Tick Tock… The Battle for Brexit

by Kelvin Alexander Green 

During the final weeks of 2018, the world witnessed a series of startling political developments that shook the European Union to the core. The controversy I am referring to is, of course, Brexit.

In a referendum held on June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted by a slim majority — less than 2% — in favor of leaving the European Union (EU). This highly controversial decision forced the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his government to step down. Mass demonstrations throughout the country followed. In the years since, British politicians have been scrambling to negotiate a break with the EU with next to no political leverage. The situation is worsened by the recent fracturing of the Conservative Party and similarly divergent views within the staunch opposition of the Labour Party. Perhaps the most ironic aspect of the predicament is the fact that some who voted in favor of leaving the EU were actually unaware of what they were voting for. The second most googled question in the United Kingdom on the day following the EU vote was “What is the EU?”

The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 European countries. Formed in the wake of World War II, the organization was, in essence, an attempt to integrate and unify Western Europe economically and militarily in the face of Soviet encroachments and promote reconciliation with Germany. From this alliance, the European Union (originally named the European Coal and Steel Community) grew into a powerful political force. Eventually the institution took on many aspects of a Pan-European confederacy. International laws and a common foreign policy began to fall into its jurisdiction. The EU is accredited with several notable successes, including the establishment of a universal currency (the Euro), a common market, and common rights of citizenship (a citizen of one EU country is treated as a citizen of all EU countries).

However, these advancements are not appreciated by all. With the resurgence of right-wing politics and a renewed wave of nationalism, the European Union has come under fire for imposing too much on the sovereignty of its member states. In Great Britain, this manifested in the 2016 referendum. Following the UK vote, however, a vast number of member states reaffirmed their commitment to the EU. The implications for Great Britain were clear. Their former partners were prepared to make a ghastly example of the UK as a warning to any other member states considering leaving the EU.

In July 2016, conservative party leader Theresa May won a leadership vote and was appointed Prime Minister. It would be her duty to negotiate a British-Exit or “Brexit” deal with the EU leadership. After two years of tense negotiations, May submitted her proposed deal for a vote in Parliament on December 11. However, strong opposition arose both from those who believed the deal went too far in distancing Britain from Europe and those who believed it did not go far enough. Fearing her proposition would fail, the Prime Minister pulled the draft legislation from a vote. Rumors floated of charging May with contempt of Parliament, and on the morning of December 12, 48 conservative parliamentarians had penned letters of no confidence triggering a vote in the House of Commons on whether or not to remove May from the helm. Concerned for the fate of her Brexit deal — 2 years in the making — May made the startling declaration that she would step down from party leadership at the next general election in 2022. This stunning announcement must have appeased her critics because May was able defeat the no confidence motion 200 to 117. But given the tumultuous politics surrounding Brexit, her victory is hollow. The March 29, 2019 deadline to exit the EU is rapidly approaching, but there is little hope of a Brexit solution palatable to the fractured Parliament. Without reconciliation, the United Kingdom may be forced to suffer a no-deal Brexit — a situation where Great Britain would be treated as a foreign nation in Europe. Without an effective exit strategy, there will be considerable complications, economic and otherwise, for all Britons. Parliament is working feverishly to avert this fate and secure the future of the country. But the clock is ticking.

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