No-deal Brexit 2020: 5 ways it’ll change your everyday!
How will a no-deal affect you?
The UK has the threat of a no-deal Brexit looming again after prime minister Boris Johnson returned from a Brussels meeting with the European Commission and having failed to secure any concessions on a potential free trade agreement.
How likely is a no-deal Brexit? Very likely. The no-deal Brexit odds are high but the Prime Minister said leaving without a deal should hold “no fear” for Britain.
The UK and EU remain far apart, and the EU has now published its own emergency plans for a no-deal exit. But what will actually change on the 1 January if no deal is achieved. Here’s a no-deal Brexit consequences list – the things that will affect your life!
No-deal Brexit explained
A no-deal Brexit means the UK would leave the EU with no agreements in place about what the relationship between the two will be in the future.
The no-deal consequences for the EU and UK would include no understandin
g of how UK and EU companies could work and trade with each other.
If no-deal is secured between EU leaders and UK politicians by December 31 then the UK could crash out of the bloc. This would be a no-deal Brexit.
Kent Brexit border disruption
Back in September, the government set out what it considered the “reasonable worst-case scenario” even if a deal is struck by the end of the year.
They believe that up to 70% of lorries travelling to the EU may not be ready for new, third-country border controls imposed by Europe.
As freight flow could fall to less than two-thirds of normal, creating 7,000 vehicle queues in Kent lasting for days due to the lack of holding capacity.
There is likely to be “significant disruption” for six to 12 months according to one expert.
Most experts believe such a worst-case scenario is more likely to happen if there is no deal, especially if French border authorities see no reason to cooperate with Britain.
No-deal Brexit food shortages and price hike
In anticipation of no-deal Brexit food shortages, the government is reported to have told supermarkets to stockpile food and other essential supplies amid increasing fears as the no-deal Brexit date draws closer.
Of the other no-deal Brexit consequences, food prices are likely to rise. Tory ministers, experts and the chairman of Tesco have all conceded food prices look likely to rise if there’s no trade deal.
That’s because 26% of all food consumed in the UK last year was imported from the EU – and it’d be slapped with trade tariffs overnight.
No-deal Brexit medicine shortages
There are many concerns about the impact of Brexit on medicines. The pressure is on especially as the NHS still battles the pandemic.
The supply of medicine “could initially reduce to 60% and 80%” in the first three months of 2021, according to details leaked from the government’s “worst-case scenario”.
Layla McCay, international director of the NHS Confederation, told The Independent: “Covid-19 has already put the health and care workforce, the pharmaceutical industry and patient groups under immense strain … the exacerbating effect of failing to agree a free trade agreement could see it snap.”
A leading health think-tank warned medical supplies needed to fight the pandemic may also be hit by a no-deal Brexit. The Nuffield Trust said medical equipment imports from the EU had reached an all-time high this year.
International crime fighting
How will Brexit affect the police?
Police, spies and government ministers have for years been warning that a no-deal Brexit will cut the UK from key tools used to fight international crime.
The loss of EU tools could create a public safety risk and it could make it harder to extradite foreign nationals, according to some senior police officers.
In November 2018, then-security minister Ben Wallace warned: “A no-deal situation would have a real impact on our ability to work with our European partners to protect the public.”
The former head of MI5 said he could not see “any security upside from Brexit”, even with a deal. “It’s hard to imagine that we will be in quite such a good place after Brexit but we need to do our best to compensate for any deficit,” Lord Evans said.
Social unrest
In the government’s “worst-case scenario” document there is a warning of serious social unrest because of all other impacts of a no-deal outcome.
“Protests and counter-protests will take place across the UK and may absorb significant amounts of police resources,” it states. “There may also be a rise in public disorder and community tensions.”
Jesper Cullen, an analyst at the Risk Advisory Group, warned of a rise in general tension across the UK in the event of a no-deal exit. “Things we’re likely to see are hate crimes, people shouting on the streets, physical altercations,” he said.
It is also feared that big cuts to local services could increase tensions. Official documents from 63 councils revealed local authority leaders fear that basic services could suffer and others cut altogether if the UK leaves without a deal.
Get Brexit latest news from the government here.
……………………
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SHARE WTX NEWS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY:
Facebook – Please like our page
Twitter – Twitter updates available in English and Arabic. Please follow us and we would love to hear from you
Instagram – Follow our pages in English and Arabic
