying in the EU is that serious criminals, like rapists and murderers, who are found guilty of their offences in the U.K., can only return once going abroad thanks to the “European Arrest Warrant.” Leaving the EU would stop justice from being served (Riley-Smith). For jobs, the argument to stay in the EU is that three million jobs are connected to the EU, and it will be uncertain if they will remain if the U.K. decides to leave the EU, because businesses would be less likely to invest in a country if it is outside the EU since the EU provides so much economic prosperity. Those in favor of leaving the EU think this phenomenon is over-exaggerated, and by incentivizing investment Britain can flourish similarly to other countries outside the EU (Riley-Smith). There are many other reasons for big topics against and in favor of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, similar to the major political differences among many major political topics among Democrats and Republicans in the United States.
It is hard as an American to take a side in a political issue when you are not witnessing or being impacted by it first hand. But, as an American it is important to be aware and concerned about political issues around the globe, especially if there is potential that it will impact your country. The consequences of the Brexit decision could definitely do more harm than good to the United Kingdom. Even though the United Kingdom doesn’t officially leave the European Union until March 29, 2019, there are already signs of the decision backfiring on the United Kingdom. The U.K. is a small island about 700 miles of the coast of the rest of Europe. With the world becoming more globalized, it should be in the U.K.’s best interest to remain a part of the European Union. American and Chinese leaders agree with this and believe the U.K. should remain in the EU; as it should be to keep the small island a thriving nation (Wheeler and Hunt). Even though the nation is considered a powerhouse, and has been for most of it’s existence, many thought it would still thrive economically without being part of the European Union. But, the U.K. is already seeing a decline in its economic status, with the British pound losing one-tenth of its value against the dollar already! (Wheeler and Hunt) The question is, will the U.K. come back from this deficit, or will they continue to spiral down this path of becoming economically unstable? With the way trade and the world works today in 2017, every country is not self-sufficient. Trade is what keeps most countries across the globe have everything it needs and more. For the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, which ensures economic prosperity, this could be detrimental to the U.K. After all, 44% of the U.K.’s exports go to other EU countries so if the U.K. leaves the EU, this will essentially put up barriers with countries that the U.K. regularly trades with (Riley-Smith). Yes, the U.K. can trade on it’s own, but being a part of the EU greatly helps the U.K. with economic stabilization. This is obvious since just 4 months after the decision to leave the EU, the British pound has decreased in value, unemployment is increasing, business investment is decreasing, and inflation is rising faster than the increase in tourism (Wheeler, Hunt). With this trend already happening, this could scare off investors, potential immigrants, and tourists. If the economy gets bad enough, there is a potential that it could cause emigration of citizens looking for a better economy to better support themselves and their families. The “freedom of movement” also needs to be acknowledged because a person who is a citizen of the EU can live in any of the 28 EU countries. So, with the U.K. leaving the EU, this will create an issue for all EU citizens who are not U.K. citizens when the U.K. is officially withdrawn from the EU. There will be no expectation that these citizens will be allowed to reside legally in the U.K., and continue to work, study, and collect benefits of living in the U.K. At the end of the day the advantages for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union far outweigh the disadvantages. If and when Brexit unfolds to be a much larger issue than anticipated by those in the U.K. government, it will be interesting to see how they react. They could even reverse the Brexit decision and stay in the EU, as they should have in the first place.
Most of the questions that rise when discussing Brexit narrow in on the economy and politics. But, how would leaving the European Union affect the healthcare industry in the United Kingdom? Healthcare is a critical part of every citizen’s lives and should not be ignored. So far, the U.K. government has not clarified its plan regarding health. The EU leaves healthcare as a matter for each one of its countries to figure out. But, the EU governs most things necessary for a healthcare system to operate off of. This includes but is not limited to: medications, medical devices, research, and healthcare workers (Park, Rifat 1594-1595). The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is located in London and it regulates medicine and provides a single market for the EU. (Similar to the FDA in the United States) With Brexit, this will cause the EMA to have to relocate to another EU country. Then, the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will have to greatly expand which will be extremely difficult since they will lose substantial funding from the EU (Park, Rifat 1595). Before Brexit, the EMA drug research and production brought a great amount of money into the U.K. economy. This could result in a great loss to the U.K. economy, and even make it more difficult and expensive to obtain pharmaceuticals if the U.K. and the EU do not set up a free trade agreement. The U.K. was also the leading recipient for EU funding for healthcare research and development. Losing this funding will result in a steep decline in research and innovation, which could also lead to a decline in the healthcare portion of the economy. Approximately 10% of doctors in the U.K. are from other EU countries, and the process to obtain permanent residence is complex and expensive. As for nurses, those registered to work in the U.K. fell 92%! (Park, Rifat 1595) These doctors and nurses are also some of the best in the U.K., so there is potential that there could be a brain drain of top doctors and nurses. It is important for the United Kingdom to make EU citizens working in healthcare to feel valued to U.K. society, because if they don’t there will be a depletion of EU workers in healthcare. Because of Brexit, the U.K. will not be as involved in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) as well. The ECDC has an early warning and response system, which allows member countries to receive and share information about diseases that can be contracted (Gulland). If there is ever a serious and/or urgent disease outbreak, the U.K. will be on the short end of the stick as far as combating it. So, there would be less coordination if there were a European-wide epidemic. This could potentially be one of the most detrimental outcomes of Brexit because not being a part of so many important organizations no longer gives the U.K. the upper hand in regards to the citizens of the U.K.’s health (Gulland). Again this could even cause emigration for terminally ill or newly ill citizens who could be spending money on healthcare in the U.K. benefitting their economy, but instead will end up spending money on healthcare in another country. All of the problems with Brexit seem to come down to the economy, but narrowing down on healthcare there is the potential that citizen’s lives could be greatly affected by the lack of policy and access to groundbreaking medicine and research.
Brexit is a controversial issue involving the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. There are many arguments in favor of the U.K. remaining in the EU, and many arguments against the U.K. remaining in the EU. When examining the issues with Brexit it all comes down to the sovereignty of the U.K. and economics. Those in favor of Brexit believe the U.K. will be a more sovereign nation if they leave the EU. They would no longer have to pay in and follow the EU laws and policies. But, those against Brexit are very concerned with the economy, especially since the U.K. relies heavily on trade with other EU countries. Brexit also brings up the question of how will leaving the EU affect healthcare in the U.K.? Because the EMA is located in London, and it is an EU agency, it is predicted that this would cause a healthcare decline. This healthcare decline includes research, access to groundbreaking medicine and developments, the healthcare workforce, and access to information in the event of a European wide epidemic. Overall the UK leaving the EU is causing a plethora of problems and has the potential to cause even more problems and make current problems even worse. The U.K. economy is on a downwards spiral, and there are no signs that the economy will improve any time soon. Brexit will not be finalized until March 29, 2019, so there is time for the U.K. and the EU to figure out their issues and policies in order for the EU to remain a successful organization and in order for the United Kingdom to prosper as a nation.