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LONDON: Britain started a new year and life outside of Europe on Friday (January 1), after leaving the bloc’s single market trading rules to go on its own for the first time in nearly half a century.
Brexit, which has dominated politics on both sides of the Channel since 2016, came true an hour before midnight, ending the UK’s 48-year obligation to follow Brussels rules.
The free movement of more than 500 million people between Great Britain and the 27 EU states ended.
Tighter customs controls returned for the first time in decades, despite the fierce negotiation of a tariff- and quota-free trade deal.
The New Year’s Day newspapers reflected the historic, but still deeply divisive change that will have repercussions for generations to come.
The front page photo of the pro-Brexit Daily Express showed the White Cliffs of Dover, an enduring symbol of British character, with the word “Freedom” written on a Union flag.
“Our future. Our Britain. Our destiny,” read the headline.
However, the pro-European Independiente was less sure: “Unhooked or adrift?” he asked, reflecting the widespread uncertainty about the path the country had now chosen.
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As dawn dawned in 2021, attention turned to Britain’s borders, particularly its main Channel seaports, to see if the end of seamless trade and travel would cause delays and disruptions.
But since New Year’s Day is a public holiday followed by a weekend, and the government has announced the gradual introduction of checks, few immediate problems are anticipated.
“The traffic forecast for the next few days is very light,” said John Keefe, spokesman for Eurotunnel, which transports goods, cars and coaches under the Canal.
PRACTICAL CHANGES
As of Monday, more truckers transporting goods to and from continental Europe are faced with the new rules, including driving licenses even on the roads that lead to Canal ports like Dover.
The Road Transport Association, an industry body, estimates that some 220 million new forms will need to be completed each year to allow trade to flow with EU countries.
“This is a revolutionary change,” Rod McKenzie, the RHA’s managing director of public policy, told The Times newspaper this week.
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Other practical changes include how long Britons can visit their holiday homes on the mainland, travel with pets, and the end of British participation in an EU student program.
Tourists and business travelers accustomed to traveling smoothly across the EU could face delays, although fears that the British would need to obtain international licenses to drive in Europe were avoided by a separate agreement.
British fishermen are unhappy with a compromise in the free trade agreement to allow continued access for EU vessels in British waters, raising fears of clashes at sea.
The key financial services sector is also facing anxious wait to find out on what basis it can continue to deal with Europe, having been largely omitted from the trade deal alongside services generally, which account for 80 per cent of the UK economy. .
In Northern Ireland, the border with Ireland will be closely watched to ensure movement is not restricted, key to a 1998 peace agreement that ended 30 years of violence over British rule.
And in pro-EU Scotland, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave a clear signal that a battle was coming for a new vote on independence.
“Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on,” he tweeted.
‘DO YOUR BEST EFFORT’
Despite the uncertainty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is bullish optimist, describing the culmination of Brexit as an “incredible moment” for the country.
He promised that the post-Brexit UK, despite being hit by an increase in coronavirus cases, would be an “open, generous, outward-looking, internationalist and free trade” country.
“We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it,” he added in a New Year’s message.
Divisions over Brexit, both political and social, remain deep and are likely to last for years, despite a quiet end to the saga overshadowed by the global health crisis.
Opinion polls indicate that most Britons want to move on and are far more concerned about the worsening coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 73,500 dead in Britain alone.
Johnson, who survived several days in intensive care with COVID-19 last April, warned of tough times ahead, but said a UK-developed vaccine offers reason for hope.
But his desire for a prosperous and more world-centered Britain could still see a resurgence of Brexit disputes, as the country discovers what its new trade terms actually mean.
