‘Bregret’ as gloom hangs over 3rd Brexit anniversary

BRITISH Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended Brexit as a “huge opportunity” yesterday, as the UK marked three years since leaving the EU amid an economic crisis and a growing public sense of “Bregret”.

On January 31, 2020, the UK ended 47 years of belonging to the EU and its predecessor, the EEC, soon after Boris Johnson won a resounding election victory for the Conservatives with his promise to “get Brexit done”.

An Ipsos poll last week found 45% of people in Britain think Brexit is going worse than they expected.

“In the three years since leaving the EU, we’ve made huge strides in harnessing the freedoms unlocked by Brexit to tackle generational challenges,” Sunak said in a statement. “I’m determined to ensure the benefits of Brexit continue to empower communities and businesses right across the country.”

The prime minister, who will also mark 100 days in office this week, said the UK had “forged a path as an independent nation with confidence” and “that momentum hasn’t slowed”.

He said this included Europe’s fastest vaccine rollout, trade deals with 70 countries and “taking control of our borders”.

The statement came as Sunak faces numerous challenges, with thousands of UK workers striking over pay that has been outpaced by soaring inflation. The cost-of-living crisis has hit millions and inflation has soared above 10%. While saving the state-funded health service (NHS) was a keystone of the Brexit campaign, nurses and ambulance staff are now striking over pay and working conditions.

Brexit, which was in part a backlash against the free movement of people and goods across the EU, has led to restrictions that have hit food supplies to the UK and made it harder to hire foreign workers. Yet the number of migrants making the Channel crossing to claim asylum in the UK reached a record level of 45 000 last year.

The UK has also seen a period of political instability, with three prime ministers last year.

Sunak did not mention the problems in Northern Ireland surrounding post-Brexit trading agreements that have led to months of negotiations between London and Brussels and paralysed self-government in Belfast.

“Today’s Brexit anniversary marks three years of political mayhem and economic calamity,” a columnist wrote in left-wing broadsheet The Guardian.

Even right-wing broadsheet The Sunday Telegraph wrote there was “a growing sense of ‘Bregret’ taking hold in Britain”.

A study by Bloomberg Economics published on Tuesday said: “Brexit is costing the UK economy 100 billion pounds a year, with the effects spanning everything from business investment to the ability of companies to hire workers”. Nevertheless, even the opposition in parliament is not calling for Brexit to be reversed.

Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, has vowed to reconnect with Europe but ruled out taking the UK back into the EU or its single market.

The IMF downgraded its UK growth forecast on Monday, predicting its economy would contract by 0.6% this year.