The indicators of the British economic crisis are visible to all.
The highest inflation in 40 years.
The cost of energy through the roof.
Working families starting to go hungry.
And although the war in Ukraine and the pandemic have contributed to worsening the situation, it is inevitable to note, 3 years after the official departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union,
the problems generated by "Brexit" far outweigh the benefits
that its promoters had promised.
Following the 2016 referendum in which almost 52% of voters voted in favor of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, the separation
became effective on January 31, 2020
.
Now many Britons think it was a mistake, while the end of free movement has impacted both the job market and the importation of goods.
In the City of London, one of the most important financial districts in the world, the difficulties in importing food and finding suitable professionals have been felt particularly acutely since leaving the EU.
In Hispania, a traditional Spanish restaurant that serves at least 400 dishes, including tapas, hams and main courses,
the 20% increase in food prices
and imports have forced them to resort to other solutions.
Disappointment over Brexit is felt across the UK.
Photo: AFP
"The fish we import require some documentation. As we don't want to risk being retained, because that's when the fish begins to lose its useful life, now we buy it from fishmongers in London," said Hispania's manager, Javier Fernández, to Radio France International (RFI).
Added to this is the lack of staff that further complicates the operation of the restaurant.
"We are authorized by the government to be able to apply for visas. We are a restaurant very focused on Spanish gastronomy and wines, which is why we need people who know these products, but it is very expensive and it is a very complicated process. It is difficult to put it in march, so we prefer to continue managing a bit with the options we have here", explains Fernández.
Shortage of personnel and material
The staff shortage is not limited to the hospitality industry.
A ten minute walk from the Hispania restaurant, also in the City, the Mexican dentist Gina Vega
recounts the difficulties in finding a nurse
.
"Last year it took us
up to six months
to find a good nurse who was qualified and had the work ethic we were looking for. Now, for example, one of our nurses decided to change professions and we've been looking for someone for three months with no luck." Vega states.
Essential elements for dentistry
are difficult to obtain due to the new import procedures.
"There is a lot of material or brands of material that come from Germany, Switzerland or other parts of Europe. We have access to the material but not the variety that we had before," she adds.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the person responsible for finalizing the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.
Photo: AFP
According to the
Financial Times
newspaper , because of Brexit more than 300,000 people would be missing from the labor force in the country.
The King's College of London expert, Jonathan Portes, considers that
the United Kingdom is no longer an attractive employment destination
for Europeans due to the end of free movement.
exhaustion and regret
The inhabitants of Grays, a town 30 kilometers east of London, voted massively in favor of Brexit.
In the Thurrock constituency, where Grays is the largest city with some 75,000 inhabitants,
72.3% of voters voted in favor of Brexit
in the 2016 referendum. This makes it the fourth of the 382 in the country that voted the most for leaving the European Union (EU).
Three years after leaving, however, the situation looks radically different.
"I voted for Brexit, but
I regret it
," admits Maria Yvars, a 42-year-old psychotherapist, who says she feels cheated by politicians.
"They did not give us all the data (...)
they sold us something that did not exist
," she adds, while she laments that "this country is now like a ship without a captain."
Thurrock, a former industrial area on the Thames estuary that was able to attract many emigrants from Eastern Europe, is a region that has suffered for years and the current crisis, with inflation above 10%, only makes things worse: after a series of disastrous investments,
the city council filed for bankruptcy
in December.
A shopping center in Thurrock, a region where Brexit disappointment reigns.
Photo: Bloomberg
According to a YouGov poll published in November,
support for leaving the EU has never been lower
.
Less than a third of Britons think it was a good decision.
One in five of those who voted in favor have changed their minds.
In Grays, most of the passers-by AFP tried to interview turned away as soon as the word "Brexit" was uttered, perhaps out of exhaustion.
"I'm not interested," replied the most polite.
"
What did Brexit supporters expect
?" launched an NHS employee, the public health system under enormous pressure from years of austerity, in favor of having remained in the European bloc.
"We have lost EU funding!"
Saving the NHS was one of the Brexit promises.
"We send the EU 350 million pounds per week. Instead, let's finance the NHS", could be read in 2016 on the red buses of the pro Brexit campaign.
But now the health system is on its last legs, and in December the nurses began an unprecedented national strike in the country.
Source: AFP and RFI
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