Britain’s last wave goodbye
British statesman Winston Churchill famously used his fingers to signal ‘V’ for victory. This weekend, a new generation has given a very different gesture.
Boris Johnson moved to take power in Britain last night as he assembled a dream team to renegotiate relations with Europe and the world.
Johnson and fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove were tipped to join forces and lead Britain through its greatest period of uncertainty since World War II after Prime Minister David Cameron sensationally said he would step down by October.
Another tumultuous day following the Brexit vote saw: $2 trillion wiped off stock markets. More than a million Brits sign a petition calling for a second referendum.
Cracks begin to appear in the ‘‘Leave’’ campaign, with UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage excluded from the cross-party committee to negotiate Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Credit ratings agency Moody’s downgrade the UK Government’s bond rating from stable to negative.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn come under increasing pressure to quit after a front-bench revolt.
Amid the ongoing fallout, a silver lining appeared for Kiwis wanting to live and work in the UK – Johnson is widely expected to offer New Zealanders greater opportunities.
The bookmakers’ favourite for the job of PM has repeatedly called for greater freedom of movement for New Zealanders – and experts believe it’s only a matter of time before Kiwis may be free to live and work in Britain, after years of erosion to access rights.
NZ Initiative executive director Oliver Hartwich said there were potential benefits for Kiwis, but we shouldn’t expect anything to happen overnight.
Britain still had to formally withdraw from the EU, and the process would likely take ‘‘until the end of the decade’’, he said.
Hartwich said it could become a lot easier for New Zealanders with a travel bug to nab themselves a visa – but this all depended on who took over from Cameron.
‘‘Should it be Boris, he’s gone on and on about making it easier for Kiwis to go to the UK,’’ Hartwich said.
‘‘If you’re hoping for better visa availability, you should definitely be in the Boris Johnson boat.’’
In 2013, the then-London mayor called for the UK open its doors to an unlimited number of New Zealanders, saying restrictions were ‘‘disgraceful’’.
Johnson said Britain had betrayed its relationships with Commonwealth countries and called for ‘‘bilateral free labour mobility zones’’.
Prime Minister John Key said yesterday that once the exit process for the UK goes through, New Zealand would have to renegotiate its trade access and migration access agreements.
Key said he’d had assurance from British officials and the European Union that there would be no immediate change in the status access of both goods and people. Hartwich said another silver lining for Kiwis was the likelihood Britain would attempt to build up its trading ties with the Commonwealth.
‘‘They will need some friends. Once they are out of the EU they’ll need to strengthen some other trade ties.’’
Britain would be ‘‘starting from scratch’’ and didn’t have much experience in establishing these ties, Hartwich said, whereas New Zealand has a long and successful history in forming these connections.
‘‘My advice would be for New Zealand to send a free trade agreement to Britain to negotiate a trading deal,’’ he said.
‘‘Britain already provides a great export market for New Zealand, our lamb, beef, dairy and pretty much everything we produce.’’
As the decision to leave the European Union continued to send shockwaves around the world yesterday, many painted a bleak outlook for the global economy.
Last night the founding European Union countries – Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – held urgent talks to try to avoid a domino effect of departures.
German Foreign Minister FrankWalter Steinmeier warned against ‘‘depression and paralysis’’ in the EU.