Professor Catherine Gegout (University of Nottingham) presents on Brexit

First, Professor Catherine Gegout mentioned the divisions within the UK after the Brexit referendum. Up to 60% of young people aged 18-24 supported Britain staying in the EU, while more than 55% of people over 50 - with a conservative tendency - supported Brexit. The regions of the UK also witnessed clear disagreements. While the majority of people in the capital London and Scotland supported the UK staying in the EU, most people in the remaining regions chose Brexit. In terms of income, most middle-class and above people chose the EU, while the "poor" and unemployed people in the UK - due to competition from immigrants - chose Brexit. 57% of people with university degrees chose to stay, while the majority of people who only studied up to secondary school or lower chose Brexit.

Prof. Catherine Gegout

The presentation also examines the fallacies of Brexit supporters’ thinking. They argue that Brexit would save Britain from immigration, but in fact there have been more non-EU immigrants in the UK, and immigrants from the European Free Economic Area contributed 34% more in taxes than they received in benefits between 2001 and 2011. They argue that the UK economy could survive without the EU, but in fact the UK’s Gini coefficient (in the 30-35th percentile in 2014) bears no relation to the EU. They believe that leaving the EU will strengthen democracy in the UK, but in reality, if they leave the EU, the British people will lose many benefits such as freedom of movement, study and living, health care, education, employment, etc. In addition, they do not realize that Brexit can trigger the disintegration of the UK itself due to the secession of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and at the same time, give rise to a wave of far-left, anti-EU politics in the UK, reducing the country's reputation and influence in Europe.

Participants of the session were engaged in group discussion under the guidance of Prof. Catherine Gegout.

Finally, Professor Catherine Gegout emphasized the negative impacts of Brexit on the UK's economy, trade relations, foreign policy and social life. In terms of economy, large companies headquartered in the UK will leave the country for Frankfurt or Paris; and according to estimates by experts at organizations such as OECD, CBI/PwC, the UK will experience negative growth (from -1 to -7%) after leaving the EU. In terms of trade relations, the UK will have to establish trade agreements with other countries and lose free trade within the EU, while the EU accounted for 15% of total world trade in 2013. In terms of foreign relations, the UK will lose its influence in foreign policy in Europe. The UK will also suffer many social losses in terms of employment, the gap between rich and poor, extremism, racism and social security. Meanwhile, although it will lose a power like Britain and some EU companies will have difficulty operating in Britain, the EU will still maintain stability under the leadership of France, Germany and Italy.