Brexit: where we are four years on – By The Week UK Staff (The Week) / Jan 31, 2024
Questions around immigration, trade and Northern Ireland remain as ‘divisive as ever’
Today marks four years since the UK formally left the European Union. Back then, Boris Johnson, who had just won an 80-seat majority promising to “get Brexit done”, hailed the date as the start of a new golden era for Britain.
Turning rhetoric into reality has proved much harder, however. Johnson is gone, as is his successor Liz Truss. Rishi Sunak has adopted a more pragmatic approach and sought to mend ties with Europe, but several issues remain as “divisive as ever”, said The Times, “including the UK’s ability to control its own borders, British economic interests, the Northern Ireland protocol and freedom of movement in Europe”.
The impact of leaving the EU has “not perfectly matched initial perceptions”, agreed Sanjay Vallabh, managing director of Vallabh Associates, on Insider Media. While some pro-Brexit supporters looked forward to a “smoother transition to new trade relationships, the reality has been marked by complexities and disruptions”. At the same time, “some of the dire predictions of economic collapse did not materialise”.
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