5 yrs on, UK continues to feel Brexit impact

Five years ago, two crowds of people gathered near Britain’s Parliament — some with Union Jacks and cheers, others with European Union flags and tears. On January 31, 2020, at 11 pm (London time), the UK officially left the bloc after almost five decades of membership.

For Brexit supporters, the UK was now a sovereign nation, in charge of its own destiny. For opponents, it was an isolated and diminished country.

It was, inarguably, a divided nation that had taken a leap into the dark. Five years on, people and businesses are still wrestling with the economic, social and cultural aftershocks.

“The impact has been really quite profound. It’s changed our economy. And our politics has been changed quite fundamentally as well,” said political scientist Anand Menon, who heads the think-tank, UK in a Changing Europe.

Decades of deindustrialization, followed by years of public spending cuts and high immigration, made fertile ground for the argument that Brexit would let the UK “take back control” of its borders, laws and economy. Yet the result — 52% to 48% in favor of leaving — came as a shock to many.

The referendum was followed by years of wrangling over divorce terms between a wounded EU and a fractious UK. that caused gridlock in Parliament and ultimately defeated PM Theresa May.

The bare-bones trade deal saw the UK leave the bloc’s single market and customs union. “It has cost us money. We are definitely slower and it’s more expensive. But we’ve survived,” said Lars Andersen, whose London-based company, My Nametags, ships brightly colored labels for kids’ clothes and school supplies to more than 150 countries.

In some ways, Brexit has not played out as either supporters or opponents anticipated. The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine piled on more economic disruption, and made it harder to discern the impact of Britain’s EU exit on the economy.

A desire to reduce immigration was a major reason many people voted to leave the EU, yet immigration today is far higher than before Brexit because the number of visas granted for workers from around the world has soared.

Polls suggest a majority of people think it was a mistake. But rejoining seems a distant prospect. With memories of arguments and division still raw, few people want to go through all that again.