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Brexit
Book

Brexit

What the Hell Happens Now?

Ian Dunt
Canbury Press, 2016
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Journalist Ian Dunt practical explanation of Brexit brings up solid, eye-opening and worrying points about Brexit and the British government’s approach to it. He effectively emphasizes the complexity of the Brexit mission and the severe strain it will put on the UK’s scanty trade negotiating architecture. Dunt adeptly punctures a few myths Brexit supporters have circulated, such as the World Trade Organization’s potential role as the UK’s savior, and he disputes any vision that the post-Brexit world will be a place where establishing free trade deals will be easy or quick. He says the referendum question on the ballot paper was deceptively simple, but the reality of leaving the European Union will be anything but. While always politically neutral and while noting that the opinions here are those of the author, getAbstract recommends Dunt’s expert analysis  and concrete examples with the caveat that this isn’t a good-news report on what lies ahead for Britain.

Summary

Alternative Relationships with the EU

On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom’s European Union membership referendum resulted in a win for the “Leave” campaign. But the campaign and vote did not specify just how Britain would leave the EU or what relationship it would subsequently seek to have with the EU. Currently, a number of extra-EU members enjoy various political, legal and trade connections with the EU. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), which gives them trade access to the EU’s single market at a cost of partial membership payments to the EU budget. Norway cares deeply about its fishing industry, which it has defended quite effectively. In contrast, Britain’s financial services sector will be a harder interest group to defend in such an arrangement. Fundamentally, the Norway model cedes a great deal of sovereignty to the EU – and Norway has little say in the EU parliament, since it isn’t a member state. However, because sovereignty and the “take back control” slogan were important to Leave voters, the Norway model appears to be a nonstarter for the UK and its financial sector.

Switzerland, a successful, relatively...

About the Author

Ian Dunt is the editor of Politics.co.uk. He also writes for a variety of British newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian and The Times.

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