I posted this piece last year but feel it’s my moral duty to update it now we’ve been out of the EU for a year.
Like many, I was willing to give Brexit a chance. To see if the benefits promised might actually be true. I wasn’t holding out much hope of course – the economics and figures simply didn’t add up – but as a good-natured chap, I gave it a chance. Why not? Even the stupidest people are occasionally right.
I scoured the news and the available facts looking for that golden egg that would make England great again. Surely there must be something. Perhaps people who voted Leave feel better now, and so are working harder. Maybe they are nicer to their friends and family and give more money away to charity. A built-in ‘feel-good’ factor that is impossible to calculate except for the number of Emoji smiley faces in their text messages.
These same people might prefer Aussie beef and think the EU flag is a bourgeois symbol of a failed utopian superstate. It could be that they’ve always hated croissants and can now be proud of it. And think the German wurst to be a cheap imitation of the good old fashioned British banger. I mean, why not? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even the kids who weren’t allowed to vote in the referendum on their European future.
But are these advantages? Just because you don’t like something, does that make it worth the fight. I don’t think so. Because like happiness, smugness isn’t quantifiable.
What is quantifiable is the Cheshire farmer who lost £270K last year and had to lay off 10 workers. Or the fashion importer who relocated to Holland and employed people there instead of London. Just two examples from thousands. Maybe, millions.
We’re told by this clownish government that this is only half the story and that we need to wait? Wait for how long? Will I still be reposting this piece in ten years? And what are we waiting for? The collapse of the economy. This fabled US-UK trade deal? This extra cash for the NHS. Ah, sorry, that was a lie, wasn’t it?
True, Covid might have tainted the Brexit dream. But not that much. Even if Covid had never happened, there would be very little to write home about. As you can see below:
The Advantages of the UK Leaving the EU on 1st January 2021 (updated 01/01/22)
(paperclip not included…)
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