Hey you Brexiteer Brits, how painful was that decision you all made back in 2016? That promise of independence from those awful Europeans and a restart of those great old days when England ruled the waves. Well, it’s starting to look shaky at the moment.
First of all, if they ran the referendum today, a lot of the people that actually voted without a clue would now reverse their vote and vote to remain. But of course, this puts the current government in a sticky position as they pledge to honor the will of the people during that awful referendum vote. Meanwhile, because of the uncertainty, the effects are starting to play out in the economy.
I was chatting with a leading provider of jobs to the European youth market at the World Travel Market. She reported that applicants from Europeans for jobs in the service industry were 30% down year-on-year and they weren’t being replaced by Brits. These were the Spanish, Italian, French, you name it, all looking for that first year or two in a base industry to perfect their English and have fun in a capital city like London or Manchester. 30% down and where were they going? To other European cities like to Amsterdam, to Dublin, and to Scandinavia. Not to mention, there are about 100,000 jobs that are already projected to leave the financial center as companies begin to develop strategies around Brexit.
At least in American politics, when we have a polarized political situation (as we do now) we can at least count the days down before we go to the voting booth again. Brexit has no statute of limitations, it’s forever….like a cold sore, except we really know what it is, we just don’t like to call it by that name in public. I think one day they might want to put a statue up of David Cameron under the title “The Architect of the Most Devastating Decision that will Linger Forever in the annals of English History.”
Oh well. Abajo y atrás.
