Brexit and its Pros & Cons:
Brexit is the term that is used to refer to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and also from the European Atomic Energy Community. Brexit is the combination of two words, Britain and Exit, it was first used by Peter Wilding. The United Kingdom distanced itself from this European Union on 31 January 2020.
It is one of the biggest moves as it will impact everyone in Europe and the United Kingdom as well. There are a lot of pros and cons that are both defined by the pros, Brexit supporters, and anti-Brexit supporters. The Brexit process began on June 23, 2016, after the referendum passed by 51.9% to 48.1% margin.
Pros of Brexit:
1. Membership Fee
There is a membership fee that the United Kingdom has to pay on yearly basis to remain in the European Union. It was about £13billion in 2016, but they also received £4.5 billion for spending. So, the total cost of being in the EU for the United Kingdom was about £8.5bn every year. The United Kingdom can now save all this money that they otherwise would have paid just to remain in the EU.
2. Sovereignty
Based on the pro-Brexit supporter’s arguments, exit from European Union will be beneficial for the United Kingdom in terms of providing more control over its sovereignty. To be a member of the European Union, Britain had to give up control of a lot of internal and external affairs. So, Brexit will help the United Kingdom regain its control over its sovereignty.
3. Immigration
Based on the EU regulations, the passport holder or resident of any country that is a member of the EU, can visit the United Kingdom and can even permanently settle here, and the United Kingdom could not prevent this. This will provide the United Kingdom more control over immigration from European Union.
4. Security
Brexit supporters say that due to open immigration between Europe and the United Kingdom, there is a higher chance of a terrorist attack on British soil because terrorists from anywhere can move in from the “open door” and cause a security risk. To exit the European Union means that Britain has closed that door and this will provide it more security.
Cons of Brexit
1. Trade
Based on the statistics, 50% of the trade of the United Kingdom happens in European markets and the United Kingdom’s trade with these countries involves no taxation or regularities. But, after Brexit, UK traders will be under the stress of more taxation, and also under the pressure of more regulations. This will harm the trade state of the United Kingdom.
2. Investments
The United Kingdom is considered a center of investments from all over the world because it is a gateway toward Europe. But after Brexit, Britain will no longer hold this status, and that is why investors might not return to Britain. Right now many corporations have transferred their assets from Britain to other countries in Europe.
3. Loss of Jobs
There are more than 3 million jobs in the United Kingdom that are at a risk. These jobs are linked to trade, investments in the United Kingdom because it was a member of the European Union, and now there is a risk that all these might disappear.
Reference
https://www.ig.com/en/financial-events/brexit/pros-and-cons-of-brexit
