The Brexit Election That Wasn't
At the heart of Britain’s election, there is an absence. In a campaign which has been knocked sideways by terrorist violence, cack-handed U.S. presidential interventions, and some extraordinary acts of political self-harm, it is the one true constant: No one says anything meaningful about Brexit.
From outside the U.K., it seems absurd. In under two years’ time, unless the government can secure a transitional arrangement, the country will drop out the European Union without a deal. And then things get really messy.
Customsstations and hard borders would suddenly spring up in areas which haven't had them for decades, including Ireland. Brexit would detonate like a bomb on the global trading network. No regulators would have been set up to replace the EU ones, triggering chaos across markets, fromWith no sign that the government plans to offer a guarantee of residence, we can’t rule outthe possibility that millions of European citizens will be forced to leave the U.K. Similarly, we don’t yet know if another million and a half U.K. citizens living in Europe will have to return home.
