Posted: August 30th, 2022

Why did the UK leave the European Union?

Why did the UK leave the European Union?
The European Union EU is a political association comprising a total of 28 European countries. Free movement of goods and labour are the main policies of the EU. The United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community in 1973, which later become the EU in the 1990s. The UK has been an active member until June 2016, when citizens (in a referendum) voted for her exit from the union with a margin of 52% to 42%. The British exit from the EU was branded the word BREXIT, which was eventually effected on the 30th of January 2017 at midnight. But why did the UK leave the EU after decades of membership?
Below are three major arguments for the Brexit
1. The economic disaster
The EU has been facing an economic crisis since 2008. These economic issues have escalated, and yet the EU does not seem to have any solution. For instance, the elevated unemployment levels in southern Europe stand at 20% while the Germans enjoy low unemployment rates of 4.2%. This significant difference does not explain the role of the EU in the two economies. Britain’s economy has also stagnated in the past few years, and the UK believe they might be headed down the same road if no actions are taken. For this reason, the UK decided to exit the EU in an effort to save its deteriorating economy.
2. The UK believes the EU threatens their sovereignty
After the 2nd world war, a dozen political organizations were created. The EU is a perfect example of such organizations. There have been numerous critics and mistrusts against these organizations as they are believed to take away control from individual member nations. Over the years, the EU created various treaties that sought to shift individuals’ nation’s power towards the Union. In cases where the EU has been granted authority such as policies relating to copyright and patent law, if the EU laws collide with national laws, the EU laws must prevail. The fear of losing control made Brexit an appropriate solution for the UK.
3. EU Immigration policy
One of the fundamental principles of the EU is freedom of movement of labour among citizens of the EU countries. This has received a lot of criticism from the UK, claiming that it allows too many immigrants. The impact of freedom has been felt in Britain since they joined the EU. For instance, in 2005 alone, Britain absorbed over 33,000 immigrants who came into the country to work. The issues have attracted attention and, like many other countries, politicized. Anti-immigration activist Nigel Farage argues that immigrants flooded the labour market with cheap labour which threatens opportunities and depressed the wages for native British citizens. This was reason enough why most people voted for the Brexit.
These are just some of the reasons why the UK chose to leave the EU. Others include the fact that Britain thought the contribution they made to the EU was becoming extravagant, and they could retain the money and put it to better use within the nation.

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