On June 23, citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a referendum that shocked the world. Locally and globally, citizens braced for backlash as Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, the value of the British pound dropped, and stock markets around the world plummeted.

The vote was extremely close, and three million people signed a petition asking for a second referendum. Since then, Britain’s government officials have started exit negotiations with the EU, new Prime Minister Theresa May has taken office, and international markets have calmed somewhat.

Even so, not everything is clear with regard to Brexit.  Upper School history teacher Kevin Conlon said, “A lot remains unknown about what will change in the relationship between Britain and the EU.”  Some uncertainty will remain until the official split happens.

For the UK to leave the EU, Article 50 of the Libson Treaty has to be enacted. This article gives both the UK and the EU two years to come to a common agreement about exit negotiations. However, Article 50 has never been used, so the  intended time frame may not be accurate.

Brexit votes were split between two sides, which came to be known as “Britain Stronger in Europe” and “Vote Leave.” Britain Stronger in Europe was backed by important Conservative figures such as former Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne.

Supporters of Britain Stronger in Europe liked the mobility EU membership provided–being a part of a union of nations makes it easier to travel, transport goods, and immigrate from one nation to another in the same union.

Vote Leave was endorsed by senior Conservatives such as Boris Johnson. These people, in addition to the Independence Party–a group which has promoted the UK’s separation from the EU for years–believed EU membership was not worth the price Great Britain was paying, as it is one of ten countries which pays more than it gets out of the EU budget. Additionally, Vote Leave campaigners wanted Britain to have full management of its borders and opposed the European Union’s allowance of its citizens moving from one EU nation to another without needing a visa.

Middle School history teacher Anthony Shaker opposed the Leave campaign and its messages. “Many of their advertisements, which included images of foreign refugees meant to incite fear, were, in my view, inaccurate, inappropriate, xenophobic, and racist,” Shaker said. “Whenever politicians use this kind of tactic to score political points, it makes me concerned both with the leadership of these countries but also the underlying stereotypes of ethnic, religious, and racial groups.”

In addition, Shaker said, “As a history teacher, I’m always concerned whenever European countries opt to disengage with each other as opposed to collaborating and cooperating.”  

Upper School history teacher Jeanne Barr stressed the importance of knowing more than one language once Great Britain is no longer a part of the EU. As Great Britain splits from the EU, the population of EU citizens who speak English is likely to go down. Barr predicted that the financial industry would start to move away from London and toward a new financial capital city, which will be in a non-English-speaking country in Europe.

“This will all play out over the next 10-20 years,” Barr said. “That is precisely the time-frame in which current Parker students will be peaking in their own careers.”  Barr encouraged Parker students who would like to go into international affairs to “lay the foundation now, in high school, to be multilingual, and to plan to study abroad in college so that you have the experience of immersing yourselves in foreign cultures.”

Parker families who have occupational or familial ties to Britain will be affected by Brexit, according to Conlon. The Brexit vote led to higher interest in U.S. government treasury bonds, Conlon added, which he called “a safe haven for investors who are shy about investing in Britain for now.”

In other words, those who are worried about Brexit’s financial implications are vying for treasury bonds, allowing investors to drop their interest rates in order to pay less money. “This has caused U.S. home mortgage interest rates to go down a bit, so now it’s slightly cheaper to finance the purchase of a home,” Conlon said. “This will lead to an uptick in business for realtors and housing developers.”

Freshman James Leet, who moved from England to Chicago three years ago, offered his family’s sentiments. “They all think it was a terrible mistake,” Leet said, “and that the economy is going to go down the drain, and that it is going to take years to recover from.” With the exception of Leet’s older sister, his immediate family members are dual citizens of the US and the UK.

Brexit will continue to unfold as time passes, and as Barr said, “This is all better than ‘Game of Thrones’–stay tuned!!”