Brexit: What have they done?

Date

6/27/2016 2:01:00 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-

Muscat residents weigh in on Brexit and the dangers ahead after the narrow victory of the ''Leave'' camp

David Crickmore

I believe this is a very bad decision and that the vast majority of the UK has voted based on ignorance, rather than the reality that membership of the EU gave us a far larger voice and presence in the world than we will have now that we are alone. It was a victory for the ''little Englander'' bunker mentality.

The demographics demonstrate that older people voted to ''Leave'', whilst the young voted to ''Remain''. This was a vote for the future of the country and the young can understandably feel aggrieved that their future is now far more uncertain. The uncertainty that will inevitably exist during the years of negotiating ourselves out of the EU will undoubtedly hurt the economy. The Pound is in freefall and this will continue throughout the years of uncertainty, rendering prices higher for imports and will probably bring higher inflation as a result.

Some might say our exported goods will be cheaper as a result of the low Pound and this will help our industry, but to whom will we be exporting? That is, as of now, uncertain. The EU has already said it wants to punish the UK in order to stop other countries seeking to leave and this may mean punitive trade tariffs will be imposed on UK goods. We have walked away from our major trading partner.

Stock markets the world over reacted badly on Friday, although the UK stock market rallied towards the end of the day. This rally in my view will probably be short-term and the FTSE will decrease heavily the value of the UK companies over the period of uncertainty that could stretch to years.

Foreign investment must also be a concern for the future, as previously we were seen by the major trading nations - the US, China, Japan, India, etc. - as the friendly face of the EU trading block. Several major banks will probably move their European hubs to Frankfurt and this will damage the City of London.

Cornwall and other rural areas are already bleating about the loss of subsidies and yet they voted out, which doesn''t make any sense. I hear however that several who voted out are now regretting it, as they never expected the ''Leave'' campaign to win! Maybe if the vote were taken again the result would be different, but the deed is done.

I am sad to see David Cameron go, although I was never a wholehearted supporter of him. I believe he should have kept his powder dry a little longer, as the ''Leave'' group seem to have no plan and no policies whatsoever at this stage. Referenda are also not binding in the UK constitution and he should have put the vote to a debate and vote in Parliament. It is most likely that it would have been defeated.

This was mainly a vote on immigration and the freedom of movement in the EU. The UK currently has 1.6mn unemployed, of whom about 50 per cent are permanently unemployed. Who then will staff our hospitals, hotels, bars, restaurants, service industries, etc? The UK needs immigrants and yet jingoism got in the way and many people voted against largely based on their bigotry I''m afraid. All in all a very sad day. What does this say to the rest of the world about the UK? I wonder... .

Vijai Gill

This is terrible for the UK. The results show that the elderly, the less well off, and, most importantly, the un/under-educated voted ''Leave''. People above 50 voted to ''Leave'' and below 50 voted to ''Remain'', with the 18-24 year olds, who have to live with this decision for an average of another 69 years, voting overwhelmingly to ''Remain''. Their futures have been hijacked.

The clearest correlation to the results is education: Councils with more residents with higher education and less residents with no formal qualifications voted to ''Remain''. The university towns of Cambridge, Oxford, Norwich and Bristol all voted by large margins to ''Remain''.

The young and the educated now have a future not of their own choosing. The country is terribly fractured: Young vs old, Scotland and London (a new country Scotlond!) vs the rest of England and Wales, the well off vs the poorer, the educated vs the uneducated. With these massive divisions the future of the UK looks grim. And, of course, this is also really bad for the EU.

Su Pattison

The referendum result took everyone by surprise - not least the committed Brexit leaders. ''Remain'' would win. Brexit had no speeches ready, nor did the Prime Minister on finding himself defeated - he felt he has to resign.

A sadness probably as (like him or not) he has had a successful term. I did not get a vote having lived overseas for too long but I was a Brexit supporter. The UK is shaken and now, hurriedly, they have to find a way of extricating themselves without terrible penalties there is no precedence to determine how this will happen.

The worst is that the process was carried out with acrimony and relationships within the government and outside have been slaughtered. This should never have happened as there was no right or wrong. We shall just have to wait and see what happens to the economy, trade and affiliations.

Jane Jaffer

I am shocked by the news and totally devastated. This is seismic. The decision to leave the EU will have a huge, negative impact on everyone concerned. It''s very sad for the next generation who will have to deal with the implications of the vote.

I always believe we are stronger when we are united. Now we are looking at a possible break up of the UK. Let''s just hope for some good female leaders: Clinton in the US and Teresa May in the UK. The other possibilities are too dreadful to contemplate.

Nabil al Busaidi

I tried to follow the arguments for and against to be able to make an informed decision but precious few arguments were made for the benefits of staying or leaving. The whole campaign was fought by encouraging fear, resentment, and prejudice. It''s interesting to see that the Washington Post reports that one of the top Google searches in the UK today is ''what is the EU''.

That''s TODAY. Not yesterday when that information may have been more useful. To quote a reader from the FT, ''we now live in a post-factual democracy. When Michael Gove said, ''''The British people are sick of experts,'' he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of anti-intellectualism has led to anything other than bigotry?''

Having said that, I believe that the UK is resilient and adaptable enough to overcome any challenges and after a few blips, the economy will be just fine. I''m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Jim Selway

What have they done? I am afraid Britain has much to be embarrassed about. We have done ourselves no favours in the UK or in the world''s eyes. The result has led to the likely break up of the UK with Scotland and Northern Ireland already discussing ''wanting out'', a loss of jobs, damage to the world economy watch the global markets -but above all to further potential disintegration of Europe and scope to return to the strife of the 18th to 20th centuries (why Churchill suggested in 1946 that a Union of European nations was needed).

It won''t curtail immigration which anyway is a good thing. For sure, the European Parliament was bureaucratic and needed shaking up. That will happen anyway but now the UK will not be there to benefit from it. I am afraid that for a time we will have less influence on defence and world aggression.The immediate benefit will be due to sterling''s weakness, holidays for Omanis (and expatriates) in the UK will be much cheaper and for companies like mine, it will provide the opportunity to encourage Omani trade with the UK and make lucrative property investments in London our specialties!

A very bad day for the UK and for the world. I hope we can re-apply as reality sinks in but for other nationals reading this, the UK will still be a great place with great people! We will sort ourselves out but give us time.

Nick Pattison

I believe the vote will result in a realignment of European politics. This can only be good if it leads to a truly democratic association of European nations. Forget about all the rhetoric and watch what happens over the next couple of months.

For those who have investments and too much UK currency, don''t worry. What you are seeing are the banks and funds unwinding their positions. All is heading back to normal as I write.

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