Potential Titles

The Potential Effects of Brexit on the European Union

Why Did the UK Voters Approve Brexit?

Developing Post-Brexit Trade with the European Union

Topics

The Economic and Political Impact of Brexit

The International Implications of Brexit

Should the UK Reconsider Its Brexit Decision?

The Pros and Cons of the Brexit Decision

Outline

I.  Abstract

II.  Introduction

III.  Body

A.  Background and overview

B.  Immediate after effect of Brexit vote

C.  What the future holds

IV.  Conclusion

Abstract

In June 2016, voters in the United Kingdom approved the so-called “Brexit” referendum, signaling the withdrawal of the British Commonwealth from the European Union. Although a number of economic indicators experienced a short-term downturn after the Brexit vote, most indicators have returned to their pre-Brexit levels and some have even improved. There are also other signs that the devastating consequences of the Brexit initiative will not materialize and there is a growing consensus that even if the UK does experience some challenges in the post-Brexit era, things are not doing to be as bad as predicted. To gain a better understanding of what has already happened and what experts predict for the future, this essay on brexit provides an overview of the Brexit referendum, a summary of the events that have followed its approval by UK voters and a summary of the research and important findings concerning the future for the UK and the EU in the conclusion.

Thesis Statement

To gain a better understanding of what has already happened and what experts predict for the future, this essay provides an overview of the Brexit referendum, a summary of the events that have followed its approval by UK voters and a summary of the research and important findings concerning the future for the UK and the EU in the conclusion.

Title:  Brexit a Half Year Later

 

Introduction

It has been more than 9 months since 51.9% of the voters in the United Kingdom elected to leave the European Union (EU) in the now-famous “Brexit” referendum and in spite what some critics said at the time, the sky has not fallen. Despite some initial negative fallout and jittery reactions from many EU member-states, things appear to have resumed some semblance of normalcy and some economic indicators have even improved. To determine what has happened and what the future holds for the UK, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a brief overview of the Brexit referendum followed by recent events that have followed its approval by UK voters. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the future for the UK and the EU are provided in the conclusion.

Background and Overview

When the results of the Brexit vote became known on June 23, 2016, the reaction on the part of UK voters and the EU was first a mixture of shock, dismay, fear and even anger (Jasper, 2016). For example, some representative articles and headlines that followed the Brexit vote include: ... 17). After the dust actually settled and the nervous reactions to the Brexit vote turned to grudging acceptance, many economic indicators in the UK including employment have returned to their pre-Brexit levels and in some cases have since exceeded them as discussed further below.


 

Immediate aftereffects of the Brexit vote

The “earthquake” predicted by many analysts for the UK post-Brexit has simply not materialized. In this regard, Halligan (2016) emphasizes that:

There's very little sign of the predicted post-Brexit economic crisis. To the shock of many -- not least business titans who bankrolled the Remain campaign -- the instant collapse doesn't seem to be happening. The UK economy is, for now at least, taking Brexit in its stride. (p. 3)

 Indeed, in the month following the Brexit vote, there were more than 150,000 more job listings in the UK than in the same month in 2015 (Halligan, 2016). Likewise, Bowler (2017) agrees that the negative economic impact predicted by many analysts post-Brexit has not materialized. For example, Bowler points out that, “Before the referendum last June, many economists produced gloomy forecasts which have since been proved wrong. Consumers' confidence has not suffered, and by and large, things have gone on as before” (para. 4)..

Another reason for the return to relative normalcy in the UK and EU has been the growing realization that the UK is not going to withdraw from the EU anytime soon. Despite the results of the Brexit referendum, the UK parliament is not legally required to automatically trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin formal proceedings for withdrawal from the EU and the only pressure do to so will come from the mandate of the referendum vote. For instance, Brooks (2016) emphasizes that, “In law, a referendum result is advisory on Parliament but not binding. Parliament need do nothing at all legally” (p. 2). In addition, even assuming that a revocation initiative does not overturn the Brexit referendum, it will likely be years and perhaps even a decade or more before all of the negotiations to fully effect the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Indeed, according to Castle (2016), the trade negotiations that are involved in the Brexit initiative are highly complex and contentious and resolving these issues may require another decade with no guarantee of a successful outcome. Many authorities agree, though, that the stakes are too high for the EU to adopt an uncompromising or belligerent approach to post-Brexit trade negotiations with the UK. As Hodges (2017) recently pointed out:

It's entirely conceivable that a 'soft Brexit', in which Britain maintains many of our existing EU trading and regulatory relationships,…