MSE Poll: How do you FEEL Brexit will affect your personal finances over the next few years? 26 March 2019 at 6:28PM edited 26 March 2019 at 8:52PM in Money Saving Polls 6 replies 3.9K views

Former_MSE_Karl

Poll started 26 March 2019

The UK's exit from the EU has now been delayed until at least 12 April. We wanted to test your gut reaction about Brexit and its effect on your pocket, rather than the specifics.

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Did you vote? Are you surprised at the results so far? Have your say below.

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money_dragon

Since we voted, there has been less unemployment and wages have on average risen. The Stock Market is doing better than before our Brexit vote and the money exchange (certainly between Euro and £, and I know it as I change it quite often) hasn't changed. Admittedly rents and house prices have risen, but that was predicted whether we remained or left the EU. So why are so many Remainers worried? Easy. They listen to pro-remain media and pro-remain politicians who have vested interest to keep on getting free trips to Brussels (and hotels etc. etc.). Ordinary people will not see any difference in their income or outgoings. True, there will be some disruptions, but that happens even when there are changes of governments or expensive and totally unjustifiable wars such as the one a previous labour leader got us into.

Takmon

money_dragon wrote: »

Since we voted, there has been less unemployment and wages have on average risen. The Stock Market is doing better than before our Brexit vote and the money exchange (certainly between Euro and £, and I know it as I change it quite often) hasn't changed. Admittedly rents and house prices have risen, but that was predicted whether we remained or left the EU. So why are so many Remainers worried? Easy. They listen to pro-remain media and pro-remain politicians who have vested interest to keep on getting free trips to Brussels (and hotels etc. etc.). Ordinary people will not see any difference in their income or outgoings. True, there will be some disruptions, but that happens even when there are changes of governments or expensive and totally unjustifiable wars such as the one a previous labour leader got us into.

When the vote to leave was announced there was a major drop in the value of GBP and it has remained below that level since. Just compare it to the EUR or USD just before the referendum and the values since then.

Just remember that we haven't left the EU yet and Honda have already closed a factory which means a loss of 3500 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs.
Once we leave (depending on the deal we get) we will certainly see a lot more businesses move abroad where they can save money. It's quite expensive to be located in the UK as it is and once other barriers such as import/export restrictions are in place it will be the final push to justify the move. This will then result in a lot of people losing their jobs.

It will be interesting to see how many people will still think its a good idea when they have lost their job and find it difficult to find another one.

LHW99

Takmon wrote: »

When the vote to leave was announced there was a major drop in the value of GBP and it has remained below that level since. Just compare it to the EUR or USD just before the referendum and the values since then.

Just remember that we haven't left the EU yet and Honda have already closed a factory which means a loss of 3500 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs.
Once we leave (depending on the deal we get) we will certainly see a lot more businesses move abroad where they can save money. It's quite expensive to be located in the UK as it is and once other barriers such as import/export restrictions are in place it will be the final push to justify the move. This will then result in a lot of people losing their jobs.

It will be interesting to see how many people will still think its a good idea when they have lost their job and find it difficult to find another one.

You cannot argue this is the result of Brexit though - all manufacturers are under pressure due to the current global climate, for example Ford is planning cuts worldwide, and the process generally has been going on well before 2016
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/business/ford-motor-layoffs-europe.html

badmemory

LHW99 wrote: »

You cannot argue this is the result of Brexit though - all manufacturers are under pressure due to the current

Anyone who believes that Brexit has not affected some of these closure decisions is being naive. With the additional tariffs to be imposed we would have to reduce the minimum wage, which would significantly increase the benefits bill, in order to even pretend to compete.



Let's face it if you can buy from a mate (read fellow EU member) at £1 & also buy from a stranger at £1 who are you realistically going to buy from. Not exactly rocket science is it?

pheonix254

As a manager within a FTSE100 company, I can confirm you're naive if you think Brexit isn't affecting our hiring decisions and site closures for UK employees, or costing a fortune to prepare for worst case eventualities. It won't collapse us, but it (has been and) will continue to be a rough and expensive ride. we have moved departments to Germany and elsewhere, and forgone investment in UK infrastructure too. It's not been as bad as some predictions, but it certainly isn't good, and this IS due to Brexit - we wouldn't have done it otherwise.

Looking at the poll somewhat surprised me - from a risk analysis perspective, you're gambling a lot of perceived downside on very little perceived upside. Then again, it's only looking at it from a financial perspective, and there were plenty of other reasons people originally voted leave.

eddoinlondon

Lets be honest, nothing is really gonna change. There is a lot of grandstanding and the EU has an interest to stick it to the UK to scare other nations from leaving, but in the end all the countries benefit from trade and most likely will just sign new free trade agreements, after the whole issue has cooled down. As the first reply said, yes there might be some disruptions, and there definitely is a lot of fearmongering about the Brexit apocalypse, but in the end it will be business as usual. The UK has a lot to lose, yes, but European countries also have a lot to lose. For the UK, say its 50% of trade and for EU countries its 15%. But 15% is a big number and it will hurt them a lot, and thus everyone has an interest in getting along. And they will, it will just be a push and pull until the last moment and maybe a bit past it. Its a battle of public opinion.

All that said, although I was pro-Brexit before (I don't vote, I'm not british, just living here) because the EU was going in a very bad direction. But now, with nationalism on the rise within European countries I think there is a chance for things to improve. Pressure from Visigrad countries as well as Italy among others means that the UK would have done well to have stayed in the EU, they would've been an important voice.

But this is inevitable, and let me just add that I am confident a second Brexit vote would yield the same result (most importantly because enough people will believe the will of the people should be respected from the 1st vote, and it is illegal to vote a second time around, that they would refrain from voting leave, and even if that's just 3-4% of people, its enough to keep Brexit going).

So stop whining, and pressure your elected officials to do the right thing and get a deal through, and for God's sake, to start real negotiations with countries that support the UK and their wish for sovereignty (Italy, Hungary, US, China, Brazil, Colombia, all want to make deals with the UK).

And yes, if the EU decides to impose a hard Brexit with tariffs, it might hurt a bit on the short term, but as the UK makes deals, they will suffer. The UK is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, and all they want is to go back on the Lisbon treaty, before which there was plenty of trade between European countries. All this rhetoric is just to try to bully the british politicians into ignoring the will of the people, in favor of the elites in London who have profited most from an agreement that has affected the average person most.

You want democracy? Then respect the vote.