The results in favour of the Brexit vote in 2016 were the most significant political event of the 21st century for the United Kingdom. The debate on the Brexit vote provoked essential topics of discussion and various opinions regarding the decision. Factors including immigration, economy and sovereignty were the main subjects of this discussion. But the masses were more concerned about the immigrants that stayed in their country. Doubtlessly, many expatriates and overseas workers live and work in the UK and constantly send money online to their home countries to support their families.
Though blaming everything on the migrants of the United Kingdom (UK) as the reason for the Brexit vote would mean that the aspect is looked at from just one perspective. But the reality of this policy holds fast various reasons for it to come into action. This blog post will discuss why the Brexit vote was approved. But before we move on to the causes, let us first thoroughly understand what Brexit is.
What is Brexit? History and Present Circumstances
The 2016 United Kingdom European Union referendum or Brexit resulted in 51.8% of the voters favoured leaving the European Union. The formal withdrawal of the UK from the European Union is called Brexit. It is a coined composition of “Britain” and “Exit”. The referendum was presented in 2016; it formally came into action on 23rd January 2020, almost three years after Lady May prompted Article 50 from the Lisbon Treaty. That triggering article provided an in-depth analysis of the various arguments presented as a reason for Britain to leave the EU as a joint nation.
The current circumstances show that the UK and the EU, on 24th December 2020, came to a provisional free-trade agreement that includes trading goods without tariffs and quotas for the two sides. However, the future deals remain uncertain, just as trade-in service makes up about 80% of the UK’s economic value. A provisional agreement on April 28, 2021, was approved by the European Parliament, and the UK’s approval of this provisional agreement was done on 1st January 2020. Though this deal allows tariffs and quota-free trades, UK-EU still faces the commerce downfall as it is not as smooth as it was with the EU by its side.
Reason For and Against Brexit
Voters who voted to leave a joint EU put forth several reasons for this action. Some of the major reasons were immigration, the European debt crisis, terrorism and the perceived tug of Brussels’ administration on the UK’s economy. The Leavers felt that UK’s sovereignty was on the line, threatening them. The UK also stayed outside the Schengen Area, implying that it did not share open boundaries with a few European countries.
Some other reasons stated by the opposition voters are:
- EU’s decision-making process was to be pulled out, and sovereignty was given solely to the UK to make decisions for its country.
- UK officials only supervise most decisions regarding exports in and out of the UK.
- Economic and societal benefits of the EU’s ‘Four-Freedom’ are the freedom of goods, service, capital, and immigrants under the UK’s supervision.
- Immigrants policies for the UK were re-established as the natives feared that most of the jobs were given to the immigrants, not the UK natives.
Their support for Brexit was due to excessive immigration and the abovementioned factors.
The economic outcome of the Brexit vote for the UK
As Britain has officially been ousted from the European Union, 2021 and 2022 are the transition and implementation periods of Brexit’s financial results. It would be a lie to say that the decision to leave the EU has not had an economic impact on the UK. The country’s GDP development slowed down to about 1.4% since the implementation of Brexit. As business investments from immigrants slumped due to the new rules, the IMF still hopes that the new immigration policies will bring about more migrants and grow the UK’s economy. It is predicted to grow from 1.3% to 1.4% in 2022.
It’s critical to consider that people from developing countries migrate to the UK to earn better and support their family’s financial needs when they make a money transfer back home.
Even though the voters favoured Brexit and held the immigrants accountable for lesser job opportunities, the statistics show something else. According to the IMF, the UK’s unemployment rate hit a 44-year low record, about 3.9%, from 2019 to 2021. Hopefully, this rate will decrease, and more job opportunities will be created once the new immigration policies are implemented.
What problems do the immigrants face while living and working in the UK after Brexit?
There aren’t many chances to be seen for settled and unsettled immigrants in the UK. Once the new immigration policies are implemented, who knows what might be in store for them? As for the drastic changes for EU workers, before Brexit, they talked about the free movement of goods, services, migrants, and capital amongst the EU countries. But the official statement of Brexit has made it a tad bit difficult for EU workers who own businesses who enjoy the freedom of migration and work in the UK freely, with all benefits applied.
An EU passport or national identity card (NIC) won’t give you a free pass to the UK. EU workers would need to apply for Skilled Worker Visa or EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to get full benefits in the UK as they used to get before. However, Irish citizens are exempted from this restriction as the UK still holds free trade between the two countries, which creates a free movement of worker’s opportunities. With all these factors being discussed, remittance is the most crucial trade for a migrant.
So, what happens to international remittances after Brexit?
Remittance comes under the trading category. Though Brexit does not affect international remittance for EU and non-EU migrants, it might still hold some aspects of change quickly. But the fact that, even before the Brexit action, the UK never opted for the European Union’s monetary union. This shows why the UK used the pound instead of the euro as its currency. Hence international remittance and rules for an online money transfer to any country may not be that difficult, primarily through UK-based remittance service providers like ACE Money Transfer.
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