By Liam Sherman

Brexit, the nickname for United Kingdom leaving the European Union, is currently the subject of significant political controversy across the pond. A public referendum on the issue in 2016 decided that the UK, by a vote of 52% to 48%, must leave the EU by March 29, 2019. Despite this fact, no final deal has been worked out that will control what happens to the UK and EU’s complicated economic relationship when the UK leaves.

   The United Kingdom  (consisting of England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland), joined the European Union in 1973. The EU was created after WWII to pool European resources and prevent the continent from tearing itself apart again, and now consists of 28 countries with a population of around 500 million people. It also allows for relatively unobstructed passage of people between the member states. This, coupled with the fact that many UK citizens live in the EU and visa-versa, is one of the complicating factors in Brexit deal negotiations.

   A deal between the UK and EU would need to work out how these people would move back and forth with as little obstruction as possible, while also providing the immigration control that motivate many UK citizens to vote for Brexit in the first place. Other key points that need to be sorted out in a potential deal are how trade between the UK and EU’s economic zones will work and how the deal can avoid a solid border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The deal proposed by the UK’s prime minister, Theresa May, has faced harsh criticism in Parliament and has lead some to fear a so called “no deal” scenario.

   “It’s a chaotic, hectic mess,” senior Evan Peting said. “And I don’t think they really know what they are doing.”

   The controversy surrounding May’s potential Brexit deal has put her in political peril with both her opponents and her own party.

   “Her party is divided, the conservative party is divided, over the deal she’s struck,” history teacher David Wainwright said. “There was a vote of no confidence for Theresa May, which is the conservative party, enough of them saying ‘hey, we don’t trust Theresa May’s leadership; let’s try to vote her out.’”

   While this vote did not pass, it is a signal of a growing resentment for how the current Brexit negotiations are happening from both Parliament and the people of the UK.

   “Both sides have just gotten more frustrated with the government,” Wainwright said. “A lot of the people who wanted the UK to remain in the European Union still feel that way and visa-versa, but I would say people are probably more dissatisfied with Theresa May and the conservative party than with Brexit.”

   As the date ticks closer and closer to the Brexit deadline of March 29, tensions rise as people fear a “no deal” Brexit may occur. While the European Union has stated it would allow for a transitional period so that commerce and travel would not instantly cease between the two economic zones, if no deal is reached the UK would suffer significant repercussions for years to come.

Photo Provided by Creative Commons