control” of economic turmoil in order to repeal the EU’s flawed legislation is the right path to venture down for our country.
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M AURICE C HAN
Brexit: Aftermath
On 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom held a national referendum to decide whether it will stay in the European Union. Being in the European Union brings many benefits, such as having free trade with other members of the union as well as having free movement of labour. However, there are also costs of being in the European Union, especially for a country such as the United Kingdom. These include huge funding to the union itself to support its operation costs and lack of border controls. Citizens of the United Kingdom had to reach a smart judgement as to whether the country should leave or stay in the European Union. The results were announced the following day after the voting, and the majority (51.9%) voted for the UK to leave the EU. David Cameron, The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has announced that he will step down from his position within three months as a result. The results have sparked huge amounts of controversy and made people realise how much of a divided nation the United Kingdom actually was. Here is a rather brief analysis of the effects of the referendum results on the UK.
One of the key factors with regard to what the future holds is the significance of the referendum. Usually countries have safeguards against referendum results in case they could not reflect the general stance of the public. For the UK, this safeguard is the fact that referendum results are only advisory. This means that the government can actually disregard the results of the referendum to do what it deems best for the country. However, the chance of that happening is rather slim, as the UK is a democratic country. There were also pleas to hold a second referendum, supported by an online petition. However, David Cameron’s spokesperson said the possibility of the second referendum was “not remotely on the cards”. The current government seems determined to follow through and comply with its citizen’s decisions. David Cameron has said he will allow his successor to start negotiations about the details of leaving the EU. This includes triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which states “the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal”. This is to be done within two years once a formal declaration is made.
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