seven years later, the great regrets of Brexit for these Britons

In June 2016, the British voted by a narrow majority (52%) to leave the European Union. Brexit has therefore been effective since January 2021, after a so-called transition period. But it is not working as expected and 60% of Britons want to return to the European Union, according to the result of a poll published last week. And all the opinion polls have been going in this direction for months. The arguments of the pro-Brexit campaign were based on a few key points. It is enough to confront them seven years later to realize that, for the time being, it is a failure.

Immigration, a fiasco

With Brexit, the country would regain control of the borders, put an end to the sieve of the Schengen area. Leaving the European Union should in fact make it possible to reduce the migratory balance, that is to say the difference between those who arrive and those who leave, to less than 100,000 people per year. In 2022, this total reaches 606,000. Unheard of.

Unheard of either, the illegal crossings of the English Channel. These small boats on which immigrants pile up at the risk of their lives. They were more than 45,000 last year. Again, a record.

>> REPORT. Migrants: how do the authorities fight against smuggling networks between France and England?

Economically, contracts… but not enough

We had to free ourselves from the single European market and its rules to sign large-scale free trade agreements, for more business abroad. Result since Brexit, there have been signatures with Australia, New Zealand, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. And negotiations are underway with India, Israel and Mexico. The agreement with Australia, the largest of these countries, is 0.08% of British GDP. The long-term loss of leaving the European common market amounts to 4%.

Public health, a shipwreck

On the all-red Brexit bus, which has become famous here, it was written in large white letters: “We give £350m a week to the European Union, give it to the NHS instead!”, that is to say the public hospital. The authors of this slogan now recognize that it was a lie.

Seven years later, the NHS is in an even more critical situation, in particular because it can no longer rely on the European workforce. In June 2016, when Brexit was voted on, just under four million patients were waiting for care in the face of overwhelmed caregivers. Today, they are nearly 7.5 million.

Some symbolic progress

The UK derives minor benefits from Brexit, at the margin. For example, in certain fields, and still not everywhere, in farms, in bars, hotels… The bosses, for lack of cheap labor which arrived easily from Europe, were forced to increase wages to attract Britons and to offer better working conditions.

In some restaurants, more local products are used. Imports are complicated and expensive, so professionals will therefore get their supplies from nearby producers. And, by the way, we use more seasonal fruits and vegetables. But, for now, it remains symbolic.

“We even regressed”

What is not symbolic is the difficult economic situation in which the United Kingdom finds itself: inflation, recurring shortages of certain products, exploding energy costs… Situations that can be found in Europe , but here they are systematically worsened by Brexit. The country left Europe three and a half years ago and today, with such a record, a majority say they are dissatisfied.

In the city of Boston, in the northeast of the country, people believed in Brexit. This is where the vote in favor of Brexit was the highest: 75.6%. “I really don’t see any progressrecognizes Francis, one of these Brexiteers determined in 2016. We even regressed here. In the city center, a dozen stores have closed.”

“Nothing we were promised has come true.”

Francis, a disappointed Brexiter

at franceinfo

“I was hoping it was going to change things, but it’s not going in the right direction. Boston is no longer the city it used to be,” slips Francis, who feels betrayed and who recognizes at the same time that he does not really know what he expected.

A possible backtracking?

This is also Brexit, by dint of false promises, everyone put what they wanted into it: the end of immigration, rediscovered sovereignty, an unbridled economy, more jobs for the British… Everyone has drawn his motivation. It was a vote to change things, to avoid the status quo. Without imagining that SMEs were going to suffer from a surplus of paperwork and costs, that agriculture was going to be shaken up by new international agreements, that universities were going to lose significant funds and exchange capacities.

Under these conditions, obviously, a question arises: will the United Kingdom ask to return to the European Union? “We are light years awaysays Professor Tony Travers, political scientist. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen one day. In the medium to long term, I think the UK and Europe, which need each other, will build a more rational relationship. To travel, to trade, to freely access the markets… And the British will accept some rules from the European Union.”

What Tony Travers is saying is already happening with the Sunak government. The current Prime Minister was a Brexiter and he does not intend to return to it. But it has moved closer to its European neighbours, France in particular, on the question of the fight against illegal immigration, for example. Gérald Darmanin traveling to London last week, himself recognized that it is easier to exchange with London currently compared to the government of Boris Johnson.