Brexit for Basics

On June 24th, the most Googled thing in the UK was "What is the EU?" - and there has been similar confusion since we, as a country, decided to leave the European Union.

You've probably heard a few things about Brexit. A red, white and blue Brexit. A Bargain Basement Brexit. That Brexit means Brexit. But...

Thankfully, I've managed to make it all a little easier to understand and digest than the complex political language the press and Government like to use...

Let's have a basic introduction to some of the main players.

1. Brexit is just a nickname.

Brexit is just a name for the UK's decision to leave the European Union, though it was being used before the EU Referendum on June 23rd 2016.

2. Brexit means a lot of change.

Of course, this doesn't just mean that we can say ta-ra to the EU overnight and be done with it. In the few days after the Referendum, the Prime Minister (David Cameron) resigned and his Home Secretary, Theresa May, took over. The Labour Party, who are in Opposition, thought they'd try to oust their leader Jeremy Corbyn, though he won another election later in the year.

3. We can't leave straight away. It's going to take some time to establish a deal with the EU and how the UK and EU can exist peacefully and positively with each other. It is only when this deal is struck that something called Article 50 can be triggered, which is the official legal process to exit the European Union.

4. There's been a lot of challenges.

There have been legal challenges surrounding the outcome of the Referendum, such as to allow Parliament (the House of Commons and the House of Lords) to vote on the final deal struck, and whether to trigger Article 50 or not.

5. There's also a big debate on the type of Brexit we should have.

This debate is basically just about under what conditions we leave the European Union - like whether we still allow free movement of trade or people. It's been given many names - Soft Brexit. Hard Brexit. Red, white and blue Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn called it a Bargain Basement Brexit. Others have called it a Little Britain Brexit. I know what you might be thinking when you hear that...

Just yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May gave a speech where she outlined twelve parts of a plan to make the best of leaving the European Union...

1. Providing certainty about the process of leaving the EU

Many people and businesses think it's very important to know what's going on with the deal about leaving the EU. There is a suspicion that an agreement will be made behind closed doors and dealt with behind closed doors, without the approval of Parliament - who are democratically elected as representatives of the people.

There have been many questions as to the process of leaving the EU in terms of topics such as people, trade and laws. The reality is that leaving the EU will affect different people in different ways, so to get definitive answers on what matters to them will allow people to prepare for what happens when we really do leave the EU.

This is where the Prime Minister confirmed that the final deal agreed between the UK and EU will be put to the Houses of Parliament (the House of Commons which is full of elected MPs, and the House of Lords which is made up of unelected experts and former politicians) and they will vote on it.

The Prime Minister said: "Where we can offer that certainty, we will do so."

2. Control of our own laws

One of the main reasons people decide to vote to leave the EU was so that Britain could have laws for its own people rather than being governed externally. This will mean, amongst other things, that there will be an end to the European Court of Justice in Britain, which has intervened in criminal cases in Britain which disagree with supposed British values.

A large part of the campaign to leave the EU was around the apparently daft laws made by the EU, such as the power of vacuum cleaners and flammability of materials (as you'll see with the guy trying to burn the EU flag below).

Laws will instead be made closer to home, in each of the four nations' capitals. Theresa May said: "We will not have truly left the European Union if we are not in control of our own laws".

3. Strengthening the union of the four nations within the UK

The four nations and their capitals within the UK are: England (Westminster in London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland (Edinburgh) and Northern Ireland (Belfast).

Back in 2014, Scotland had their own referendum on whether they wanted to remain a part of the UK - they decided, overall, to stay as they could remain part of the EU. For this reason, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU - 63% voted to remain, where 52% of the UK voted to leave the EU. After the EU referendum, Scotland's First Minister (leader of the Scottish Government) Nicola Sturgeon said there is a strong case for another Scottish independence referendum.

It's for this reason that the Prime Minister thinks it's more important than ever to keep the four nations together and have each of them involved in the decisions to be made in leaving the EU.

4. Maintaining the Common Travel Area with Ireland

The UK (in Northern Ireland) shares a land border with Ireland, which is a member of the EU. Membership of the EU means free movement of people (people can come and go as they please within the EU) on what's called a Common Travel Area. This border with Ireland was made before we even joined the EU back in the 1970s, so it is important that this is maintained in the future.

5. Immigration control - including people from Europe

Another key part of the argument to leave the EU was fears of immigration from Europe. In the last ten years, the net migration (the amount of people leaving the country against the amount of people coming into the country) has been rising to record levels - something which former Prime Minister David Cameron promised to tackle but failed to do.

Controlling immigration numbers is not something which can co-exist with membership of the EU, which arguably became a major reason for people to vote to leave. This is something which the Prime Minister feels she has to listen to as 'the will of the people' and has said that "We will ensure we can control immigration to Britain from Europe".

6. Rights for EU nationals in the UK, and for UK nationals in the EU

Despite this, she recognises that there are many people who live in the UK who come from Europe (3.3 million people), and there are many UK nationals living in Europe - some 1.2 million people.

Britain does, however, want to continue to attract highly skilled people to work here, such as academics and doctors. In her speech, the Prime Minister said she wants to guarantee the rights of these people living away from their home countries, however she cannot make a promise that EU citizens will be allowed to stay until the rights of UK citizens in Europe are guaranteed. "Many favour such an agreement, one or two do not", she said.

7. Protecting workers' rights

One of the concerns of the remain campaigners was that workers' rights, which are protected by European law, would be invalidated with independence from the EU. Such laws include health and safety, maternity and paternity leave, and protection against discrimination. Theresa May said: "Not only will the Government protect the rights of workers set out in European legislation, we will build on them."

8. Free trade with the EU through an agreement

Theresa May said that it is important to build a "Global Britain", with trade agreements starting ambitiously with the EU. She hopes to get free trade of goods and services between the UK and EU.

However, she does not want us to be a member of the Single Market any more - a concept which sees the EU as one large country with goods and services free to move between them. She said that this is not possible because it means free movement of people, which needs to be tackled. Instead a new Free Trade Agreement will be stuck and may take in parts of the current agreement. The Prime Minister said that: "because we will no longer be members of the Single Market, we will not be required to contribute huge sums to the EU budget" - though, if we want to agree to certain things, it may be appropriate to make a contribution.

9. New trade agreements with other countries

We won't just be limited to agreements with the EU, though - we can agree trade deals with countries such as China, Japan, the USA and even some states in the Middle East. Some of these have even expressed an interest in trading already, and there's been a Department for International Trade established, led by Dr Liam Fox MP.

The Prime Minister said she wants to establish trade agreements with both old friends and new allies, to make the best of leaving the EU.

10. UK as the best place for science and innovation

The UK has some great companies which pave the way in different industries, such as Jaguar Land Rover and Dyson. There are also a large number of highly successful universities which do incredible research, both academically and scientifically. A lot of money which funds this research comes from EU grants - which was, obviously, a big concern of academics across the country in the aftermath of leaving the EU.

That's why the Prime Minister aims to continue to work with Europe on major projects in science, technology and research initiatives.

11. Co-operation in the fight against crime and terrorism

In a world which has lots of serious crime and conflict, and with the increasing threat of terrorism, it is obviously a chance to shoot ourselves in the foot to turn our backs on refusing to work with Europe on such projects.

"Britain has led Europe on the measures needed to keep our continent secure," said the Prime Minister.

12. A smooth, orderly Brexit

In typical British fashion, Theresa May prioritised doing things calmly and smoothly. She said: "It is in no one’s interests for there to be a cliff-edge for business or a threat to stability" and said there would be no never-ending transitional period of uncertainty. She wants us to have reached an agreement with the EU by the time the two-year Article 50 process has concluded and, after that, things will be changed in phases and smoothly.

Watch the 45-minute speech in 50 seconds below.

#politics