BREXIT IS A REALITY
By: T. Viswanathan
Tags: Brexit, Politics

Since I penned my observations about Brexit in July 2016 there has been plenty of water which has gone under the bridge. What a tumultuous period it had been. Me and many other British public were gobsmacked at the final verdict of the referendum which did not go the way David Cameron had anticipated. What a drama with twists and tales in the saga of the negotiations it has been. David Cameron was the first victim of the process. He quietly made way for his successor to take over and since then has gone into oblivion. Though it was in uncharted territory I did mention this country will find a way to wade through troubled waters.

Theresa May who took over the reins of David Cameron tried to connect the dots but it wasn’t an easy task as was anticipated. The trips from Downing Street to Brussels and the negotiated talks gave birth to a deal which had to be ratified in the Parliament. Unfortunately the deal had little appetite in the parliament and it got voted down in the Democratic process much to the dismay of May. Finally she had to eat the humble pie and vacate No:10 Downing Street albeit emotionally. That was the end of a hard fought legacy of Theresa May. This catapulted Boris Johnson at the helm of Conservative Party. He won the elections by a comfortable majority by the end of 2019 with a slogan of “Get Brexit Done” and “Oven Ready Brexit Deal”. Though it had appealed to voters across the North even in traditional Labour strongholds it wasn’t an easy task. We need to bear in mind any divorce settlement is a difficult and painful process. Any divorce settlement will cost a considerable financial burden on the person who initiated the process. It was a long and fractious process over the period of negotiations and at times led to tempers being frayed. Little did the ruling dispensation and the public anticipate the advent of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 when the whole world was subject to the devastating effects of the Coronavirus. The public succumbed to the virus and were falling of like leaves but the Brexit negotiations continued behind the masks of the negotiators. Multiple trips were made between Brussels and London. By now there has been three Prime Ministers in Britain. Boris Johnson in his own uncanny ways was trying to convince the public across Britain that he would succeed in getting the deal done. When it came to the final moments of reckoning to get the deal done it was stalled due to contentious issues of “fish being caught in troubled waters”. It was the fishing rights of the fishermen which seemed to be the sticking point or at least that was the reason cited. “No Deal Brexit” was the being talked as the possible outcome if the European Union did not agree to the fishing rights. “Really!” is that the reason why the deal is being stalled? We all know it is just a political statement by the masters in the negotiations. A “No Deal Brexit” would be a disaster to the economy of not just Britain but the whole world at large. You could see every single time the talks appeared to collapse the reverberations were felt across the major stock markets over the world. Industries and financial sectors were unable to make any further commitments due to the uncertainty plaguing the nation. I would say this is one of the talks where both parties went to the negotiating table knowing well that they will have to accept less than what they wanted to for their side of the argument. As I said earlier a divorce settlement is all about compromises and willing to walk the extra mile to make future life tolerable to each other. European Union and Britain had long trading relationship without borders. All of a sudden you could see the tide going the other way. Both sides weren’t willing to blink despite Britain officially leaving the European Union in January 2020. We entered a transition phase for a year until 31st of December 2020 and the negotiations continued despite adversarial conditions prevailing due to the global pandemic of COVID. Time was ticking when we almost ended up with no deal and the talks at the highest level with Boris Johnson and Ursula Von Der Leyen saw the wisdom of continuing the talks beyond the deadline. When Boris Johnson dashed to Brussels to have a dinner diplomacy with Ursula Von Der Leyen some were joking in the press that “Boris was served Prawns and Scallops as the Fish was caught in the troubled waters”. Though it was said in a lighter vein the implications of fishing was far reaching despite the fact it only accounted for 0.2% of Britain’s economy.

As we were waiting with bated breath with the wretched year 2020 nearing a close there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel in the negotiations. The whole of Europe and Britain was waiting to celebrate Christmas with some good news. On this eventful day of Christmas eve while the entire nation was heading home the news of a negotiated deal was announced by Downing Street and Brussels. What a sigh of relief it has brought to the business and economy along with the farmers and scientists alike. It was a perfect Christmas gift for the nation as a whole. Britain has severed its umbilical cord with European Union with a negotiated deal which neither side can ignore. It augurs well for both sides at large as each side is dependent on the other with its shared values and borders. It remains to be seen how well the individual nations accept the eventuality. It is time to move on and make a new beginning for the benefit of one another.

“Virtue is not solitary; It is bound to have neighbours”