What is “Brexit”? Today, Britain will hold a referendum to decide whether it will stay in the European Union or exit. However, the country is extremely divided on the issue.
While the European Union has been successful in uniting post-war Europe, it has amplified problems as well. Originally a trade agreement, supporters of the union argue that the EU helped to dissolve internal trade barriers between European countries, making all countries more efficient. While it has increased trade, it has also dangerously linked all countries within the EU together. Fiscally responsible countries like Germany are now linked to irresponsible ones like Greece that fail to enforce austerity measures. These debt problems are accompanied by a stifling, commerce choking regulatory regime. Consequently, it makes sense that small businesses are tired of what they deem to be repressing economic institutions that stifle economic growth.
“Brexiters” are also deeply concerned about being tied to the EU’s liberal immigration policy. While they are worried about the amplified migrant crisis in Europe, the Brits’ issue is not with the migrant crisis, but rather, according to CNBC, with EU passport holders. This is because Britain, unlike other European nations, is not within the free border zone; therefore, it does not have to follow the EU migrant policy, which has raised security concerns over the large amount of refugees coming from Syria and other war-torn countries. For these reasons and more, there has been a surge in nationalism across many of the EU countries. Britain is no different. Those advocating for a “Brexit” from the EU say it will be beneficial economically and politically for Britain to pull out.
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According to EU literature, the EU makes up 15 percent of total export of goods in the global economy. Statistics like this one point to the fact that whatever Britain decides tomorrow will have worldwide effects. Therefore, it is not just a “Britain issue.” Furthermore, the Brexit movement and Donald Trump’s conservative movement have much in common. Voters are tired of not being heard on the issues that matter to them; they are tired of the corruption of political system and wish for radical changes. Megan McArdle insists in Bloomberg View, “it’s…not entirely surprising that people are reacting strongly against the EU, the epitome of an elite institution: a technocratic bureaucracy designed to remove many questions from the democratic control of voters in the constituent countries.”
Donald Trump gives voters a voice. He speaks on behalf of middle class Americans and countless others who feel that the government is restraining their economic and political freedoms. In Britain and in the United States, there is an outcry to correct existing corrupt systems. The movement in Britain is led by plain-speaking, passionate Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson. CNBC notes, just like Donald Trump, these leaders do not shy away from speaking their minds and articulating what many people are thinking but do not feel they can say. The content of the issues surrounding the movements are similar as well, especially with regard to immigration, as both movements seek to limit it.
It should also not be overlooked that supporters of Brexit and Trump are generally older, which makes sense because they have accumulated more frustration with time over the systems and institutions by which they are governed. Not only are they frustrated, but they also compare their growing negative sentiments with how they used to feel about the places in which they lived. It is an undeniable desire from voters to return to how things were; it is nostalgia at its finest. In the case of Brexit, voters want Britain to be the strong, independent state that it once was, and therefore, are practically echoing Donald Trump’s campaign slogan with a slight variation: Make Britain, Britain again.
AAN Staff
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