Across the majority of residents believe Brexit was a bad idea. All over the UK? No – in one constituency a majority still believes leaving the EU was the right thing to do. Friday 23 June marks seven years since the UK voted for Brexit – by a narrow majority. The situation was different in Boston, Lincolnshire: here about 76 percent were yes. And while the approval rating has recently dropped to a low level in the polls, Boston is consolidating its status as a stronghold.
Worse than expected
Anton Dani, the former mayor of Boston, admits that this is not how he imagined Brexit. – The reality is probably worse than we expected at the time says the 57-year-old. It sounds devastating. But it is deceptive. The idea of dealing with one’s problems independently within a sentimentalized “splendid isolation” is still popular. The former mayor of a small East Anglian town still thinks Brexit is a good idea. But it is being implemented the wrong way by the government in Many people in Boston feel the same way as Anton Dani.
What happened to Brexit promises?
Wendy and Jeanne serve tourists in a church shop in the old town. Do they still support Brexit? “Oh, of course,” the two old ladies say in a friendly way. The reason: many strangers who have moved to Boston in recent years. “We no longer dare to walk around the city alone at night,” they say. Many think like them. “Reality gives them more reason and evidence that they really need Brexit,” says the former mayor. Proponents of leaving the EU promised to tighten immigration rules, in Boston they are still waiting for it.
“Our city is a ruin”
The people of Lincolnshire have had enough. Once a thriving port city, a there has been hardly any negative statistic in recent years where Boston did not top the list. It is the city with the worst integration problems and the lowest wages. And also the city that statistically has the highest number of . Many people point to a large influx of immigrants. They are mainly people from poorer EU countries who hang out in groups in the market during the day, according to pub-goers. “Many have the impression that they are strangers in their own city,” says the former mayor.
No language courses are offered, no schools are built, no teachers are employed. Instead, health services and the number of district officials were reduced. The problem of illegal dumping is growing, as is shoplifting and trafficking. “Our town was nice,” recalls Anton Dani. – Look at it, it’s a ruin now. It is clear to the former mayor that the solution can only be “more Brexit”.
Great Britain is losing importance
On the continent, on the seventh anniversary of the Brexit vote, the German economy is drawing a dismal balance sheet for entirely different reasons. – Brexit is a disaster for both sides of the channel Volker Treier, head of the foreign trade department at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), told the Reuters news agency. “This is the balance sheet seven years after the Brexit referendum. The consequences can be seen, for example, in trade between the two countries. In 2022, Germany exported goods worth €73.8 billion to the UK; it is 14.1 percent. less than in 2016, the year of the Brexit vote.
“While in 2016 the UK was Germany’s third most important export market, in 2022 the country fell to eighth place,” admitted Volker Treier. As a trading partner – exports and imports are combined in this balance sheet – the country has since lost even more importance, falling from fifth to eleventh place.
Bridgehead in the Union
German direct investment in the UK has also decreased. In 2021, they amounted to around 140 billion euros, which corresponds to a decrease of 16.1 percent compared to 2016. According to the DIHK, there are currently 2,163 German companies operating there, down 5.2 percent compared to 2016. less than in 2016, and the number of employees in them fell by three percent to 415,000.
On the other hand, many British companies have settled in Germany in recent years. The German Foreign Trade Agency (GTAI), which is responsible for investment marketing in , has counted more than 1,000 new investments since the Brexit vote. Last year alone, there were 170; this number is surpassed only by the US and neighboring Switzerland. “We expect inquiries from the UK to remain high,” says GTAI Managing Director Robert Hermann. “It is important for British companies to have a foothold in the EU. The size of the country and its central location in Germany also speak in favor of Germany.
Source: Gazeta
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