I’m well-versed in American government, but not as familiar with UK law. I was confused about the mechanics of “Brexit”. This simplification improved my understanding.
The government today lost its Supreme Court appeal and an Act of Parliament will now be required to trigger the infamous Article 50. But just what is Article 50? Lecturer in EU law Dr Joelle Grogan and her colleague Georgia Price, Department and Programme Administrator in the School of Law, explain with the aid of Post-its.
Post-it photo by JogiBaer2 (CC BY 2.0)
Invisible Mikey 
Thanks. Please post Tuesday’s result.
The result is at the top, before the Post-it notes, Ghoh. (I missed that the first time I read this.)
Mikey,
There is also the problem of “Hard” Brexit v’s “Soft” Brexit.. If I understand it correctly then Soft Brexit is a gradual exit from the EU, a bit-by-bit approach whilst a Hard Brexit is more of an instant termination.
From watching the BBC I get the idea that the Brits would prefer a Soft Brexit so that they can sort out problems gradually over the two year exit period, so Out in some thing directly, other things left until the end of the time limit.
The Brits are also clearly keen to retain as many of the benefits of the EU as possible… especially to be taken on with a “special relationship” as far as trade is concerned. Basically they want to have their cake and eat it too.
On the other hand, from watching Dutch News and hearing other European leaders, they would prefer a Hard Brexit, with the attitude ” you are either in the Club or out of it”. They are also not really willing to give the UK any “Special Relationship”, preferring to make it clear that as a non member you take the same deals and tarrifs that the rest of the world have to when trading with the EU.
I totally understand the Dutch Premier… the UK should not get a preferential deal that would make other member states wonder if having their cake and eating it too would be a good option. I think that the EU is only strong when we all work together, so it’s fine if the UK wishes to leave the club, but they should hand back all the benefits that go with membership… it’s all or nothing. Cherry picking is not an option.
I know that that probably won’t go down well with the Brits… but the system has to be fair ….not just for the Brits but also for all of the other EU member states as well. The EU didn’t ask them to leave, they made their own choice. Some actions have consequences and we all have to live with the consequences of our actions, good or bad.
Looking at it from the US, it’s hard for me just to understand how many players are involved, and what powers each has, let alone adding another kind of Brexit to the mix. Thank you for the clarification!
You are most welcome!
One of the biggest issues that people are worrying about on both the EU and UK side, is that of people currently working abroad.
I have UK colleagues for instance, they may work in The Netherlands because they are EU citizens: what happens with their status after the UK leaves the EU? This is also true of Continental Europeans working in the UK.
I hear a lot of people (Brits) interviewed on the BBC complaining about the huge influx of European migrants come to the UK for work. In the case of Romania and Hungary I can understand it: they comprise mostly unskilled labour and some companies have been employing them “black” for below minimum wage, therefore unskilled Brits are not being considered for these jobs. On the other hand, many of these people also do jobs that Brits are unwilling to do: fruit picking, field work for vegetables, really hard work for a low wage. Or industries like factories and hotels: cleaners, chamber maids etc.
Those complaining seem to want all of these “unwanted” people to “go home” but appear to have not considered the some 3+ million Brits employed around Europe, who would have to leave if a similar “go home” retaliation were to take place from European countries.
In many cases too, professions like nursing rely on skilled European workers… likewise there are many very skilled Brits in positions around Europe, it could get very messy and uncertain for these people.
In some cases these Brits have maybe Irish grandparents… under current UK law that entitles them to an Irish and thus EU passport, so understandably there has been a massive rush to get Irish passports before Article 50 is triggered just in case this loophole closes.
There was a case on TV a week or so ago where a Dutch lady is married to a Brit, has lived and works in England for 25 years, has three British born kids,… and was stunned to get a letter from UK Immigration telling her that she would have to leave the country within a stated time. They were justifiably horrified and scared.
It turns out that she was in the process of applying for British nationality and had been turned down! (Ergo the letter)
Later it turns out that the refusal was deemed to be an error and her British nationality bid would be successful upon appeal, but it goes to show that a knee jerk reaction to a lot of “foreigners” in the UK and the stress that is being put upon some people. They had to pay a lawyer to look at the case and foot the bill for the mistake of the Immigration department so I can see that this kind of unnecessary mess is only going to make hardship for genuine people too.
Brixit is a far from simple process and since many of the factors that will be part of it are still “unknowns”, I imagine that many hard working, decent people will be unwilling pawns caught up in this political game.
You just hit the nail.👌