The Brexit Repercussions

The Brexit Referendum took place on June 23, 2016, in which a majority of 52% voted to leave the European Union, majorly due to anti-immigrant groups' frustration with the European Union's failure to solve the refugee problem and sluggish economic growth. On 1st February 2020, the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union was officially approved and was declared as a state free from EU regulations. In 2023, the Gross Value Added was lower than expected and the British pound was devalued against the dollar. The cost of living skyrocketed due to severe hyperinflation during these 7 years. The Food and utility prices increased by 30%, spanning from December 2019 to April 2023. The real GDP of the UK following the Brexit referendum is lower by 3 percent. According to many financial analysts, the reason for this drastic slump in the UK's real GDP stemmed from reducing real incomes due to worsening terms of trade due to the country's departure from the European Union. The decrease in real income contributed to the declining productivity of workers, predominantly in the construction and manufacturing sectors. 

In 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson asserted that the UK would "rediscover the muscles that we have not used for decades," but as of now, the situation suggests otherwise, as the UK has the weakest progress rate amongst the G7 countries. According to TBI analysis of OECD data, the Trade - GDP ratio decreased from 4.2% in 2016-2018 to -7.7% in 2019-2021. It can be argued that all countries encountered such plunges in their economies post-pandemic COVID-19 but the UK's ratio fall was 3 percentage points greater than that of it's its equivalent states, such as Germany, the US, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and the European Union. 

The negative impacts of Brexit were elevated due to the occurrence of political instability. In November 2021, MP Owen Paterson of the Conservative Party was about to get suspended for violating the rules of lobbying, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson justified and defended his crime by whipping his party members. The dubious act of protecting a corrupt individual provoked numerous questions from the general public. The situation escalated when the first report on the Partygate scandal was released. The report revealed that officials working at the Prime Minister's office were holding meet-ups and parties while the whole of London was under isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself and Rishi Sunak attended the party. Amidst all the chaos, Prime Minister Boris Johnson got a third big strike in the form of the WallpaperGate scandal. The election commission fined the Conservative Party £18,000 because apparently the renovation amount for Prime Minister House was derived from donations that exceeded the limit and were not declared. On 25 May 2022, a comprehensive report on the Partygate Scandal was issued by British Civil servant, Sue Gray, which proved that various parties took place during the global lockdown and employees even attacked the house cleaning staff during those parties. The report questioned the credibility of the prime minister and tarnished his reputation in front of the general public and his party members. . Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javed resigned from their respective positions. Boris Johnson eventually stepped down as Prime Minister on 7th July 2022, due to the pressure of the Tories party's MPs, who resigned consecutively.

In September 2022, the UK was facing various hardships due to the passing of the queen and inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. During this phase, Scotland was considering conducting a referendum to part ways with the UK. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were recognized as prominent contenders to become UK's next Prime Minister. Liz Truss won a 57% majority and became the new Prime Minster of the United Kingdom. She implemented a policy that made tax cuts from the upper class so that wealth flowed down to the commoners. The idea was a drastic flop that devalued the British Pound, and eventually, Liz Truss became the least popular UK prime minister of all time. On 20 October 2022, Liz Truss was forced to resign following an infamous parliamentary session in which she was accused blatantly by the opposition for her flawed tenure as the Prime Minister. On 22nd October 2022, Rishi Sunak was automatically declared the next Prime Minister after receiving 100 votes from the MPs of the Torries Party. The enormous wealth and fortune of Sunak and the crumbling reputation of the Torries Party are the reasons why Sunak is disliked by the people of the UK.

More than half of the UK population regrets Brexit. The pandemic and political unrest in the past four years have made matters worse for the nation. Brexit will have long-term impacts, making employees work in less productive jobs and being a part of a much smaller economy than it would have been if the UK had retained its membership in the EU. From a UK point of view, Brexit was not totally about the economy; it was also about stopping the mobility of their people.

 It should, however, be noted that this is what a healthy democracy looks like due to the media being independent and commoners having freedom of expression. Scandals like Partygate and Wallpapergate made big unveilings directly targeted at the prime minister. It is safe to say that the drawbacks of Brexit have outweighed its benefits, but it should also be highlighted that it has promoted the use of domestic suppliers, and the UK is now less regulated by the rules of the EU. This has encouraged the UK to trade freely with big non-EU countries such as the US and Australia. The devaluation of the pound has made the UK's products cheaper in many emerging countries, such as Brazil and South Africa, increasing its demand.

Conclusively, the period following Brexit has been chaotic, characterized by a plethora of economic and political issues. It has posed several challenges for the United Kingdom but its complete influence is yet to be attained.