If the Brexit vote tells us anything, it is surely this: that despite being ‘the fifth largest economy’ in raw GDP terms, many people do not feel prosperous.
Britain has preferred to paper over the cracks of widening inequality and social unease in recent decades by hiding behind ostensibly high output-per-capita statistics inflated by City salaries. Last June, the simmering volcano of resentment exploded in the most spectacular fashion.
Theresa May’s landmark speech last month brought an end to months of speculation over what Brexit actually means. Britain will leave the European single market, because staying would be akin to “not leaving the EU at all”. She also claimed this would mean pushing for the “freest possible trade”.
These details have delighted hard Brexiteers, who claim that only by leaving the single market and customs union can Britain slash the dreaded ‘Brussels red tape’ and strike trade agreements with everywhere from Australia to Zambia, transforming us into some sort of giant Singapore.
Read the full article on the Huffington post-site.
