Beyond Brexit
The UK’s departure from the European Union has fundamentally reshaped trade, politics, immigration, and everyday life in Britain. Ten years on from Brexit, its effects can still be seen across the country, from changes in the economy and the future of the Single Market to the impact on businesses, workers, and communities.
This webpage explores the economic, social, and political ramifications of Brexit through 4 news features focused on people affected by Brexit, 3 opinion columns presenting different perspectives on its impact, and a listicle designed to help readers better understand how Brexit has changed Britain over the past decade.
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Through analysis, news, and opinion, this website examines the lasting consequences of Brexit and asks whether the promises and expectations of leaving the European Union have become reality 10 years on.
Summary of Brexit
Brexit was the process that which the United Kingdom left the European Union also known
as EU, a political and economic group of the European countries that work together on trade,
laws, and the movement between the countries. Brexit became one of the biggest political
debates in British modern history because it caused divided opinions across the country about
sovereignty, immigration, the economy, and Britain’s future role in the world.
Prime Minister then David Cameron started the debate and process by calling a referendum
on 23rd of June 2016 to decide whether the UK should remain or leave the EU. Around 51.9%
voted to leave, while 48.1% voted to remain. After the result, Cameron resigned because he
had supported remaining in the EU.
People who had supported Brexit believed the UK would regain more control over its laws,
borders, and the trade policies by leaving the EU. Many people argued that the decisions
affecting Britain itself should be made by the UK Parliament rather than the EU institutions
in Brussels. Supporters of leaving also wanted tighter control over immigration from EU
countries.
Opponents of leaving EU said that leaving would damage the British economy and make
trade much harder as the EU was the UK’s largest trading partner. They also believed Brexit
would reduce Britain’s influence internationally and create uncertainty for businesses and
workers.
After a lot of years of negotiations and political debates, the UK officially left the EU on 31
January 2020 under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Since then, Brexit has led to changes in
immigration rules, customs checks, and UK-EU relations.
Brexit continues to be a debate today. With some people saying it has allowed Britain to
become more independent and flexible, while others believe it has harmed our economic
growth and created new challenges for businesses and travel. The long-term effects of Brexit
are still growing and developing, making it one of the most significant events in recent
British political history.
Boris Johnson addresses supporters during the 2019 election campaign, promoting his pledge to complete the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.
Features
Nearly a decade after Brexit, Lorry driver Mark Davies says longer delays, border checks, and rising costs have transformed both his work and family life, despite once voting to leave the European Union.
​Nurse Zahida Ahmed says Brexit-driven staff shortages have left NHS workers overstretched and struggling to give patients enough time and care.
De Montfort University student Leo Osei says Brexit has limited opportunities, increased uncertainty, and left many young people facing a future they never had the chance to vote on.
Farmer reflects on rising costs, supply delays and disappointment nearly a decade after Brexit.
Opinion Columns
Ten years on, the media’s role in shaping Brexit remains impossible to ignore, with headlines, slogans and social media helping to influence public opinion across Britain.
A decade after Brexit, many of the promises made during the referendum campaign remain unfulfilled, leaving Britain facing economic challenges, political instability and social division.
While some industries and political figures gained from Brexit, many businesses, workers and young people continue to face its consequences.
“It’s just not the same job anymore”: HGV driver reflects on Brexit 10 years later
Timewasting: Mark Davies says he gets stuck in traffic for half a day since Brexit
Mark Davies gets out of his lorry on a normal afternoon in the outskirts of Croydon with the low humming noise of truck and car engines and huge traffic filling the background, it’s the 4th time this week this has happened.
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At 45, the Croydon/Surrey-based HGV driver has spent more than 13 years on the road, transporting goods between the UK and Europe.
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It’s a job he once described as “straightforward and enjoyable at times.”
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However now he reflects on life nearly ten years after Brexit, he lets out a sigh before speaking.
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“It’s just not the same job anymore,” he says.
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Mark works for multiple logistics companies based in South London, he drives driving routes that take him from distribution centers in the UK across to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
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His lorry is loaded with lots of food products, packaged goods, and sometimes industrial materials, so pretty much anything that needs to move quickly between countries.
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Before Brexit, his work was defined by long hours and tight schedules, but there was a sense of flow to it, a rhythm he had built his whole lifestyle around.
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“You’d sort your paperwork out then drive down to Dover, get on the ferry, and that was pretty much it,” he explains.
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“Once you were across, you just drove to your destination. No stress and no long waits. It all just worked out really.”
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Back then, Mark could plan his week with confidence.
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He knew how long a journey would take and when he’d be at home, and how to balance the demands of his job with his family life.
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Living in Croydon with his wife and two children, he says things felt stable.
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“I could tell my wife I’d be back Thursday evening, and most of the time I actually was,” he says.
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“You had control over your time before the change.”
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What makes his story more complicated and interesting is that, like many others, Mark supported leaving the EU at the time of the 2016 EU referendum.
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He also doesn’t try to hide it.
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“Yeah, we voted leave,” he says.
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“Me and my family and my friends. We thought it was the right thing. More control, better opportunities and stuff. That’s what we believed.”
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He pauses for a moment and then takes a sip of his juice.
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“But we didn’t see this coming at all. We never thought it will be like this.”
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He says the changes became clear once the new systems and border controls were introduced.
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Something that had once been a very smooth process slowly quickly turned into something far more complicated.
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Brexit made life harder for HGV drivers because new customs checks and border paperwork were introduced for goods moving between the UK and the EU.
Drivers often have to complete additional documents and wait longer at ports, increasing delays and reducing driving efficiency.
In 2021, around 20,000–25,000 HGV drivers left the UK workforce, with Brexit being one of several factors contributing to shortages and disruption.
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“It’s the paperwork more than anything,” he says.
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“There’s just loads of it now. Forms, checks, things you didn’t even think about before.”
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Crossing the border, which used to feel like a repetition of the same old journey, now often involves long waits and uncertainty.
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Mark describes sitting in queues for hours, sometimes with no explanation of how long the delay will last.
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“You can be stuck there half a day,” he says.
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Those delays ripple through the rest of his work.
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A late crossing means a late delivery, which then affects the next job, and the one after that.
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The pressure builds quickly for him and can also be long-lasting.
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“You’ve got people calling you, asking where you are, why you’re delayed,” he says.
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“But a lot of the time, it’s out of your hands. You’re really just sitting and waiting.”
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The unpredictability has changed how he sees his job.
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Mark says that the Port of Dover is the most difficult border crossing he encounters in his day-to-day work.
He explains that it is often congested with trucks and lorries, leading to extremely long delays and waiting times.
The border has become also challenging for him since Brexit as there was additional border procedures introduced.
He says that he has to pay a £25 fee when travelling through that specific border crossing, adding to the costs of his long journeys.
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What once felt like a steady, reliable career now feels uncertain a lot of the times.
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“It used to be something you could rely on,” he says.
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“Now you just don’t know how your day’s going to go.”
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“These days it isn’t so so bad, and there has been few good weeks but overall these past years have been hard.”
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That uncertainty hasn’t stayed on the road.
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It’s also followed him home.
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Trips that used to take a couple of days now stretch much longer, keeping him away from his family more often.
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“I’m gone more than I used to be,” he says.
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“And when you’ve got kids, that matters.”
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Mark says he has a 8 year old daughter and 5 year old son, that he sees very little in the last few years.
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He talks about missing the small but important moments like family dinners, school events, and weekends that he used to attend more often in the past.
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“You don’t get that time back,” he adds quietly.
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Financially, the impact of the change has been less direct but still noticeable.
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Increased costs have changed the industry, and drivers like Mark feel it.
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Mark now spends nearly double on his fuel due to price changes and being idle on the road in traffic jams.
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“Everything’s more expensive now,” he says.
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“And even if your pay doesn’t change much, the job itself feels harder.”
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For Mark, the biggest shift isn’t just practical, it’s personal.
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The way he thinks about Brexit has changed completely.
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“At the time, it sounded like a good idea,” he says.
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“You hear things about taking back control, making things better for the country… and you believe it.”
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Now, after years of living with the consequences, his view is different.
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“I think we got it wrong,” he says.
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There’s no anger in his voice, just a sense of reflection.
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“You don’t really understand what something like this means until it affects your everyday life,” he says.
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“For me yeah, it’s not even about politics, it’s the work, it’s time with my family.”
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When asked about the future, Mark doesn’t pretend to have clear answers, but he does show a hope that things might change.
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“I just want things to get better,” he says.
“Whether that’s a new government or new policies, I don’t know. But something’s got to give.”
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He mentions the idea of new leadership in the coming years, someone who might look more closely at the realities faced by workers like him.
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“Reform seems like they know how to get Britain back, but I’ve got to see things to believe it,” he says.
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“People need to understand what it’s actually like on the ground,” he says.
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“Not just talk about it.”
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As the conversation comes to an end, Mark reflects on the decision he made nearly a decade ago.
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It’s not something he talks about often, but it’s clearly something he’s thought about quite a bit.
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“If I could go back, I’d think a lot harder,” he says.
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“You don’t realise how big a decision it is at the time.”
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For Mark Davies, Brexit isn’t a headline or a debate, it’s a daily reality shaped by delays, longer hours, and time lost.
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And as he puts it, in a way that feels both personal and final:
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“We thought it would make things better. For me, it didn’t.”
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“You’re doing more with less”: Nurse describes Brexit’s lasting impact on Hospital staffing
Overworked: Zahida Ahmed say she wants more support and investment from the government
Caring: Zahida Ahmed on a hospital ward
The first thing Zahida Ahmed notices at the start of her shifts isn’t the patients, it’s the gaps and the spaces.
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It’s the gaps in the rota, the gaps in the ward and gaps where colleagues used to be.
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Standing just outside King’s College Hospital, the 34-year-old nurse adjusts her lanyard and gets ready for the interview.
“It’s the kind of tired and drained feeling that doesn’t really go away,” she says.
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Zahida has worked in the NHS for nearly over a decade, joining in her early twenties after training as a general nurse.
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Today, she works in an adult ward, and deals with a mix of long-term conditions, emergency admissions, and elderly patients.
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Her job involves everything from administering medication to patients and then monitoring their vitals daily to then supporting families and managing patient care plans.
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“It’s not just one thing,” she explains.
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“You’re constantly moving, checking on patients, updating charts, speaking to doctors, helping families understand what’s going on.
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You don’t really actually stop, like ever.”
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Before Brexit, she says the job was still demanding, but it felt a lot more manageable.
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There were enough staff on most shifts, and while the NHS has long faced pressure, Zahida remembers a time when everything felt more balanced.
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“You were busy, of course you were,” she says.
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“But you weren’t constantly stretched to the point where you felt like you couldn’t keep up.”
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Back then, her ward had a diverse team, with many nurses and healthcare assistants coming from across Europe.
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“We had nurses from Spain, Portugal, Poland etc… we were all part of a big team,” she says.
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Like many people across the country, Zahida remembers the time around the 2016 EU referendum clearly.
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Zahida was born in Knightsbridge, Central London, to parents who immigrated from Somalia.
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Unlike the lorry driver, she says she voted to remain.
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“I’m not really into politics and I wasn’t really well educated about the whole thing, but from hearing things around work I knew some of us could leave.”
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“I just felt like we were stronger working together,” she says.
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“Especially in the NHS, you could see how important international staff were.”
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One of the main reasons for the loss of staff after Brexit was the introduction of stricter immigration and visa requirements.
Zahida says these changes made the application process more complicated for overseas applicants, as they had to meet additional eligibility criteria, such as residency, visa, and work requirements.
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As a result, between 2016 and 2022, the number of EU nurses joining the NHS fell sharply.
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In England, the number of nurses from EU countries joining the NHS dropped by around 80% between 2021 and 2022,
The NHS found it more difficult to attract and recruit nurses from abroad.
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At the time, she didn’t expect the impact of it to be immediate.
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But over the years that followed, she began to notice the changes, it was slow at first, then turned impossible to ignore.
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“People started leaving,” she says.
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“Some went back home, some moved to other countries where they felt more secure.”
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“You’d come into work and realize someone wasn’t there anymore,” Zahida says.
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“And they weren’t being replaced.”
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As staffing levels dropped, the pressure on those who had remained increased.
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Shifts became more intense, with fewer people covering the same number of patients.
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“You’re doing more, but with less,” she says.
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“And that’s when it starts to affect everything.”
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She describes days where she barely has time to sit down as she is moving from one patient to the next without pause.
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Breaks are often cut short or missed entirely.
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“You want to sit with a patient, talk to them, make them feel happy and comfortable,” she says.
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“But when you’ve got so many people to look after, you just can’t always do that.”
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It’s something that weighs on her.
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“That’s the part that stays with you,” she says.
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“Feeling like you couldn’t give someone the time they deserved.”
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“As a whole, work life has improved this last year with a bit more support from the government recently, but it’s not enough and there are still a lot of gloomy days.”
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Outside of work, the impact is just as real.
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After long shifts, Zahida says she often comes home most days exhausted, with little energy left for anything else.
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“You’re drained,” she says.
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“Some days you just sit there and think about everything that happened.”
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Laughing she says, “I don’t even have time for dates”.
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Her family has noticed the change too.
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“I used to talk more about my day to my parents,” she says.
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“Now I try to move the topic if can.”
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Despite everything, she hasn’t left the profession.
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When asked why, her answer is simple.
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“I still care about what I do,” she says.
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“That hasn’t changed.”
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But her view of the system around her has.
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“I think we’ve reached a point where it’s really hard to ignore what’s happened,” she says.
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“You can literally see it every day.”
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For Zahida, Brexit isn’t the only challenge facing the NHS, but she believes it has played a significant role in staffing issues.
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“When you lose a large group of workers and don’t replace them quickly, it’s going to have a massive impact,” she says.
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She’s careful not to make sweeping political statements, but there’s a clear sense of frustration in her voice when she talks about the years since the decision was made.
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“I don’t think people fully understood what it would mean for services like this,” she says.
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Looking ahead, she hopes for change, though she admits it won’t be easy.
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“I’d like to see more support and more investment,” she says.
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“Something that makes it feel like we’re just moving in the right direction again.”
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The idea of political change comes up, and while she doesn’t name specific figures, she does express a quiet hope that future leadership might take a different approach.
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“You just want decisions that actually reflect what’s happening on the ground,” she says.
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As her break comes to an end, Zahida stands up, preparing to head back into the ward.
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The noise of the hospital grows louder as she moves closer with monitors beeping.
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For Zahida Ahmed, ten years on from Brexit, the impact isn’t measured in headlines or statistics.
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It’s felt in every shift, every missing colleague, every moment she doesn’t have time to give to people who are in need and deserve help.
“It genuinely feels like my generation inherited a mess”
Student says Brexit has left young people facing fewer opportunities
Hard done by: Leo Osei says Brexit has heavily impacted the younger generation
Sporty: Leo playing table tennis in his university halls
At 20 years old, Leo Osei spends most of his time moving between lectures, library sessions, Table tennis, and late-night conversations with friends about pretty much all aspects of life in general.
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Situated outside on a bench on the De Montfort University campus, the Business Management student speaks quickly and passionately.
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He is the kind of person who clearly thinks deeply about the world around him, very much seen when the conversation turns to Brexit.
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“It genuinely feels like my generation inherited a mess,” he says.
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Leo grew up in South London before moving to Leicester to study Business Management at university.
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Like many young people his age, he was too young to vote in the 2016 EU referendum itself, something he still finds very frustrating a decade later.
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“That’s probably the thing that annoys me the most,” he says.
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“A lot of the people living with the consequences now didn’t even get a say in it.”
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He describes himself as politically engaged from an early age and heavily influenced by discussions at home with family, online political debates on social media, and later by politicians like Jeremy Corbyn, whose ideas around public services, equality, and younger generations strongly appealed to him.
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“I liked the idea of investment in young people,” Leo says.
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“Housing, education, opportunities… it felt like somebody was actually speaking to people my age instead of ignoring us and thinking we aren’t involved in politics.”
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For Leo, remaining in the EU always felt connected with opportunity.
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The ability to have freedom of movement, easier travel, opportunities to study abroad, and access to international business were things he believed would benefit younger generations in the long run.
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“The world is already hard enough for young people,” he says.
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“Expensive rent, expensive food, tuition fees… and then Brexit just added more uncertainty on top of that.”
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“When I was younger and Brexit happened, I didn’t really understand anything because I was so young, but since I’ve grown up, I’ve understood and felt the negative impact it has had on me and people my age,” Leo says.
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When he talks about university life, he says Brexit is something students still discuss regularly, especially those studying politics, economics, or business.
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“It comes up all the time in my lectures,” he says.
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“You can’t really study business in the UK without talking about Brexit.”
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Leo says one of the biggest things he has noticed is how much the UK economy and business environment changed after leaving the EU.
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In lectures, he says topics like trade barriers, supply chain disruptions, inflation, and labour shortages have become major discussions among him and his peers.
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“You actually realise how connected everything is,” he says.
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“Before Brexit, companies had easier access to European markets.”
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“Things moved way faster, cheaper, and smoother.”
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Now, according to Leo, many businesses face extra costs, delays, and complications that directly affect growth and investment.
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“Even in class, you see case studies about companies struggling with exports or moving parts of their operations abroad,” he says.
“That affects jobs, opportunities, and everything else in people’s actual lives.”
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As someone hoping to work in international business after graduating, those conversations feel personal to him.
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“That’s the scary part,” he says.
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“You start wondering what the future is actually going to look like for the next generation.”
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Leo had hoped to spend part of his university course abroad in Europe.
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The idea of travelling freely, studying in another country, and gaining international experience was something he had looked forward to growing up.
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Brexit made it harder for UK students to study abroad because the British government decided to leave the European Union and the Erasmus+ programme.
As a result, students now face more visa requirements, paperwork, and often higher costs when studying in European countries.
This has made studying abroad less accessible and more complicated than it was before Brexit.
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“It always felt normal before,” he says.
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“My older friends could move and study around Europe so easily.”
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But after Brexit and its complications, he says he is finding it more difficult to study overseas through DMU and hopes to get a job after graduation to save up and live in Europe for a year.
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“There’s more paperwork, more costs, and fewer programmes,” he says.
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“It just feels like doors have closed for me.”
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For many students, he says, the emotional impact is difficult to explain to older generations.
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“It’s not just politics to us,” he says.
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“It’s literally our future.”
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Leo then speaks about the frustration many young people feel.
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“You grow up hearing from your parents that if you work hard and get a degree, things will fall into place,” he says.
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“But now people are graduating into uncertainty.”
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He mentions friends worried about jobs and living costs, problems he thinks have worsened over the past decade.
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“Everything feels way more difficult now,” he says.
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As the conversation continues, Leo states that Brexit created a feeling of division.
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“It made people feel separated,” he says.
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“Like everyone was just constantly arguing, young against old, leave against remain.”
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At university, he says students often joke about politics online and make memes about political leaders, but underneath the humour is real concern.
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“A lot of people are actually anxious about what’s going to happen next,” he says.
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He describes moments of sitting in lectures discussing economic instability while wondering how much it might affect his own life after graduation.
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“You’re hearing about inflation, weaker trade, and businesses struggling, and then you think, ‘Right, so what does that mean for me in five years?’”
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Despite the frustration, Leo says he still believes young people should stay politically active rather than becoming hopeless.
“That’s why I still follow politics,” he says.
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“Even when it’s frustrating.”
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He talks positively about the younger generation becoming more vocal online and more willing to challenge political decisions made in Parliament.
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“Young people care,” he says.
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“People say we don’t, but we do.”
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When asked directly whether he believes Brexit was the right decision, he answers very quickly.
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“No,” he says.
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“I genuinely think it has damaged opportunities for people my age.”
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He pauses briefly before continuing.
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“And I think we’ll be dealing with the effects for years.”
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Leo says he sometimes wishes older politicians understood how differently younger people see the world.
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As students around him move through the café, laptops open and headphones on, Leo reflects on what his future might hold.
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He still hopes to work internationally one day, possibly in marketing or global business strategy, but admits the path feels less certain now than it once did.
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“Sometimes I just wonder what opportunities I might have had if things had stayed different,” he says.
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For Leo Osei, Brexit is more than a political event from history lessons or BBC news headlines.
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It is something impacting his education, his career ambitions, and the future of young people across the UK.
“I thought things would improve for British workers”: Farmer’s Brexit regret Ten years on​
Fruitful: Davis Williams stands next to his apricot tree, and says maintaining proper farming conditions since Brexit has been hard
Davis Williams spends most of his days surrounded by noise.
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Cars pass through the streets of London, deliveries arrive early in the morning, machinery runs constantly in the background, and workers move farm products from storage into vans.
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It is not the kind of image most people think of when they hear the word farming, but for Davis, farming has never been about open scenic countryside.
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It is work for him.
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Hard, daily work.
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At 55 years old, Davis works as a farmer at Brockwell and Lambeth Ranch, a small urban family farming business based in South London that supplies fruit, vegetables, eggs, and other produce to local markets and restaurants across the Lambeth borough.
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His role involves everything from managing crops and feeding animals to organizing stock deliveries and checking products before they leave or arrive at the site.
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“People hear the word ‘farmer’ and think of some massive field in the countryside,” he says with a small laugh.
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“That’s not this at all.”
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“This is real farming.”
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“Not as aesthetic.”
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Davis has worked there for nearly fourteen years.
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The company does not operate all year round and takes seasonal downtime during the winter and early spring.
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Before Brexit, he says life at the farm felt much more stable and allowed more room for mistakes.
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Deliveries arrived without issues, staffing was more reliable, and costs were manageable enough for the business to operate without constant pressure.
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“You still had hard days, obviously,” he says.
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“But it felt way more organised.”
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“You knew things would get done and there would be little to no issue.”
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At the time of the 2016 EU referendum, Davis supported leaving the European Union.
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Politically, he describes himself then as someone who believed the UK needed more independence and stronger control over its own industries and businesses.
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“A lot of us thought Brexit would help British workers,” he says.
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“You heard people talking about putting Britain first, helping local businesses, and making things fairer.”
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For Davis, those arguments made sense at the time.
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“You want to believe your work is going to be protected when MPs are saying that,” he says.
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“Especially when you’re working long hours trying to keep things going.”
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“You feel like the MPs are actually talking to you when they make all these promises regarding your profession.”
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But nearly ten years later, his opinion has changed.
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“I honestly don’t think most people understood how much industries depended on Europe,” he says.
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“Especially the food industry.”
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“Now it’s lots of forms, phone calls, paperwork, and not much government support for us.”
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One of the first major changes Davis noticed after Brexit was the movement of goods into the UK.
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He says delays and increased costs changed how the farm operated almost immediately.
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“Things that used to arrive very quickly took a lot longer,” he explains.
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“And everything became more expensive.”
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Farming equipment, fertilisers, and certain supplies all increased in price.
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According to Davis, those rising costs affected every part of the business.
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“When costs go up everywhere, there’s pressure everywhere,” he says.
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“Now we have to make sure we’re creating a profit and not making a loss.”
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After Brexit, several businesses faced increased expenses with importing and exporting goods.
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For example British retailer Marks & Spencer faced significant extra costs when exporting goods to Ireland.
The company reported that Brexit cost it £16.1 million in tariffs, administration, and supply chain expenses in 2020–21.
It also estimated that Brexit-related border issues led to around £15 million in lost sales in Ireland, while extra paperwork forced the company to remove about 800 product lines from Irish stores.
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He says the impact has also been felt through the animals the farm cares for.
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The farm keeps chickens and small livestock as part of its production, and Davis says maintaining proper conditions has become harder as expenses continue to rise.
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“You care about the animals because they depend on you, really,” he says.
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“You want everything done properly.”
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Although the animals are still looked after carefully, Davis says the financial pressure creates constant stress behind the scenes.
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“When prices keep rising, you’re always worrying about budgets, supplies, and maintenance,” he says.
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“That pressure is always there now.”
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For Davis, the hardest part has been watching the atmosphere around the job change.
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Before Brexit, he says there was pressure, but there was also optimism.
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“People felt more relaxed,” he says.
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“Now everyone’s stressed about money, delays, and shortages.”
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“Some buyers always ask whether there will be delays with deliveries and how long orders will take.”
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“It never used to be like that.”
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Living in South London, Davis says rising food prices have also made everyday life harder for ordinary people.
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“You see it yourself in shops,” he says.
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“Things cost more everywhere.”
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Because he works directly in food production, he feels the frustration more personally than most people.
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“That’s what really irks me,” he says.
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“We’re producing food, working harder than ever, and somehow everything still feels more expensive and complicated.”
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Davis says he feels disappointed by the way things turned out after Brexit.
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“I thought things would improve for British workers,” he says honestly.
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“Instead, it feels harder.”
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His political views have shifted over the years too.
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While he once strongly supported leaving the EU, he now feels politicians promised changes that never truly benefited workers like him.
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He says he does not have any particular politician in mind, but wants future governments to focus more on industries such as farming, transport, and food production rather than what he calls “useless political arguments”.
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“One time I was watching PMQs and I immediately switched my TV off,” he says.
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“It was just people in suits shouting at each other like kids every two seconds.”
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He continues, “But anyway, here we are.”
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“Since around 2021 it hasn’t all been bad.”
​
“We’ve had good times despite things getting much worse overall.”
​
“But it could be worse.”
​
“I don’t hate this job,” he says.
​
“I still care about it.”
​
But nearly ten years after Brexit, he says, “The future feels a bit more uncertain, but we’ll keep going for now as we always have.”
“You just want support again, really,” he says.
Busy: Volunteers pick up freshly grown turnips on the farm
By Christopher Okoye
Ten years after Brexit, the role of the media in the referendum is still very hard and almost
impossible to ignore. Brexit was not only shaped by leaders, politicians and Parliament. It
was shaped by big headlines, television debates, newspaper campaigns, and social media. The
media influenced how the British people saw Europe, immigration, and even Britain itself asa
country.
During the referendum, tabloids and news outlets became one of the biggest forces behind the
public opinion. Majority of newspapers kept framing Brexit as a battle for British identity and
independence. Headlines such as the Sun’s “BeLEAVE in Britain” and “QUEEN BACKS
BREXIT” and repeated anti-EU front pages created an atmosphere where leaving the EU was
presented as a way of protecting Britain’s future. A large amount of stories focused heavily
on immigration, border control, and mistrust from the European Union. Over some time,
these messages became repeated so often that they shaped the national conversation. Brexit
stopped being about economics or trade and became a lot more emotional and personal for
many voters across the country.
Campaign slogans also played a big role. Phrases like “Take Back Control”, made by leave
campaigners but repeated by several tabloids and news outlets, were simple but powerful.
They connected with people who felt ignored by politics or frustrated with the direction of
the country. The media boosted these slogans across television, newspapers, online articles,
and social media until they became part of the everyday Brexit discussion.
Social media intensified this even further. Platforms became full with political arguments,
viral posts, and strong opinions and comments from both Leave and Remain supporters. The
information travelled faster than ever, but so did misinformation, exaggeration, and the
emotional reactions from people. For example, a clip of Nigel Farage saying if Britain stayed
in the EU, 30 million Romanians would come to the UK, got heavy traction on Twitter. His
statement was false but many people around the UK believed his misinformation and used it
to influence their vote. Many people saw and read political content through clips, headlines,
or posts rather than detailed discussions and written pieces about policies or long-term
consequences of leaving or remaining. As a result, public debates became a lot more popular
and was often more heated and divided.
The media also changed and shaped the tone of politics during Brexit. Political discussions
became more confrontational and dramatic, with television debates and newspaper coverage
focusing heavily on conflict, almost like Punch and Judy politics. Instead of encouraging
calm and composed discussions, many media outlets highlighted division because division
attracted attention and engagement. Britain increasingly felt split between opposing sides,
with a very little space for compromise or understanding.
Looking back now after ten years, It is difficult to ignore how Brexit showed how influential
modern media can be during major political events. The referendum was not simply decided
through facts and statistics. It was shaped by emotion and misinformation. For many people,
Brexit became less about policy and more about identity, frustration, and trust.
The Sun’s “QUEEN BACKS BREXIT” headline became one of the most controversial newspaper covers of the Brexit era.
By Christopher Okoye
10 years on, was Brexit a success?
Ten years after Brexit, the UK is still paying the big price for a campaign and movement built
more on emotion than actual reality. A phrase that was used for a patriotic revolution , a
chance to “take back control”, has instead left the country divided and economically weak.
The promises were bold and strong, whereas the results have been painfully underwhelming.
Back in 2016 during the first referendum, the Leave campaign used high levels of political
marketing to gain support. Red buses were used and toured the country carrying the now-
infamous claim that leaving the EU would save up £350 million a week for the NHS. Slogans
like, “Take Back Control” were repeated during their campaign. Their campaign tactic was
designed spark emotion and not to inform supporters. They played on the fears of
immigration and a sense of nostalgia for a past Britain many people believed had been lost.
Politicians like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage became the faces of the leave campaign,
selling Brexit as an easy answer to problems that were far more complicated.
But a decade later, where are the benefits the British people were promised?
Brexit has since created more barriers than opportunities for many British businesses. Small
companies that had traded freely with Europe are now overwhelmed and flooded with
paperwork, customs checks, and also extra costs. The fishing industry that was used during
the campaign by leave campaigners as proof that Brexit would revive the British industry, has
struggled with delays and reduced exports. Before Brexit London was seen as Europe’s
financial powerhouse, but has also lost part of its influence as big companies have moved
jobs elsewhere within the EU. For ordinary people, the effects are impossible to ignore with
higher food prices and worker shortages and low level economy.
Politically, the trouble has also been just as bad. Since the referendum, Britain has shuffled
through many prime ministers, all trying to convince the public that Brexit was working
while frustration across the country continued to grow. Under Theresa May, Parliament faced
ongoing disagreements over Brexit withdrawal deals, creating political uncertainty and
delaying decisions. Parliament was also prorogued under Boris Johnson in 2019 because
there were several long Brexit debates with no legislation, the move caused major
controversy and highlighted the big tensions surrounding Brexit.
However, the deepest scars left by Brexit are social ones. The referendum revealed how
divided Britain had become, young people were against older generations, major cities
against smaller towns and Scotland against Westminster. Families and friendships were
strained by political arguments. Public debate became increasingly hostile and were driven
more by anger and mistrust than political understanding. What was presented and first seen as
a victory for democracy had, resulted in greater disappointment with politics itself.
Some Supporters still claim Brexit restored and helped gain British sovereignty, but
sovereignty means little when living costs continue to rise and public services remain
stretched. Independence does not improve people’s daily lives or shorten NHS waiting times,
or even replace the opportunities many young people lost when freedom of movement across
Europe ended.
​
Brexit was more than just a political decision, it was an emotional gamble with the country’s
future. Ten years later, the UK is still waiting for the change it was promised. Instead of unity
and renewal, the country has faced instability, division, and economic uncertainty.
Former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May stand in front of controversial bus during the Vote Leave campaign
The winners and losers of Brexit: who really paid the price?
By Christopher Okoye
Ten years after Brexit, some groups had gained opportunities from leaving the European
Union whilst many others were left struggling with the consequences of it. Brexit was
presented and talked about during the referendum like a turning point that would benefit and
aid the whole country equally, but a decade later Britain looks divided socially, economically
and also politically. For every said “winner” of Brexit, there seems to be another group still
dealing with the losses.
Supporters of Brexit argued that leaving the EU would allow and ensure Britain to regain
control over trade, laws, borders, and business. Some industries did actually benefit from the
independence in decision-making that Brexit had given, and supporters still point to Britain’s
ability to create its own trade agreements and policies outside the European Union rules.
Professional service firms like KPMG and Deloitte benefited from Brexit from increased
demand for Brexit consultancy and trade advice. Certain political groups and campaigners
also gained a lot of influence after the referendum and stamped their name in British modern
politics, with people such as Nigel Farage becoming some of the most recognisable political
voices and names in the country.
However, for many businesses and workers, leaving the EU had brought a lot more
uncertainty and worries than it did opportunities. Small companies that had once traded freely
with Europe, all of a sudden faced a large number of customs checks, paperwork, and rising
export costs. One good example is Hampstead Tea, which a small British tea company that
was struggling after Brexit because of new export paperwork and the border rules when
selling to EU countries. The company said that Brexit had made shipping products into
Europe more expensive and unreliable. Many business owners around the UK also said that
Brexit made growth harder, especially for industries that depended heavily on easy trade with
EU countries. The delays at borders and supply chain problems became a lot more common
in the years after Britain officially left the EU.
The fishing industry was constantly being presented during the Leave campaign as one of
Brexit’s future success stories. Leave campaigners promised that the British fishermen would
get greater control over waters and larger opportunities outside the EU regulations. However
many in the industry actually later faced delays exporting fresh seafood into Europe because
of the new border procedures and checks after Brexit. For some fishing communities, the
reality felt far more complicated than the promises made during the campaign and left a lot of
them frustrated and angry towards the government.
Young people were also among the communities that were most affected by Brexit. Many
lost the freedom to live, work, and study easily across Europe. Programmes and opportunities
from colleges and universities that had once connected Britain more closely with the EU
became a lot more limited after Brexit. At the same time, younger generations were often
among the strongest and passionate supporters of remaining in the European Union, however
they were too young to vote, making Brexit feel to some of them, like a decision shaped more
by older generations impacting their future.
Politically, Brexit actually created both winners and losers too. Some politicians gained huge
popularity and status by leading the Leave movement, particularly Boris Johnson and Nigel
Farage as said before, whom heavily campaigned for it and won the vote. But Brexit also
brought several years of political instability, leadership changes, and public frustration.
Parliament became much divided over withdrawal agreements and new legislation, while
debates surrounding Brexit repeated and dominated British politics for years.
Perhaps the biggest loser of it all was the national unity of the country. The referendum
exposed and showed major divisions between the generations, regions, and the political
identities across the UK. Scotland and Northern Ireland also started to question their future
place within the UK, whilst political debates for more power for them became increasingly
hostile and emotional.
Ten years later, Brexit still feels like a country split between those who believed they
regained control and those who believe Britain lost opportunities. The winners and losers of
Brexit were never as simple as the campaign slogans suggested.
10 facts about Brexit
1. The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016
On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on EU membership.
ï‚·Leave: 51.9% ï‚·Remain: 48.1%
​
2. Brexit stands for “British exit”
The term “Brexit” is a blend of:
“Britain” + “exit”
It became widely used during the referendum campaign.
​
3. The referendum was promised by David Cameron
David Cameron promised the referendum in 2013 and held it in 2016 after pressure within his
party and rising support for UKIP.
​
4. Voter turnout was very high
Turnout was about 72%, one of the highest for a UK-wide vote in decades.
​
5. The Leave campaign slogan was “Take Back Control”
This slogan became one of the most powerful messages of the campaign, focusing on:
ï‚·Sovereignty
ï‚·Immigration
ï‚·Laws and borders
​
6. The UK officially left the EU in 2020
The UK formally left the European Union on 31 January 2020 at 11pm GMT.
​
7. Brexit negotiations lasted several years
After the vote, the UK entered complex negotiations with the EU over:
ï‚·Trade
ï‚·Borders
ï‚·Citizens’ rights
ï‚·Regulations
​
8. Article 50 triggered the formal exit process
Theresa May triggered Article 50 in March 2017, officially starting the legal process of
leaving the EU.
​
9. Brexit caused major political division in the UK
The referendum revealed deep divides:
ï‚·younger voters mostly Remain
ï‚·older voters mostly Leave
ï‚·Scotland and Northern Ireland leaned Remain
​
10. Brexit changed UK-EU trade rules
After leaving, the UK exited the EU single market and customs union, leading to:
ï‚·new border checks
ï‚·paperwork for exports/imports
ï‚·changes in travel and business rules
My name is Christopher Okoye, and I am a third-year Journalism student at DMU with a big
interest in British politics and current affairs. I created and made Beyond Brexit to look and
focus on the long-term effects of Brexit and the impacts it has had on the United Kingdom
politically, economically, and also socially.
​
Beyond Brexit is made to encourage reflection, discussion, and deeper understanding of how
life in the UK has changed over the last 10 years. Whether your views on Brexit are positive
or negative, its influence on British society can’t actually be ignored.
Thank you for visiting Beyond Brexit, and I hope this website helps you better understand the
lasting impact Brexit has had on the United Kingdom.
About
Contact us on Instagram @beyondbrexit_