BREXIT: Britain leaves the European Union, leaving stockpiles of uncertainties (Britain should have stayed in EU)

The much awaited BREXIT referendum is done, with voting  closed and votes counted. The tension, the heat, the mudslinging and the regrettable assassination of a loved MP, Jo Cox is gradually taking a form: to be in European Union or not to be.

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Like Hamlet, Britons seemed to be yet undecided. The votes swung like a pendulum, and the lead and trolling changed constantly. But at the end, the leave prevailed. 

Britain votes to leave the European Union in a closely contested votes. The leave campaign led the count by more than 1,000,000 votes securing about 51.8% of the votes cast, while the stay recording about 14,890,000 votes trailed with 48.2%. 

While London, Northern Ireland and Scotland overwhelmingly voted to stay, their votes were insufficient to see UK stay in EU.

The BREXIT has similar tidings like the GREXIT, when Greece at the hit of economic recession needed to decide whether Greece should stay or leave EU. However, the Greeks ended up voting to remain in the European Union. 

In the case of Britain, however, the tension was more intense in the build up of the referendum. And as Britain leaves, it is the first time a country shall be leaving the EU since its formation.

The European Union came out of the European Economic Community (EEC), which in itself was the brainchild of Italy, (West) Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands and France. The EEC was formed in March 25, 1957 after much negotiations, and in order to prevent the internal squabble for market which partly caused World War II. The integration was welcomed at that point and even supported by the United States.

The Britain at that time was an outsider. It took Britain three attempts before it was admitted in 1975. Britain's attempts were foiled by France and Charles de Gaulle who saw Britain's membership in the European Union, then the EEC, as attempt by the United States to control the activities of the Community through their closest ally.  Britain's membership application suffered thus. 

However, after Macmillan made the concession in Brussels, France gave in and Britain became a member of the EEC. 

Britain was part of the EEC that transitioned to the European Union, but with a caveat. Britain retained its enviable Pounds Sterling, shying away from the single currency arrangement of the Euro. But the marriage has failed. Unfortunately, there was no "prenuptial agreement".

What could have happened to the marriage that started in 1975?

Some analysts have blamed the quagmire on the surge of immigrants into the EU which Britain cannot deal with due to the freedom of movement commitment in Paris Treaty of 1958 as amended by the Lisbon Treaty, 2009.

However, other believe that the issue goes beyond immigration. The strength of the BREXIT supporters includes giving Britain its own voice in international affairs. Brussels controls the investment and trade matters of the EU, and makes certain laws which must be obeyed by all members. Therefore to some Brits, leaving EU  would be giving Britain its voice again and restoring its sovereignty.

Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independent Party (UKIP), referred to the exit as the "independent" United Kingdom.

 The uncertainties that loom due to Britain's exit from European Union:

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In a situation, uncertainty looms in the future of the Britain. 

According to the breakdown of the votes, Scotland voted massively for Britain to remain in the EU, while most of the remaining parts of the Country had exit votes leading except for the big urban cities where the remain had their day. 

The implication of the discrepancy between the votes in Scotland and the rest of the country is the unity of Great Britain. During the quest for Scotland's referendum of September 2014 to leave the United Kingdom, the argument that ensured that they stayed was for Scotland to remain in EU, it must be part of Britain. Now that the link is dismantled, the future of Scotland in Britain is uncertain.

Speaking of uncertainty, one may not exclude the uncertainty of David Cameron future as the Prime Minister of Britain. However, many of the leaders of the leave campaign, including Boris have signed a passionate letter to the Prime Minister to remain as the Head of Government in the aftermath of BREXIT.

Besides the internal political implications of BREXIT is the financial uncertainty too. Ever since the BREXIT took the lead, the Pounds has plunged against the United States Dollars and now hovers around 1 Pounds Sterling to 1.30 US Dollars, the weakest for over three decades. This slide in value is even before the financial market in London could open for the day. In the event this trend continues, what happens to the interest rates, the cost of living and "inflation"? Would the Bank of England intervene?

With BREXIT goes with free trade between EU and Britain. Apart from the WTO rules and tariff bindings, there exist no tariff or trade agreement between Britain and European Union. As such, the tirades of uncertainties include the trade dealings between EU and the prodigal Britain. Would they remain best of pals or would the display adverse posture towards each other. The German Finance Minister calls the BREXIT as a "bad day for Europe." He made the statement through his Twitter account in German which translates as "Damn, a bad day for Europe."

The uncertainty spills into the European Union too. There will also be internal restructuring within the Union. And it remains uncertain what should change and how.

In spite of the exit vote June 23, 2016 by Brits, the exit shall not be fully implemented at least in the six months. It shall witness a couple of negotiations between EU and Britain. And due to its uniqueness, a lot of innovations would be made too. There is no rule currently existing that regulates the procedure for a member to leave the European Union.

This is a guest post and does not reflect the opinion of the Betainformed Blog.