The News Team makes a guest appearance this week, with Joel giving us his opinion on how a No-deal Brexit could affect us.
1. EU recruitment
If the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal then British students looking to find graduate employment or apprenticeships within the EU will find it far more difficult than before.
Companies such as the German-owned Siemens and Volkswagen and French-owned Christian Dior, will have no reason to go out of their way to employ British workers and might instead look for talent closer to home.
2. European holidays
Without an agreement on travel in and out of the EU, planes on both sides of the channel could be grounded until an arrangement is formed.
This means that any holidays to EU countries planned for after March 29th could be affected.
Whilst this is an unlikely situation, given the mutual benefit tourism is to both the UK and the EU, it is still worth considering as a possible no-deal outcome.
3. Freedom of movement
This is something that will be affected regardless of whether the UK leaves the EU with a deal or without one; it will mean that EU citizens will no longer have the right to move to the UK and vice versa.
One deal proposed is the Norway Plus model, named after the country that follows a similar policy, in which the UK would be able to remain in the single market but would also allow the freedom of movement to continue.
Unfortunately for those who enjoy unrestricted European travel, one of Theresa May’s un-negotiable ‘red-lines’ is to restrict the freedom of movement and so this deal is unlikely.
4. Food shortages
A no-deal Brexit could also result in massive food shortages in supermarkets across the country.
The UK currently receives about 30% of its food from the EU, in the eventuality of no-deal, these imports could suffer and consumers could be faced with empty shelves at the supermarkets.
Many retailers such as Aldi and Cadbury have admitted to stockpiling food in case of a no-deal. Hubert Weber, head of Mondelez Europe, the company which owns Cadbury as well as Nestle, warned that the “UK is not self-sufficient in terms of food ingredients, so [a no-deal scenario] could be a challenge”.
5. Erasmus
Currently, with EU membership, the UK is part of the European programme called Erasmus Plus.
The scheme, started in 1986, is a jointly-funded EU exchange programme which provides grants for a wide range of actions including the opportunity for students to undertake work placements abroad and for teachers and education staff to attend training courses.
It is hoped by many students and teachers alike that the government will make provisions in order to ensure that the UK remains part of the programme,.
However if the UK does leave without a deal, its future within Erasmus is at best uncertain.
6. More Expensive things
A weaker pound following Brexit and a rise in import tariffs could mean that it’ll be much harder to get enough bang for your buck. The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney has warned that this will likely result in higher food prices, which could increase by about 5-10% in the most “extreme” cases.
Photo credit: Flickr: Duncan Hull
