Brexit: one year on

Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, January, 29. 2022

By Raymond Nesbitt
31^st of January 2022

Today, marks one year since Brexit. Technically two years, as it formally took place on the 31^st of January 2020. However, because of the Withdrawal Agreement, its effects were deferred to the 1^st of January 2021.

So, one year on we are going to take a brief look, weighing in all the wonderful advantages we were promised by silver-tongued conservative politicians. We will also take a look at its disadvantages, surely very few or none at all, as promised.

“Brexit will be easy, and have no downsides. There will be no downside to Brexit, only a considerable upside.” – David Davis, 10^th October 2016, First Brexit Secretary.

ADVANTAGES

Return to blue passports … made in France. Yay!
Return to Imperial Measures. Honestly? Is this really an advantage in today’s world of imports & exports? Looks like a step back to me.
I’m sorry. I must apologize to gentle readers, but for the life of me, I cannot think of anymore. If readers have any advantages to contribute, please kindly email them to me and I will make sure to add them to this post crediting them as is due.

Thank you.

DISADVANTAGES

Uh-oh, looks like we have a few…

Disruption in the supply chain. Increased border controls translate to longer waiting periods which in turn impact on the supply chain.
Price increase. As a result of all the additional layers of red tape the price of goods and services is increased. Meaning less money in our pocket.
Shortage in stock. No, I’m not only talking of issues in the UK, but in Europe. You see, the shortage runs both ways. Because if the United Kingdom has struggled to stock themselves with EU goods, we have also experienced in the continent serious problems to get hold of UK food & goods. There was a time when I could walk into almost any local supermarket in (southern) Spain and get hold of Irn-Bru, Scotch Eggs, Walkers' chips, baby sausage rolls, UK poultry & meat, bacon etc. Well, no longer. Speaking from experience, having worked for several years in a UK exporting multinational, if our companies export and sell less in the EU, this translates into job cuts back home. As a result of it all, the expansive cultural influence and clout the UK once had, which made us stronger, has waned and receded. Tough, innit?
Shortage of staff. All them Europeans who drive lorries and did all the hard menial jobs UK nationals refused (because of low pay and hard working conditions) can no longer be found. This has created a huge shortage of lorry drivers, nurses, waiters etc. that impact in our economy.
Massive increase to red tape. Well, who would have guessed it? As its painfully obvious on leaving the EU, border & customs controls would be increased by implementing full customs checks which impact on all the above bullet points, further exacerbating the problem and compounding it. A God-damn nightmare for all our export companies that rely on the continent to sell their goods. Because let us not forget that the UK’s largest market happens to be the EU. Uh-oh, whatever became of our forward-planning abilities for which the UK was renowned for? Gone with the wind.
Increase of taxes. UK nationals no longer benefit from lower tax rates (in Spain) reserved to fellow EU member states.
Removal of landlord tax relief. As I cared to explain at the time in the articles I list below, I stressed this would be one of the consequences of Brexit. Not a day passes without me receiving a complaint from a disgruntled UK client who can no longer apply for lenient landlord tax relief reserved to fellow EU nationals. As a result, many UK landlords have ceased renting altogether and have put up their properties for sale.
The pesky 90/180-day rule. Restrictions to remain in the Eurozone. No longer can British remain within the EU indefinitely unmolested. Now, they must go through the pain of applying (and with any luck attaining) a Spanish residency permit.
Shattered retirement dreams. As is the case of Roberta Smithee, our seniors, in most cases, can no longer fulfill their dream to retire to Spain to enjoy their twilight years. This is because of immigration rules that apply to all non-EU Nationals (nothing new, these laws were in force well before Brexit). Whereas before Roberta only needed to prove 7,500 euros to qualify to live in Spain, now she needs almost 30,000 euros. In effect, I have to reject every bloody day senior UK nationals who are denied their dreams of retiring to Spain because of the hubris of some deluded self-centred, self-serving conservative politician.
Suppression of ERASMUS programme. This offered a unique opportunity to our youth to explore the continent and close ties with fellow Europeans, broadening their minds and horizons, showing them there is more to the world than just our tiny island nation.
Fostered independence movements. Brexit has undeniably given wings and strengthened separatist movements that now threaten to break up our Union from within. This is by far the most serious error of judgement of our short-sighted politicians. An error that non-Western powers will keenly exploit, day in and day out, as they've already done with Spain, bolstering separatist movements all over. At times, it seems our career politicians play checkers whilst foreign powers play chess.
Less security. Our Intelligence gathering services no longer share information with EU countries, weakening our defence and integrity. Because of Brexit, our families now sleep a little less safe every night.

Conclusion

I know how most people show a manifest disdain for history; hell, even my wife pays no heed to it. But the fact of the matter is that human nature never changes, as classical Greeks always gently reminded us, and the past provides valuable lessons for the present, and even for our future. Lessons we should not ignore.

Alfred the Great, King of West Saxons, sowed the seeds and paved the way to unite all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one, creating what in time would be England. A nation that would one day rule the world. It was through unity that he achieved this.

Fast-forward to 1707, the Act of the Union. The four great nations in our land would eventually agree to create Great Britain. And its ‘great’ because all four saw fit and proper to stand united. This is what allowed Britannia to rule the seas and most of the known world, for centuries.

Do you see a pattern? It’s called unity, working together towards a common goal that collectively makes us all stronger.

Fast-forward to our modern day. Because of the unbridled hubris of one man, which I will not name, in a quest to retain power and control over the Conservative party, he called a EU Referendum which led us to this very day. Are we any better because of it? Are we stronger as a nation? Is the influence of the UK in the world stronger than ever? How’s our economy faring? Are goods and services cheaper? Did we sign all those commercial treaties we were promised that would grant us huge commercial advantages?

I’ll leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions on this.

I want to end, again, by stressing the importance of remaining united in today’s world. Our US cousins, who’ve dominated the world scene over the last 100 years, would have not achieved this if it had not been for the dogged perseverance of one statesman who, against all odds, managed to keep his country united despite a fratricidal civil war that tore it apart. Through his actions and steadfast resolution, he managed to preserve the Union, which laid the groundwork for peace and prosperity in the US over the next two centuries. Our cousins also have the word ‘united’ in their country’s name for something, same as us. We should never forget, or take for granted, the meaning behind it.

We need less career politicians and more statesmen.

There are bears and dragons out there only waiting for a chance to pounce on Western Democracies to further their imperialistic and autocratic agendas. They do everything they can, day in and day out, to undermine and weaken the resolve of our democracies, sowing dissent amongst us. Because they know (divide et impera) this is the key to our downfall and how they will succeed. And the truth is, they are in fact succeeding. Let us not be foolish and play into their hands. We have enough on our plate as is.

“Unity makes strength” – Aesop, Greek fabulist.

Related articles

Living in Spain – UK Government
Spain: register your residency – UK Government
How to Apply for Healthcare in Spain – 8th November 2014
Brexit and You – 21^st February 2018
Brexit and Spanish Residency – 21^st September 2018
How to apply for Spanish residency– 1st February 2019
8 tips for Brexit – 21st February 2019
Brexit and Living in Spain guide (UK Government) – 1^st May 2019
Brexit checklist: it’s the final countdown – 16^th October 2019
Post-Brexit Taxation in Spain – 2^nd March 2020
The human cost of Brexit – 1^st June 2021
Brexit: one year on – 31^st January 2022

Please note the information provided in this article is of general interest only and is not to be construed or intended as substitute for professional legal advice. This article may be posted freely in websites or other social media so long as the author is duly credited. Plagiarizing, whether in whole or in part, this article without crediting the author may result in criminal prosecution. No delusional separatist politician was harmed on writing this article. Ní neart go cur le chéile. VOV.