How British Career Girls Responded To Brexit

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If you’ve been hiding under a rock or way too absorbed in your work today, you may have missed the results of the ‘Brexit/Bremain’ vote, which mean that Britain will, in fact, be making a move towards leaving the EU. As a born and bred Brit myself, I woke up to lots of Facebook politics in the morning, but it’s still unclear what this actually means.

There are lots of Career Girls that have come into the UK from countries in the EU and are working and living here happily, so for all of you that are a little uncertain, whether you voted in, out or don’t even live here, I did a bit of research to find out what’s next for Britain.

DAVID CAMERON IS OUT

Yep, David Cameron (that’s the UK Prime Minister btw) is resigning. All this upheaval in one day is a little bit too much for us Brits to take, so no matter what we voted we’re all shaking our heads and tutting at the amount of drastic change one day can bring. We just don’t know what will happen. Who will take over? Being Brits, we’re relying on our weather small talk today more than ever.

THE POUND IS DOWN

The pound has dropped to its weakest in three decades, which is a little startling, to say the least. Stock markets are in free fall, and lots of words I don’t honestly understand are being thrown around to describe the crashes. UK citizens living outside of the UK who depend on salaries or pensions paid in sterling are worse off, but many are taking advantage of the drop. Financial uncertainty is troubling for twenty-somethings who have a hard enough time staying out of their overdraft.

ARTICLE 50 WILL BE TRIGGERED

So, I don’t know exactly what ‘Article 50’ is, but it sounds like some secret service shit. According to Mats Persson, special advisor to David Cameron, Article 50 “gives any EU member the right to quit unilaterally, and outlines the procedure for doing so…giving the leaving country two years to negotiate an exit deal.”

So Britain has two years of the same stuff, while negotiating terms, including freedom of movement in and out of the EU. Brits don’t want to faff about with visas, and a lot of us emigrate to hotter countries, so it’ll be interesting to see what terms are eventually agreed upon, especially after the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned “Leaving the EU would mean that British citizens would lose the right to move freely, work and do business in the largest economic area, the largest market in the world,”. Some people predict we might not see any changes for something like five years.

WORKING IN THE EU

I know a lot of the US is kind of confused about what all this means, as are EU nationals living in the UK, for now, it means nothing. It means the majority want out, but nothing has been agreed upon.

There are 3m EU nationals in the UK, they make up 6% of the workforce, so it’s likely that those already in the UK will stay and nothing will happen. If they’ve been in the UK for five years or more they qualify for permanent residence, but it gets trickier when EU residents want to bring over family members, and we aren’t sure what will be done about that. In the short-term, though, people coming from EU countries to the UK between now and the ‘divorce date’ are worried that the UK will refuse entry. That is likely to make negotiating with Brussels worse, as it will break EU rules on free movement. 

SHOULD WE PLAN OUR FUTURE?

Don’t panic. The UK has no idea how the negotiations are going to go, a lot of the people who voted remain are hoping that this proves the UK to be a strong, independent country, and it may just be that way. But a lot of EU nationals are concerned and wonder if the vote should be taken personally. The London Mayor Sadiq Khan released a statement today saying:

“I want to send a clear message to every European resident living in London – you are very welcome here. As a city, we are grateful for the enormous contribution you make, and that will not change as a result of this referendum. There are nearly one million European citizens living in London today, and they bring huge benefits to our city – working hard, paying taxes, working in our public services and contributing to our civic and cultural life. We all have a responsibility to now seek to heal the divisions that have emerged throughout this campaign – and to focus on what unites us, rather than that which divides us.”

CONCLUSION

The weather is great today, isn’t it? I mean, a bit cloudy but gotta love that sunshine…

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  • Sheila

    Thank you for this post. I’m not a UK resident, but I have family (who were formally immigrants) and was feeling very down this morning. This cleared some things up for me.
    http://www.insearchofsheila.com

    • You’re welcome Shelia. I hope this helped, most of the people I know immigrated from somewhere in the EU and I know they are worried and concerned but also a little hurt, but the only thing we can do now is wait to here more about what the government will decide for our country! X

  • Stephanie Hartley

    I was absolutely horrified and terrified when I woke up to this news this morning. As a recent graduate this has seriously jeapordised my future and not knowing what will happen is making everything even more scary

    Steph – http://www.nourishmeblog.co.uk

    • Hi Steph,
      Yes a lot of people were really saddened and shocked by the news, I have friends that even cried. But now I guess we have to just keep saying what’s next? What will this brave new world bring for us? X

  • Chantel

    Thanks for sharing.

  • Phoebida x

    I’m 15 and my whole school is raging about the decision, our future is uncertain and going to be possibly even more difficult. So much shock! Xx

    Phoebe & Abida | phoebida.blogspot.co.uk

    • I agree – it’s the uncertainty that’s worrying everybody! You know, most of our generation (and your generation) are the most worried about this, but I think if we stay sensible and make sure that our country gets what we want when they start going into talks with the heads of the other EU countries we will be ok. You know, the heads of the EU countries can still vote unanimously and we’d have to stay! It’s an interesting process! X

  • Yvonne Ashon

    I’m sorry. We can only pray for the best.
    http://www.yvesofstyle.com

  • Lillian Gao

    I’m sorry if you disagreed with the Brexit, but have faith–it was the right call and you will see this eventually. The truth is: the EU had become more than just cumbersome. Its globalist attitude bordered on communism and was very anti-democratic. It has transformed formerly free and capitalist societies like England, France and Germany further and further into something resembling the 3rd world financially. Trust. This is a step in the right direction.

    Lil, xx https://lilgripes.com/

    • Hey Lil,
      I haven’t specified my views but I think although most of the celebrities tweeted against Brexit, people are starting to come to terms with it and trying to figure out what will happen next. I think it is the uncertainty that is troubling people – we don’t know what will be decided on our behalves or what will happen to our once stable economy. But it is a historic decision! Xx

      • Lillian Gao

        I hear ya, Beth :) I was actually directing my comment more toward other readers in your comment section. The economy will heal but the EU can’t be repaired, guys. It’s a flawed system that needed to go years ago. I hope more young women my age will join me in realizing this soon.
        Lil, xx https://lilgripes.com/

  • Adina Barbu

    I’m from Romania and I’m suposed to move to UK for study in September and now I’m like, what does this mean? I asume that it will be even more complicated, I’m concerned about my future right now…

    • Hi Adina,
      I think you should be ok! Nothing will be decided until they go into talks which could take 2 years and if they change anything which ruins your study then they will be violating EU laws, so until they’ve made decisions on free movement and studying etc I think you’ll be okay to come here. Not that it won’t be complicated somewhere, but they should spell out their intentions.

      David Cameron isn’t leaving until October so nothing will start happening until then. I hope they don’t change much with regards to free movement and studying because lots of people I know really enjoyed studying and living in the UK for a while! X

  • Mama Sow

    Thank you for this great article ! I was going to relocate to the UK in a few months, well I am now considering a change of destination …

    http://www.mamasow.fr

  • Ariadna Morell

    I am Spanish, and have been in the UK for three years attending university, the uncertainty of what my future will be like is the worst and really concerning! x

    Ariadna || RAWR BOWS

  • Katina Lindaa

    I’m from Australia but this really breaks my heart. Makes me so sad to see that the difference in votes because of someone’s age and it’s just so upsetting. x

    Katina Lindaa | http://www.katinalindaa.com

  • Kathi Ka

    For me as an EU citizen this comes as a shock! I fear this is only the beginning, other countries might follow the UK and leave the EU…