Friday marks five years since Britain left the European Union on Jan. 31, 2020. People and businesses are still wrestling with the economic, social and cultural aftershocks.

Summary

Five years after Brexit, its economic and political effects are still unfolding.

Trade with the EU has become more expensive and complex, with mid-sized businesses struggling the most.

UK economic growth is projected to be 4% lower long-term, and new trade deals haven’t offset EU losses.

While public opinion has turned against Brexit, rejoining the EU remains unlikely.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer aims to improve relations but won’t re-enter the single market, as both sides cautiously rebuild ties.

  • wjrii@lemmy.world
    3·
    4 hours ago

    I didn’t really mean it was ever an explicit position, beyond possibly your Carville strategist types in smoke-filled rooms, but the fact remains that Roe v. Wade was always being chipped away at, in courts and statehouses and law schools, and at several points in the 50 years that it was in effect the Democrats had the power necessary to put up a legislative firewall (see, e.g. Obamacare), but they took no action while reminding voters every election who supported choice. They didn’t even have to lie, but there was always a “better” use of political capital, and nothing was done until it was too late.

    Labour is in a somewhat analogous situation, in that they have taken power, and they can blame the hardships of Brexit on Tories, and they know the UK is better off in the EU, but they have other priorities. I am fully aware that they need to be prudent, and maybe repairing relationships is meaningful progress, but this could also be tickmark #1 on a ledger called “Times that Labour could have fixed Brexit but didn’t.”

    • Optional@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      3 hours ago

      in the 50 years that it was in effect the Democrats had the power necessary to put up a legislative firewall (see, e.g. Obamacare)

      I don’t think the Democrats had the uncontested power to put up an amendment or any other pro-women’s-health legislation very often in those 50 years. The one time I can think of is the one you mentioned, and they decided to use that power to pass the ACA instead. They had lost the supermajority by the time that was done.

      All that “chipping away” wouldn’t have made much of a difference if the SCOTUS hadn’t been obscenely hijacked and thrown to the Federalist nazis. And all of that was because the republiQans never wavered, never changed their commitment to depriving women of their rights.

      In the case of Starmer vis-a-vis EU, I obviously don’t know the details very well, but I would think they’re not going to be able to have any kind of public discussion about rejoining anytime in the next 5-10 years at the earliest. I would expect there to be some backchannel discussion, but I can’t see any real headway being made. Certainly if I was the EU, I wouldn’t be interested in talking about it at all. I would think Labour would have enough on their plate just beginning to stem some of the damage that’s already been caused.