BEERG Newsletter - Brexit: A busted flush?

Brexit is done. The UK is no longer a member of the European Union. What Brexit means for the British economy and Britain’s future relationship with the European Union continues to be a topic of extremely contentious debate in the UK, if not elsewhere in Europe, which has largely put the British departure behind it. 

Is the UK suffering from buyers’ remorse when it comes to Brexit? A recent poll shows that 56% now believe it was wrong to leave the EU, with just 32% saying it was right to leave. The Sunday Times carried a story that Britain mulls Swiss-style ties with Brussels in which “government sources” float the idea of the UK moving from its current frozen relationship with the EU to one like the Swiss have, with multiple agreements covering different issues. The problem with this idea is that the EU hates its current arrangement with Switzerland and is not going to offer a similar arrangement to the UK.

Nonetheless, it does seem that cracks are appearing in the “Brexit ideology” that has held the UK in its grip since 2016. For a fuller account of this see the separate Brexit Briefing which we will circulate in the coming days.