Waking up on that Friday morning after the Brexit referendum will probably still be fresh in your mind. Whatever you voted - leave or stay, waking up that day was a bit like awaking with a hangover and thinking ‘We did what yesterday?’
There were celebrations from the Leavers, there was anger from the Stays and there was a massive spike in racist incidence across the country for a time, but immediately after Brexit nothing really changed and who knows when it will. To keep you occupied in between now and whenever that time might be that this nation of ours either becomes great again or crumbles beyond anything you ever imagined we’ve created a list of eight facts you might not know about Brexit.
1. Brexit will take time
The process of leaving the EU will probably take a while – While the decision has been made to leave the EU, article 50 has not been triggered and once it has Britain will still be in the EU for two years while the terms of our departure are dealt with.
2. Voting 'Leave' is not legal binding
The referendum results are not legally binding – Just because the public have voted to leave the EU, the government are not actually obliged to do so, although holding a referendum and then ignoring the results would probably not be the best political move that a party could make.
3. Brexit and free movement in Europe
Leaving the EU does not mean an end to free movement – Many people voted to leave the EU due to the false belief that there would no longer be free movement and those who had moved here from the EU would be made to leave the country. This is so far from the truth, and the reality is that even countries such as Switzerland who aren’t in the EU have still chosen to opt in to free movement so that they can access the single market and have no control over their borders. The likelihood is that the same kind of deal would be offered to the UK, although it is also possible that our deal might instead improve Switzerland’s options.
4. Brexit and exactly will happen
No one actually has a clue what might happen - The run up to the election saw both the remain and leave camps spout a variety of drivel about what might happen. This was nothing more than speculation and still no one actually knows how it will affect the country or the economy. Numerous studies have been carried out and all the results foresee the outcome as positive, negative or mixed. Well, thanks for your help there!
5. Will other countries leave the EU after Brexit?
We could be a bit of a trendsetter here – Much of the world, and especially Europe, are watching the UK with baited breath to see what will happen next with many people in France, Germany and numerous other European countries considering referendums of their own.
6. Britain is the first to leave the EU
>No other country has ever left the EU – Britain is the first country to leave the EU, making it even more of an important and monumental decision.
7. Voters of 'leave' have regrets
Many of the leave voters regret their decision – Shortly after the election when they found out they’d won, there were a significantly large number of voters expressing regret at their decision with polls indication that more than a million voters would vote to remain if offered the chance again.
8. A second referendum?
More than two and a half million people signed a petition requesting a second referendum as they weren’t happy with the results and if you judging by number seven in this list many of those may have been those who voted leave. This petition also led to other petitions going viral such as ‘I want a rematch of the 1966 world cup’ and ‘I want a rematch on the 1066 battle of Hastings because I didn’t like the result’.
