Londoners, have your say on ‘Brexit: A Year On’

Over a year has passed since the historic 2016 UK EU Membership Referendum took place. As negotiations between the UK Government and the EU teeter on, a spectre of uncertainty lingers over a capital city that overwhelmingly voted to remain. This uncertainty about the outcome of the negotiations has a direct impact on the economy, industry, employment opportunities, and how we view ourselves and are viewed on the world stage.

There are, of course, very different scenarios that could play out — it isn’t yet clear whether a ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ Brexit will materialise. Undoubtedly, these negotiations have turned out to be considerably more complex than most anticipated or would care to admit. Moreover, we are no closer to fathoming what Brexit actually entails now than we were a year ago. The underlying questions endure: what sort of deal would constitute a good Brexit — and for whom would it be good for?

“The British government has still no clear Brexit plan. Prime Minister Theresa May is concerned with numerous side issues involved, but has no control over the final strategy” — De Telegraff, Dutch newspaper

Regionally, London is surrounded by Brexit-backing neighbours. How London voted in the referendum suggests the capital will remain an outward looking global city, though. Across the 33 local authority districts of the Greater London administrative area, 59.9 per cent (2.26 million) voted in favour of remaining. However, there were boroughs that saw the ‘remain’ vote exceed 70 per cent. Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Havering, Hillingdon, and Sutton bucked the trend and supported Brexit.

LSE / Centre for Economic Performance research conducted by Swati Dhingra, Stephen Machin and Henry G. Overman, highlights the local economic impact of Brexit. According to their findings, it is the more affluent, economically developed cities — particularly those specialised in financial and business service sectors — that will be hit hardest by increases in trade barriers associated with Brexit. Harder still by a ‘hard Brexit’.

Public attitudes

There continues to be an assumption held by commentators that public attitudes to Brexit will change. Broadly speaking, polls taken since the referendum paint a very different picture. When asked ‘In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the European Union?’, polls consistently highlight that the public, on the whole, has strengthened their convictions, with only a little movement on both sides.

Seemingly, the consensus amongst commentators and analysts would have it that decisions made in the next two years will likely have repercussions on many aspects of life in London. That’s why it is important that Londoners have opportunities to have their views heard.

Brexit survey

The London Assembly would like to find out the views of Londoners on such things as how you feel about the negotiations process and our priorities in them, and whether your opinions have changed over the past year.

Taking part in the survey is easy. You can do so online here, alternatively, the survey can be found at www.surveygizmo.eu/s3/90041208/Brexit.

Brexit: A Year On by London Assembly Member, Fiona Twycross, provides an overview of public opinion over the year since the EU referendum as a background to the survey.