Brexit happened on June 23 2016. At 7 22 am on June 24, the chair of the Electoral Commission announced that 17,410, 742 (51.9%) of those voting in a nationwide referendum in the UK had voted to leave the EU after 43 years of membership, while 16, 141, 241 (48.1%) had voted to remain. These were the results of an impressive 72.2% voter turnout in 382 voting areas. Thereby a majority of voters rejected the four freedoms of movement within the EU of people, goods, capital and services.
Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon (2009) was subsequently “triggered” in March 2017, providing a two-year timetable for leaving the EU. Brexit day was initially set for Friday March 29 2019, with the UK scheduled to leave the EU at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time. That day came and went, followed by Prime Minister Theresa May herself, when she announced her resignation on June 6 2019.
Brexit sparked off a trail of unforeseen and unprecedented events. Academics, such as historians, psychologists, sociologists and economists, will undoubtedly continue to scrutinise, analyse and debate these events for a long time to come. Books will be written, various viewpoints will be put forwards, and many best sellers will emerge.
Brexit has incidentally enriched the English language with words and phrases that are either new or have been used in a different context. As a bewildered, yet detached, observer of these momentous events, I attempt to provide a few definitions and explanations to help those as perplexed as I am:
Brexit: this is a difficult one to define, as it seems to have different meanings and implications depending on who you speak to or otherwise engage with. The word first appeared in a tweet from Peter Wilding, Remain campaigner, on May 15 2012. Brexit entered the Oxford English Dictionary in December 2016 as “the (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it.” The political process itself is, however, a matter for serious confusion. Thus, on March 27, 2019, the House of Commons rejected every one of eight alternative options for taking things forward: customs union with the EU; a confirmatory public vote (a second referendum); Common Market 2.0 (Norway Plus); the revoking of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty (the legal mechanism by which a member state can leave the EU); leaving the EU without a deal; contingent preferential trade arrangements with the EU; and EEA/EFTA membership without customs union.
Leavers or Brexiters/Brexiteers: those who believe in upholding democracy and wish to respect the results of the referendum. For them, “leave means leave”. The UK needs to regain sovereignty and control over its laws and its borders. Where Leavers differ is in their belief as to whether the UK leaves the EU with a deal or without a deal-what “no deal” means is itself disputed. They believe that Britain can be great once again on its own, freed from the unelected and restrictive bureaucracy of the EU to engage in free trade with the rest of the world. Leavers have the backing of the right-wing and populist wing of the British media.
Remainers or Remoaners: those who believe that the Brexit decision was in fact undemocratic, based as it was on incomplete and incorrect information. Their desires range between a second referendum, a “people’s vote”, a general election, or simply revoking Article 50. They believe that the UK’s future belongs within the EU. Remainers are frequently accused of encouraging “Project Fear”, a doom-and-gloom scenario of what will happen to the UK post-Brexit. They are backed by the left-wing and liberal wing of the media.
Both Leavers and Remainers have generated many stereotypes, which are mostly inaccurate. These include London “elites” who live privileged lives, cocooned in a metropolitan bubble (Remainers) and dispossessed working-class people in the north of England for whom life is a daily struggle (Leavers). The reality is that there is much overlap between the two groups. Even the two major political parties in Britain, Conservative and Labour, have members who belong in either camp.
Withdrawal Agreement: A 599-page draft Brexit withdrawal agreement that was agreed by Prime Minister Theresa May with the leaders of the remaining 27 EU countries on November 25 2018. The Agreement was, however, rejected by the House of Commons on three occasions: on January 15 2019, March 12 2019 and March 29 2019. It would certainly be a waste of time reading through the Agreement, except for purely scholarly reasons.
Backstop: The definition that comes closest to accurately describing the Irish backstop is a “fence or screen used to stop balls from going outside the playing area.” Belatedly, it was recognised that the Republic of Ireland is in the EU, while Northern Ireland would henceforth be outside of the EU. Normally, a “hard border” between the two countries would result, leading to the imposition of regulatory barriers and border controls. A backstop would maintain the current unrestricted cross-border flows of people and goods, while simultaneously upholding the terms of the Good Friday or Belfast Agreement that was signed by the UK and the Republic of Ireland on Good Friday, April 10 2008. This would, however, mean that Northern Ireland would remain within the EU customs union and be excluded from any post-Brexit trade deals that might be struck by the UK. The backstop would mean that customs and standards checks would hereafter apply to all east-west trade between Great Britain and the entire island of Ireland, at ports and at harbours, with a border located within the Irish Sea.
Transition period: This is the 21-month period during which the UK and the EU negotiate their future relationship after the UK ceases to be a member. It isn’t worth predicting what is likely to happen or even when it may do.
Ashis Banerjee (at various times Brexiter/Remainer-I really can’t decide!)