Why did the United Kingdom leave the European Union and was it a good or bad decision?

Answer 1

The UK voters that favored an exit were mostly motivated by two fears: 1) the fear that the UK was being overrun, firstly by east European workers pushing British workers out of their jobs and taking over the work; and secondly, by Third World refugees without any useful qualifications who would only become an unemployed underclass and a huge drain on the British social security system. And 2) they felt that the EU was continually working at creating a supra-national State, making ever more rules and regulations and taking power away from individual nations that so were losing all say over their own destiny.

The British moreover and understandably have somewhat of an 'island mentality' that makes them cherish very much their "Britishness' and makes them wary of foreign influx and meddling.

How this decision will work out is uncertain. The politicians and economists in favor of an exit have argued that this newfound freedom will be good for its financial services industry, that it will give the UK new commercial opportunities and that is will keep British society together and the social system sustainable. Politicians and economists that are pro-EU argue that this will mean the end of London as a financial center and that Britain's prospects of economic growth will decline. Only time will tell how this exit will work out, however.

Answer 2

The United Kingdom left the European Union for four major reasons. However, all of these reasons are either smoke and mirrors or issues endemic to British society and will not be resolved by Brexit. Instead, Brexit will create some economic and political difficulties in Britain in the near term because of the exit of Britain from European Free-Trade area, but it will not be a horrendous decision, just a generally bad one (like a check-minus, not a failure).

1) Immigration: In the European Union, all countries are required to allow citizens of any other European Union country (all 28 of them) to move freely within the Union. This led to large migrations of Eastern Europeans, especially Poles, into the United Kingdom. As a separate issue, Britain has large Immigration coming from outside of Europe, especially from the Indian subcontinent. This immigration is changing the United Kingdom and resulting in the creation of minority ghettos and the increasing proliferation of very traditional and radical Islam in the UK.

Commentary: The European Union immigrants are generally not causing problems in the UK. Similar to the Hispanic immigrants in the United States, the vast majority of EU foreign workers in the UK are performing jobs and services that Britons, by and large, do not want to do. As for the non-European immigrants, this has nothing to do with the European Union. Were Britain a full member of the Schengen Agreement, British immigration would be regulated by the EU, but Britain is a partial member and is directly responsible for its own immigration policy. Only British domestic policy can resolve the issues associated with Non-EU citizen immigration.

2) Political Correctness: In the United Kingdom, political correctness is extremely prevalent, with all of that entails, such as Intersectional Feminism and White-Shaming, denial of Islamism and Jihadism as being issues in the Muslim community, caring about certain people's "offense", and the labeling of anyone who disagrees by supporting British values as a racist and a bigot. Increasingly states within the European Union, including the United Kingdom have used hate speech laws to silence dissent from politically correct views about immigration, Islam, Euroskepticism, and other topics.

Commentary: This issue arises through a false association. Since political correctness of this type is also prevalent throughout Europe, many Britons associate this type of language with the European Union, which is incorrect. There is no "European Union Law" (be it a directive or regulation) that deals with political correctness, but it is a recent set of cultural norms. Britons will have to choose to accept or reject these norms with or without the European Union.

3) Escaping the European Supra-State: The European Union is a set of European Bureaucrats who make a number of laws designed to harmonize standards and laws across the continent. The governing agencies of the European Union are primarily undemocratic. The European Commission (executives of the EU) are appointed by national leaders. The justices of Europe Court of Justice (supreme court of the EU) are also appointed. Of the two chambers of the legislative branch, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, only the EU Parliament is subject to direct elections by citizens of the country. This results in serious lack of democratic representation in the European Union. People should not have laws made for them by a number of faceless bureaucrats appointed by national politicians, but by people they choose.

Commentary: This is the only serious issue and ideological point made by those who wish to leave the European Union make that has merit. It is a question between individual democracy and liberty and between using experts in particular matters who are not subject to popular whims and educational failures. The European Union government makes a number of really great decisions on major commercial and trade issues, but is not accountable to the people. So, the question is whether effective governance or democracy is more desirable.

4) National Healthcare Service (NHS): One of the arguments made by Brexit Leaders is that the UK forfeits 350 billion pounds annually to the European Union as aid to the poorer EU nations (which is true) and that this money would then be put into the British National Healthcare Service (which is now appearing to be false). Many elderly in the UK wanted the NHS to have more funding for them and, therefore, voted for Brexit to fund NHS.

Commentary: This was a particularly egregious lie spread by Brexit Leadership regarding Brexit. While the lack of democracy in the European Union is a serious issue that Brexit may help resolve for the UK, this was a patent lie to drive up votes and the Brexit leaders who made these points, like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farrage, should be ashamed of their conduct.