“Letter from Edinburgh” – The E U vote

Submitted by Charles Burns
June 26, 2016 1:00 a.m.

I happened to be in Edinburgh when the United Kingdom (UK) voted, 52% to 48%, to leave the European Union (EU). I am here often, visiting my grandchildren. (What lengths we will go to for the opportunity to read “The Philharmonic Gets Dressed” to a three year old.) Anyway, that’s the extent of my being an expert on this subject.

Some observations from here:

1) Let’s get my opinion out of the way. I thought the UK had a pretty good deal. It is in the EU and even had negotiated some special privileges regarding social benefits that other EU countries don’t have, yet it is NOT part of the Schengen Agreement nor is it a member of the Eurozone (EZ). (There be dragons, for sure.) The failings of the EU are plenty, but I thought the UK had the best of all worlds. Clearly, 52% of the UK electorate doesn’t agree. It is useful to see how, geographically, the UK voted:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/24/world/europe/how-britain-voted-brexit-referendum.html?_r=0

Note that Scotland didn’t even have one voting district that voted to leave the EU.

2) Since 1945, virtually all of the many agreements between the European countries have had one primary goal: to prevent another war on European soil, between European nations. Oddly, in all of the discussions (arguments, screaming) prior to the vote, I didn’t see this topic brought up. Don’t think Putin hasn’t thought of it. Don’t think the Baltic states aren’t worried this week. Here’s a link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathanfreeman/brexit-trump-and-the-end-_b_10653434.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics

3) How does this all play out? Not nearly so simply as the Leave voters might have thought. From the formal notification to the EU, which won’t happen until at least October, after David Cameron’s replacement takes office, there is a period of two years during which all the aspects of the relationship between UK and EU are negotiated. It could very well be that, after the negotiations, things look pretty much the same except that the UK isn’t in the EU anymore. (What’s in a name?) Or, it could be dramatically different. The EU countries are tired of the UK’s always wanting exceptions for itself and so might be feeling punitive. Except for that part about the UK having the second largest economy in Europe.

Hmmm. What to do? Here is an article from The Guardian describing the complexity of secession from the EU:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/24/brexit-won-vote-remain-eu-article-50-lisbon-treaty-referendum-david-cameron

And of course, all of us want to have our cake and eat it too:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/brexit-cornwall-issues-plea-for-funding-protection-after-county-overwhelmingly-votes-in-favour-of-a7101311.html

4) What the heck is the United Kingdom, anyway? I mean, England, right? Well, no.

Here’s that: “a country of western Europe consisting of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; pop. 61,113,200 (est. 2009); capital, London. Full name United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” It’s old. Wales was annexed in the 1500’s, Scotland signed up n the 1700’s, and Northern Ireland in the 1800’s. (Loosely.)

5) So, what about Scotland? Didn’t they just recently vote to stay in the United Kingdom? Yes, but that’s so last year. Now that question is back in play. As you can see from the earlier map, Scotland absolutely wants to be a part of the EU. There could be another referendum This could be the beginning of the breakup of the United Kingdom. On the other hand, all these relationships are so intertwined that divorce just simply isn’t so easy or even desirable, once it’s looked at closely. Here’s a link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36621030

6) What about immigration? The idea of immigration was clearly the biggest driver of the vote, which carried by enormous margins in the English countryside. We all know what immigration looks like in the US (or we at least think we do). It’s very different here. Many of the store workers I interact with are Polish millennials. Yes, they speak English. Yes, they are very pleasant.

But also, just a few degrees of separation from me a different kind of immigration than is common in the US. My daughter, a librarian, is an American immigrant to the UK (she fell in love with a Scotsman and then found a job). She is in Edinburgh. My son, a professor of religion, is an American immigrant to Germany (They offered him a job) His wife, a lawyer, is a Bosnian immigrant to Germany. (Again, a job.) They live in Berlin.

My niece, a teacher and FBHS graduate, is an American immigrant to the UK. Her husband, an entrepreneur from North Carolina, is an American immigrant to the UK, who owns a business with his British business partners. The business has branches in several EU countries. They live in London.

My daughter’s sister-in-law, a teacher, is a UK immigrant to France. Her husband, a nuclear engineer, is a UK immigrant to France. They live outside of Marseilles.

See how integrated the EU and the UK (and the US, for that matter) are? Are all these folks going to “get back to where they once belonged,” to quote the Beatles? Not a chance.

If you are really feeling wonky, here’s a link that demonstrates that there isn’t that much immigration in the areas that carried the vote:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/24/voting-details-show-immigration-fears-were-paradoxical-but-decisive

7) Well, who is in the English countryside? Mostly older voters who fear the loss of their Engish identity won’t be worth the trade-off for the integrated culture of Europe. Their children are not so concerned.

8) And then there’s the enormously complex and tragic refugee situation wherein millions of refugees from the religious wars of the Mideast are looking to Europe to start a new life. No one in Europe really has any idea what to do about this given the magnitude of the situation.

Enough about politics and money. I need to go find another Reading Rainbow selection to further the mind meld of the US/UK/EU.

Editor’s Note: Charles Burns was born in Fernandina and is the eldest son of the late Paul C. and Annie Partin Burns.