Research Proposal: Understand the Voters Perception on Brexit and Its Implication On Ordinary People.

Introduction

Brexit has been one of the most discussed topics across in Europe and globally based on the controversies it has raised. Brexit can best be described as a terminology that is utilized to refer to the United Kingdom (UK) exiting the European Union (EU) (Hunt & Wheeler, 2018). On the 23rd June 2016, a referendum was held with a turnout of 72.2 percent with a majority win in support of the exit consisting of 52 percent voters and 48.1 percent on the opposition side (Hunt & Wheeler, 2018). It is this win with its low margin that set the pace for Britain to leave the European Union thus raising a number of key issues on the effect of the move on the country’s economy and whether the voters were fully informed of the risks and benefits in regard (NYT, 2017). My interest in undertaking the research project on Brexit is driven by the need to understanding the implications of the exit on ordinary people with respect to socio-economic lives. As a youth worker, interacting with individuals from different backgrounds, ethnicity and culture the project will help in appreciating diversity and the effect of the exit of every group. This project is essential because it addresses a rather sensitive issue that affects everyone thus understanding its complexity can be useful in proposing some feasible solutions to addressing this issue. This report will thus, seek to investigate on voter’s perception on Brexit, whether they were informed and the implications of Brexit on the UK and the effects of the UK exiting the European Union.

Research Aims

1. To determine Voter’s perception and attitude with respect to Brexit
2. To establish the impacts of Brexit on ordinary people.
3. To determine the role of Article 50 towards Brexit

Research Questions

1. What are the voter’s perception and attitude towards Brexit?
2. What motivated the referendum win and whether the voters were fully informed of what Brexit entails?
3. What are the effects of Brexit on ordinary people?

Preliminary Literature Review

According to Bowler (2017) for most individuals, the referendum subject has remained as a major surprise based on the controversy that it generated. In fact, it is the turnout of the voters during the referendum that illustrated the existing doubts regarding the issue even after the country joined EU in 1973 (Fabbrini, 2018). The fact impact of Brexit was the resignation of David Cameroon as the United Kingdom’s prime minister. Even with the slight margin win the current Prime minister who in had been in strong opposition to the exit Theresa May made the decision of supporting it after terming it to be the people’s will. Some of the individuals that voted for Britain to exit the European Union argued that their decision was grounded on the notion that issues within the United Kingdom should be addressed within without having to follow protocols created by others. The term Brexit was designed by the media in describing the intentions of Britain leaving the EU (NYT, 2017). Through the referendum, individuals signified the need for the nation to exit the European Union.

The procedure to be adhered to, when leaving the EU by any nation is monitored and controlled by Article 50 of the EU abiding treaty (Acton, 2016). The article was therefore triggered as the UK submitted a formal letter with detailed and applicable arguments to the EU stating its wish to exit. Based on the provisions of article 50, the exiting procedure from the EU takes two years which seeks to incorporate negotiations while seeking to clearly define the existing terms of the member (Acton, 2016). It is worth noting that Brexit referendum failed to assert on the existing terms and it remains the responsibility of the country’s prime minister to choose an approach of exiting that best guard the interest of the people (Acton, 2016).

Negotiations are underway and at the end, they will lead to two major options for the exit. This is hard and soft Brexit. Hard Brexit style can best be stated that the United Kingdom will be independent fully from all principles of EU (Acton, 2016). In this context, it means that EU will not have the authority of forcing the UK to implement different procedures that will, in turn, restrict the free movement of individuals from and into the European nations. In addition, the legitimate framework of Britain will acquire independence from all the developed measures and guidelines along with the EU case laws. In this context, it becomes evident that certain tariffs are to be applied on goods exported or brought from the UK, a trend that would raise the trade expenses for the country thus leading to economic decline. Contrary the Soft Brexit style would generally permit the UK to evade goods imports and exports charges while still reserving a section of its present privileges as the EU member. It is rather evident that the most successful exit that would result in less harm to the UK people, its economy, and trading competence is the Soft Brexit. In that, the country will gain a high degree of independence in regard to developing its own control measures as well as seeking to ensure that its trade rights that build up its economy and assert on social welfare are not affected (NYT, 2017). It cannot be denied that without low-cost trade the living cost will be affected and ordinary individuals will be subjected to poverty due to increased living cost an aspect that will affect UK’s stability.

There are a number of reasons that pressure UK people to back up Brexit. To begin with, UK is worried about the increasing rate of immigrants in the state which is bound to affect its economy and stability by creating high reliance rate yet as a member of EU it cannot make independent decisions to prevent the movement (Musaddique, 2017). Secondly, communication is an aspect that has been affected dearly particularly in the political platforms. A significant number of persons that voted for Brexit did so without an adequate understanding of the whole subject. This is because the notion was mainly being adopted by some influential people such as Boris Johnson which might have driven and lured the voting choices of most voters (Hunt & Wheeler, 2018). It is worth noting that most individuals in the UK mainly believe that Brexit is the best solution to the existing sovereignty and economic issues in the UK. In that, the lack of independence has caused a number of notable financial risks that will affect the country highly. However, there are those that believe that leaving is more harmful given that even with political independence the country will not be able to make economic moves given that the cost of trade will increase rather rapidly (Finn, 2017). For instance, the banking industry will be affected heavily by Brexit since most financial institutions are engaged in cross banking thus the exit will mean that the UK will have to cover for the growing investment borrowing amid firms and individuals on its own after the EU passports privileges have been lost (Acton, 2016). In addition, the country would be forced to end collaborations and transactions with customers from abroad an aspect that threatens the financial sector in the country.

It is anticipated that Brexit would result in a 25 percent business or trading reduction (Outhwaite, 2017). The impact of the exit would be adverse on Britain’s economy particularly if the negotiations end with the hard version (Outhwaite, 2017). It cannot also be ignored that the exit will have some potential advantages in the long run. In that, the country would be able to expand its economic abilities and mainly focus on growing its business activities in general based on the act that it will no longer be limited to trading in a limited region (Musaddique, 2017). These means that the living standard of ordinary individuals will rise with the employment rate decreasing further as the immigration measures will seek to regulate individual’s movements. This is socio-economically beneficial since the public will be exposed to a range of options that mainly seek to ensure that the social standards are raised. With more economic abilities then the country can fully support its social needs such as healthcare and education (NYT, 2017).

Proposed Methodology

The study will utilize a mixed methodology that incorporates both qualitative and quantitative research while following a descriptive design. In that, the method was selected based on its ability to generate maximum information within the shortest period at convenience (Vogt, Gardner & Haeffele, 2012). The subject of discussion is broad and through the method, the concepts can be narrowed to answer the study’s research questions.

Data Collection

Both secondary and primary data will be collected. Secondary information will be obtained from books, journals, and articles from the online platform. On the other hand, questionnaires and interviews will be utilized on a selected sample population for the study. This method is cost-efficient and will assist in the generation of accurate and reliable data that seeks to fulfill the objectives of the research.

This research touches a sensitive issue and therefore ethical consideration will be of the essence. The participants will be informed fully of their rights and the use of the research and that it is voluntary and their participation can be rejected at wish. In addition, for confidentiality anonymity is encouraged and the analysis will be done by the researcher fully and the findings are only to be utilized for academic reasons.

Conclusion

Brexit appears to be characterized by both opportunities and risks. In reference to the economy, exiting EU would increase the trading abilities of UK by expanding its trading routes with no restrictions. However, trade with other EU members would be affected by the increased trade tariffs. Brexit will only be beneficial for the long-run while in the short-run the ordinary people will be subjected to increased living expenses. The most successful exit based on the above analysis would be the soft version that will ensure that the UK maintains its economic privileges but gains sovereignty and increased ability to control its own issues. Simultaneously, the country’s ability to control major issues such as immigration would be certain. This research project is essential in adding knowledge in regard to the source of the exit, major implications and propose most feasible solutions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Acton, G. (2016). All You Need To Know About Article 50 And The Brexit Process. Retrieved      from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/29/brexit-article-50-process-trigger.html

Bowler, T. (2017). How Has The Economy Fared Since The Brexit Vote? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36956418

Fabbrini, F. (2018). The law & politics of brexit. Oxford University Press.

Finn, M. I. K. E. (2017). British Universities In The Brexit Moment: Political, Economic And Cultural Implications. S.L.: Emerald Group Publ.

Hunt, A. & Wheeler, B. (2018). Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887

Musaddique, S. (2017). Cost Of Brexit: The Impact On Business And The Economy In 2017 And Beyond. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-economy-sterling-currency-investment-cost-impact-business-financial-banks-insurance-retail-a7695486.html

New-York, Times. (2017). How ‘Brexit’ Could Change Business in Britain. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/international/brexit-uk-what-happens-business.html

Outhwaite, W. (2017). Brexit: Sociological responses. Anthem Press.

Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design. New York: Guilford Press.Bottom of Form