Overview-
Britain’s departure from the European Union is riddled with myth and misinformation — yet the risks are very real.
Brexit could diminish the UK’s power, throw its legal system into turmoil, and lower the standard of living of 65m citizens.
In this revised bestseller, Ian Dunt explains why leaving the world’s largest trading bloc will leave Britain poorer and key industries like finance and pharma struggling to operate.
Based on extensive interviews with trade and legal experts, Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? is a searching exploration of Brexit shorn of the wishful thinking of its supporters in the British media and Parliament.
REVIEWS
Admirably brief and necessarily brutal... Whatever your position during the referendum, you ought to read Dunt because he is willing to face uncomfortable facts. Highly recommended.
— Nick Cohen, The Spectator
Compact and easily digestible. I’d encourage anyone who is confused, fascinated or frustrated by Brexit to read this book – you’ll be far wiser by the end of it.
— Caroline Lucas, Co-Leader, Green Party
I would strongly recommend Ian Dunt’s excellent guide. Dunt has taken the extraordinary step of asking a set of experts what they think. I learnt a lot.
— Philip Collins, Prospect
Author Bio
IAN DUNT is a political journalist and commentator. He is editor of Politics.co.uk, has a strong social media following, and appears on the BBC, Sky and LBC. He is a cast member of the Remainiacs podcast. He swears a lot on his Twitter feed.
About The Author-
TABLE OF CONTENTS-
Introduction
What was that?
What did we vote for?
What is Article 50?
What is the European project?
What is the single market?
What are the politics of the European Union?
What about freedom of movement?
What about the economy?
Norway
Switzerland
Turkey
Canada
The World Trade Organisation
How can we keep the UK together?
Scotland
Ireland
What are we going to do?
What do the Brexit ministers want?
How talented are they?
What tools do they have?
What is the context?
The economy
The City of London
Immigration
The parliamentary battle
Making a new country
The time problem
What happens after Brexit?
Postscript
List of experts
Acknowledgements
References
REVIEWS-
Dunt is a Remainer, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from reading this book. He wastes no time on recriminations, finger-pointing or a dissection of the referendum campaign (riven as it was with misinformation, ignorance, propaganda and outright lies).
“No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain.” That’s what a defiant Theresa May PM said yesterday, in her speech on The government’s negotiating objectives for exiting the EU. In the opening chapter of his book, Dunt shows us what “no deal” might actually look like:
Big Ben strikes midnight and Britain is out of the European Union. The talks have fallen apart in mutual acrimony. The UK has not secured continued membership of the single market. It doesn’t even have access. It is out of the treaty which waives tax on imports and exports. It has no trade deals with Europe or anyone else. It is on its own.
He goes on to give some idea of what that might involve. Long queues of lorries stopped at Calais by customs officials, detained and inspected. Exports of meat and eggs held up as samples are taken away for testing at hurriedly established inspection posts, struggling with demand while the products rot by the roadside. Thousands of businesses haemorrhaging cash as shipments are stopped and detained at ports around the world. Bureaucratic nightmares as hurriedly recruited officials attempt to deal with backlogs of reinstated “proof of country of origin” documentation. Tariffs slapped on products left, right and centre, and not just on the finished product but on the raw materials and components too. Banks and financial institutions sacking workers and outsourcing jobs to more advantageous economic climes. Trade disputes multiplying as Britain loses the protection of a standard WTO deal and has to deal with 163 different country relationships. British professionals unable to work abroad as their qualifications are no longer recognised under standard EU rules. And so on and so forth.
It’s a nightmare vision, deliberately painted so, as a shock to the complacency of those who thought Brexit would be a breeze. But, as Dunt then makes clear, these are “the consequences of a chaotic, hard Brexit.”
Whatever your position during the referendum, you ought to read Dunt because he is willing to face uncomfortable facts.