I got a lot of interesting notes on the maps I published earlier this week from “stay” campaign. The maps exaggerated isolation the UK would face should it leave the European Union. This was by design, to make it look like Britain will be diminished and vulnerable outside the EU.
Many readers asked a simple question: did Britain not trade with the rest of the world before the European Union? Isn’t the world outside the EU larger than the EU? Wasn’t there life and commerce before there was a common market?
Yes. Yes. And yes!
This map exaggerates as well. But the report from which it’s taken makes some important points. You can export to the EU without being a member of the EU. America does it. You can negotiate trade deals without being a member of a trading bloc. Australia does it. And even if it leaves the EU, Britain has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, is a member of the G7 and the G20, and would be a member of the World Trade Organisation.
The ‘leave’ campaign fears change. The truth is no one knows what how disruptive leaving would be. But it’s bound to be a lot more disruptive for the EU than for the UK. That’s what the EU fears the most – that Britain will be the first to leave, but not the last. Once the exit path is clear, others may follow.
Category: Brexit