Brexit simplified

• On June 2016 a referendum was held to decide whether the UK should remain in the European Union or leave it. More than 30 million people voted and Leave won by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent.
• The European Union is a club of 28 European Countries. Each of these countries pays to be a member and in return, they get access to special ways of working together. This includes being part of a “single market”, which means that countries can trade with one another and people can move around freely – as if we were all living together in one big country.
• The EU has its own parliament, laws and currency. The EU was set up after World War 2 with the idea that if countries work together, they are unlikely to go to war again.
• The 48 per cent who voted to remain in the EU, including former Prime Minister David Cameron, felt that being a member of a 28-nation club is better than going it alone. Meaning it was good for businesses and trade. The idea of the single market was to increase trade between countries, creating jobs and lowering prices. However, the European Parliament decides on many rules and standards that EU countries have to follow and critics felt that UK was losing control of its own affairs and laws.
• The UK pays billions of pounds in membership fees to the EU every year and some people felt that we weren’t getting much back in return for this.
• Also, many people are moving from poorer countries to richer countries around the world. This has made some people in the UK worry about the free movement rule, which allows people in the EU to move to any other EU country without needing special permission

And also the neo rightist movement across the globe fuelled this brexit and also existing issues such as economic slowdown, unemployment, fear of immigration from Middle East and perception of lack of policy independence of UK in the eyes of common people

Source: The Hindu