Lesson video

Hello.

My name is Ms. Okomi, and I am a teacher from London.

I'm going to be taking you through today's lesson.

We've got lots to get through, so we're going to get started.

Today's lesson is called "Has Leaving the EU Been More Beneficial or Challenging to the UK?" It is part of the wider unit, How Well Has the UK Adjusted to its Changing Relationship with the EU? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to examine the benefits and the challenges of Brexit.

As today's topics could be seen as sensitive, we're going to discuss some ground rules for taking part in this lesson.

First of all, it's important to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, it's important that we challenge the statement, not the person.

We must respect privacy.

We can discuss examples in a general sense, but please do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including yourself.

We listen without passing judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

And last, you can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in with the discussion.

We'll never put anyone on the spot.

Let's get started.

The key words we're going to hear in today's lesson are Brexit.

This refers to the UK's decision to leave the European Union, we're going to hear that referred to as the EU, following a 2016 referendum.

The term is a combination of the words Britain and exit.

Freeport.

These are special zones created by the government after Brexit and allows for greater investment.

A tariff.

These are the taxes imposed on some countries for selling certain products to other countries.

And last, export.

This is when one country sells goods or services to another country.

We are going to start by thinking about what are the benefits of Brexit for the UK.

In 2016, the UK held a referendum.

The topic of this referendum asked the question, "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?" A referendum is a vote on a specific issue that, instead of MPs making the decision on our behalf, people who are eligible are able to vote on that decision.

Sometimes these happen when there are topics that are divisive, meaning people have quite different views on those topics.

This referendum took place on the 23rd of June, 2016.

The voter turnout, meaning the number of people who were eligible to, and then ultimately came out to vote, was 72%.

The result was close with 51.

89% of voters voting to leave the EU.

On the 29th of March, 2017, the Prime Minister at the time triggered Article 50.

That is the process that means that a country can leave the European Union.

This started a two-year countdown for the UK's formal departure from the European Union.

The UK later requested an extension to this period because they hadn't negotiated or come to an agreement on what the deal would look like.

The Prime Minister at that time was Theresa May.

She was the leader of the Conservative Party.

On the 23rd of January, 2020, a few years later, the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act received Royal Assent, meaning that it passed through parliament and had been signed off by the monarch at the time.

This legislation would implement the withdrawal agreement that was negotiated between the UK and the EU, meaning that at this point, Brexit would actually happen.

On the 31st of January, 2020, the UK left the European Union and entered a transition period.

This transition period ended on the 31st of December, 2020.

Since the UK left the European Union, there have been lots of debates about both the benefits and the challenges of Brexit.

This topic continues to be discussed in both the UK Parliament and across Europe today because of the impact it has had, not only on the UK, but other countries within the European Union.

Lucas is asking us, "What have supporters of Brexit argued that the benefits have been?" We're going to hear about some of those arguments in today's lesson.

One of the benefits that have been outlined is the economy.

Supporters of Brexit argued that there would be lots of economic benefits for the UK leaving the European Union.

For example, the UK no longer has to contribute to the European Union budget.

That's all the money that they have to spend.

This money then can, therefore, be invested in other areas within the UK, areas such as the NHS, the National Health Service.

In January, 2022, it was reported that by 2024 to 2025, the UK is expected to spend 57 billion pounds more on the NHS each year compared to in 2016 to 2017 when we were a member of the European Union.

There's an argument that having this additional money to spend is ultimately going to be beneficial to people living within the UK.

Brexit has also allowed Britain to establish new freeports.

That was one of our keywords from the beginning of the lesson.

Freeports are special areas in the UK where businesses can set up and receive tax benefits.

They're designed to attract business investment and improve infrastructure around the UK, things like the railways, the roads, and air.

The government plans to establish eight freeports in England and at least one Freeport in each of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

That is committing around 200 million pounds in funding to this idea.

Let's do a check of what we've done so far.

Why would a freeport be a positive impact of Brexit? Is it A, because they allow more funding to be directed towards the NHS, B, they attract a variety of workers from around the world to the UK, or C, they allow businesses to grow through lower taxes and more investment? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is C.

Another benefit of Brexit for the UK is the idea of sovereignty and control.

Izzy's telling us that "Sovereignty refers to a country's ability to make its own laws and decisions without being controlled by other countries or international organisations." Supporters of Brexit said that it allowed the UK to take back control and restored the UK sovereignty.

Many Brexit supporters felt that leaving the EU would allow the UK to regain full sovereignty.

This means that the UK could make decisions about things like immigration, trade, and laws without having to follow rules that have been set by the EU.

So retaining more of this control over the nation.

One example of the issue of sovereignty was immigration.

Following Brexit, the UK introduced a new immigration system that included a points-based system.

That meant that more skilled migrants could come to the UK to live and work.

The aim of this was to reduce some of the overall numbers of migrants coming to the UK.

Some people felt that being a member of the EU had caused a large increase in the number of people coming to the UK.

This is because within the EU, countries sign up to the principle of free movement, meaning that people who live in the EU can work, study in any country, so, therefore, people might have moved to the UK.

Another benefit is the fact that the UK established a new electronic travel authorization, an ETA.

This is similar to the system that they have in the USA.

The ETA is an electronic permit that can prevent criminals or individuals suspected of criminal activity from travelling to the UK.

The government has stated that this will improve security and help keep the UK safe, showing another benefit of this process.

Let's do another check.

Which of these best describes Britain's new immigration system? Is it A, points based which prioritise skilled migrants, B, an open border policy, meaning anyone can come to the UK, or C, business first, meaning anyone who can pay can come to the UK? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is A.

Another benefit of Brexit to the UK is lawmaking and the justice system.

Since leaving the EU, UK parliament and devolved governments are now the main lawmaking bodies in the UK.

That means that no laws are made in Europe that the UK is required to follow as had previously been the system.

The Brexit Freedoms Bill, aimed to remove or change EU laws that were still in place in the UK after Brexit, giving the government more control over regulations.

This is because there were laws, obviously, that had carried over from our time within the European Union.

Lots of these laws were related to managing things like fishing and certain business decisions that no longer applied to the UK since we left the EU.

The Supreme Court of the UK is now the highest court in the UK.

That means that UK judges make decisions about UK laws rather than European judges.

Before Brexit, decisions made by UK judges could be challenged by European courts, and the laws that we had in the UK had to comply with EU regulations.

The UK still does have to follow the European Convention of Human Rights and its rulings from the European Court of Human Rights.

This is because we are still a member of the Council of Europe, and this is separate to the European Union.

Let's do another check.

I'd like you to read the sentences below and fill in the blanks.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

Let's check our answers.

After leaving the EU, the main lawmaking bodies in the UK, are UK parliament and devolved governments.

The purpose of the Brexit freedoms Bill was to remove or change EU laws that were still in place in the UK.

Since Brexit, the UK Supreme Court is now the highest court in the UK.

Other examples of changes that have been made post Brexit include before joining the EU, the UK used imperial measurements, pounds and ounces, for fruits and vegetables.

The EU uses the metric system, which looks like grammes and kilogrammes.

After leaving the EU, businesses could choose their preferred measurement system.

All new British passports are now blue.

This is returning to the original 1921 design.

Businesses can now use the Crown Stamp on pint glasses again.

Some people see this as a symbol of heritage and national pride.

True or false? Brexit means we can only use metric units.

Pause your video, and choose your answer.

The correct answer is false.

This is because Brexit allows businesses to make their own decisions about units they use to trade in.

This might be metric or it might be imperial.

Let's put this into practise.

I'd like you to read the table below that summarises the arguments that people have made about the benefits of Brexit.

I'd like you to complete this with some of those arguments in each column.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

I asked you to complete the table summarising the benefits of Brexit.

In terms of control and sovereignty, you might have said that laws made in the UK now apply, as opposed to just having laws that were made in Europe.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the UK.

We now have a new immigration system.

For the economy, you might have made reference to the freeports that have been established in eight locations.

Also, the fact that we now have 57 billion pounds more funding for the NHS.

In the other section, you might have said that we have freedom to select the metric or imperial system and also the return to the original blue design of passports.

Well done, if you included some of that in your answer.

Next, we're going to think about what are some of the challenges of Brexit for the UK.

Whilst some argue that Brexit has benefited the UK, there are others who believe that it has caused significant challenges.

Laura is asking "What might these challenges be?" We're going to look at some of those examples next.

In terms of the economy, there are also arguments on the challenge side.

Izzy's telling us, "One of the ways the UK generates money is through exporting goods and services to other countries, for example, a British farmer might sell food, export food, to other countries" Following Brexit, despite the UK negotiating tariff-free trading with the EU, our overall exports are down.

That means that we're selling less overall to the EU.

In 2022, UK exports dropped by an estimated 27 billion pounds.

This was around 6.

4% with exports to the EU falling by 13.

2%.

The UK has also still been paying the EU as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

The treasury estimates that the net cost of the settlement to the UK will be 30.

2 billion pounds with 23.

8 billion pounds paid as of December, 2023.

The UK is repaying money to the EU to honour the financial obligations from its time as a member, covering commitments like poverty reduction, cultural events, and improving high streets.

So whilst that money is running down, for a period of time, we are still paying within into the EU.

Some argue that the impacts of Brexit began before the UK officially left in 2020.

Since the 2016 referendum, some businesses have moved their operations to the EU, whereas before they were in the UK.

It's predicted that foreign direct investment in the UK will drop by around 37%.

Foreign direct investment is money that comes from overseas and is paid directly into UK businesses.

For example, the car manufacturer Nissan made significant investments in the UK, but Brexit uncertainty affected foreign investment.

Let's do a check.

What is the estimated net cost of the settlement the UK will pay the EU as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is A, 30.

2 billion pounds.

Another challenge is the idea of sovereignty and control.

Some argue that Brexit actually had a negative impact on our control, too.

For example, leaving the EU meant losing access to EU-wide crime alerts and databases.

That has made it harder to tackle serious organised crime, particularly cross-border crime, so crime that happens between borders between countries.

The UK has developed alternative arrangements.

However, these not yet fully replaced the level of collaboration that it had as an EU member.

Another argument is that limits on migration, including the new skills-based immigration system, have led to job shortages in sectors like agriculture where roles such as crop picking are going unfilled, resulting in financial losses.

Traditionally, these roles might have been filled by EU migrants or migrants from other places who wouldn't necessarily have the points to come into the UK on the new system.

Additionally, British tourists now face longer cues at passport control because they no longer have access to the fast track EU routes.

Let's do another check.

How has leaving the EU impacted on crime in the UK? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is C, the loss of the EU crime alerts has made it harder to track criminals.

Some people think that Brexit has had a negative impact on national identity.

One example that they use is the relationships between Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK.

The majority of voters from both of those countries voted to remain.

62% of people in Scotland voted to remain.

55.

7% of people in Northern Ireland voted to remain.

This has led to tensions between the countries.

For example, in 2022, the devolved government in Scotland attempted to set in motion a second independence referendum.

That is voting to leave being a member of the United Kingdom.

This was declined by the UK government.

However, the argument that there is tension there still continues.

Some young people in the UK are also facing challenges due to Brexit.

The Erasmus programme that allowed students to study abroad is no longer available to UK students.

The UK's replacement scheme called Turing has faced criticisms from some students with concerns about limited placements and insufficient funding to cover study costs.

Let's do another check.

Which of these is the replacement of the EU's Erasmus programme? Is it A, Turing, B, Lovelace or C, Hamilton? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is A, Turing.

Let's do another check.

I'd like you to complete the table below to summarise the arguments that some people have made about the challenges of Brexit.

Pause your video and do this now.

I asked you to complete the table to summarise the challenges.

For control, you might have said loss of access to EU crime alerts has made tackling cross-border organised crime harder.

You might have said changes to immigration has meant some essential workers are no longer coming to the UK.

This is impacting areas like agriculture.

For the economy, you might have mentioned that foreign investments has dropped.

For other, you might have mentioned the Erasmus programme, which has been replaced by the Turing programme.

This has experienced some complaints.

You might have also said our relationship with other UK countries has become strained.

Today, we have been thinking about has leaving the EU been more beneficial or challenging to the UK? We've learned the effects of Brexit are still being felt today and subject to lots of debate.

For supporters of Brexit, there are many benefits, such as the UK is able to make decisions about inward investment by creating freeports or the fact that our new immigration system prioritises skills that the country needs.

For opponents of Brexit, there are many challenges such as the UK is still paying money to the EU.

It is also predicted that foreign investment in the United Kingdom will be 30% lower post Brexit.

That's the end of today's lesson.

Thank you for joining me.