Written by: Kelly Grounds, SFU Student
It’s been a while since Brexit was mentioned in the news, but this week it was back, and in a largely uninspiring way.
With less than 200 days until Britain is scheduled to leave the EU, it was revealed that there are no negotiations being drafted by Prime Minister Theresa May and her Conservatives. Instead, May’s government is placing their focus on a no-deal Brexit, meaning Britain will leave the EU without further planning or agreements with the EU. This change in focus reflects a change in the attitudes of many government ministers who are now estimating 50-50 chances of a successful Brexit.
If May’s government pursues a no-deal Brexit, it’ll be problematic across the board. The consequences include British citizens living abroad losing their pensions, debit payments costing more for EU citizens, and hospitals facing supply shortages.
More than just hurting their own citizens, Britain risks causing the breakup of the United Kingdom by pursuing a no-deal Brexit. Scotland in particular was not in favour of Brexit to begin with, and could use the whole incident as motive to pursue an independence referendum to try to stay in the EU.
Whether no-deal Brexit is there to make the current plans drafted by May’s government appear more palatable, or is simply a product of reemerging nationalistic sentiment in Britain, it poses a huge issue and it will affect the citizens of both the UK and the EU. This should be enough to push UK officials some sort of deal, especially with the first major summit approaching. But all Britain’s done is engage in a game of chicken with the EU, and push Brexit to an even more dangerous position.
