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Hard Brexit: Going for Broke?

Hard Brexit: Going For Broke?
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British Premier Theresa May just announced that the UK will seek a so-called "Hard Brexit" by completely pulling out of the EU and its market, though importantly retaining select security ties.

Her decision was heartily welcomed by Brexit supporters but decried by the “Bremainers” and the power structure in Brussels. Some people thought that she would have succumbed to the heavy institutional, media, and grassroots pressure to slowly disengage from the EU, potentially leaving space for London to eventually change its mind if it was so inclined at a future point. All of those dreams were dashed, however, when May directly spoke about the need for a clean and unambiguous break with the EU, with carries with it both opportunities but also quite a few challenges.

It’s undeniable that the EU’s hyper-liberal immigration and economic policies contributed to the deep discontent that many British citizens felt towards the continental bloc, but a few of those very same policies were somewhat beneficial for some segments of British society. For example, the UK economy profits handsomely from the immigration and consequent low-wage labor of thousands of Poles each year, and London bankers are in love with the EU’s economic strategy. However, large-scale and unrestricted immigration also contributed to much social tension as many non-European “refugees” swarmed into the British Isles over the past couple of years and sparked a highly publicized and extra emotive argument about the UK’s identity. Moreover, the EU’s open market created problems for some British businesses and wasn’t supported by some sectors.

The decision to carry out a “Hard Brexit” is a dramatic one which puts everything on the line for the UK. It could either turn out really well and be seen in hindsight as a socio-economic blessing, or it could disastrously fail and come to be regarded as a bungled opportunity which did much more harm than good. Theresa May is indeed going for broke by choosing the “Hard Brexit” option, but nevertheless, she’s still hedging her country’s international options by leaving open the possibility of security cooperation with the EU, which is an interesting ‘soft’ twist to a ‘hard’ solution.

To discuss the decision in more detail we are joined by Patrick Minford, Professor of Applied Economics at Cardiff Business School and co-author of “Should Britain leave the EU? Economic analysis of a troubled relationship”. Later in the show Andrew Korybko is joined by Alan Bailey, political activist from the Staffordshire.

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