The disenchantment of Brexit began almost immediately. The very day after the referendum of 23 June 2016, one of the blatant lies of the tenors of “national independence” was revealed, that the British National Health System (NHS) would supposedly save £350 million every week after the country left the EU.
Almost three years after the exit (January 31, 2020), the economic and social ramifications of the tragic political “roll” cast by then Prime Minister David Cameron have been revealed.
It is also the inevitable accounts of the holidays that overflow the glass of popular anger in Britain. As the polls show, the bill is being paid by the Conservatives. In other words, strikers and protesters attribute the problem of their socio-economic marginalization primarily to (bad) political management and secondarily to the huge bureaucratic and technical problems in relations with the outside world caused by Brexit.
The middle class is “lost”
Indeed, Britain’s de-industrialization and transformation of its economy into a service economy – with the City of London emerging as a leading international financial center – began four decades ago under Margaret Thatcher and was completed under Tony Blair’s New Labour.
But Brexit acted as a major catalyst in the transformation of British society from a two-thirds society (as many Western societies are) to a post-industrial one-third society. In other words, in a situation of economic deprivation and marginalization not only of the working class but also of the middle class, the authors of the post-war capitalist boom.
Research by the London School of Economics (LSE) has put the average annual cost to the family budget (only) on food brought by Brexit due to red tape, increased controls and tariffs on imported goods and equipment at £210 (€245). from continental Europe.
This is an inflationary “cap” of 6% (5.84 billion pounds or 6.8 billion euros per year) in addition to the international situation. Notably, inflation in Britain fell to 10.7% in November from 11.1% in October, while the economy is already in recession.
Uncertainties and racism
The Bank of England has repeatedly highlighted the uncertainties facing UK businesses after Brexit, forcing them to follow the lead of banks and set up subsidiaries in continental Europe. Process that creates a “sluggish economic growth with implications for the standard of living of Britons”.
Research by Liverpool’s Hope University has highlighted the “structural problem of inequality” created by Brexit, “impoverishing white middle-class Britons”.
Research by Opinion documented the dramatic worsening of discrimination and the rise of racist violence experienced by all sorts of minorities, including women (from 58% in 2016 to 71% this year).
As for the Scottish government, it counted… 137 “potential effects of social inequality and exclusion” due to Brexit. A report signed by the independent scientist Dr. Eve Hepburn, refers to the effects on the individual rights of the British, the protection of work, the financing possibilities of businesses, public health and the access of households to food, fuel and medicines.
