The British faced events not seen in over 30 years; Expert points out that the population is reaping the consequences of the Brexit exit
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O United Kingdom experienced atypical moments in 2022. Starting with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Elizabeth II and ends with the series of resignations as British Prime Minister. From June to October, the British dominated the news with a succession of events that will go down in history. Elizabeth II became the longestserving monarch in line with Britain’s throne in June and hundreds of subjects gathered in the streets of London to attend celebrations marking her 70th year in power, the populace bid farewell to the late Queen three months later on 8 September. According to the obituary signed by his daughter, Princess Anne, the cause of death was old age. The monarch’s funeral lasted 11 days and was marked by processions leading from Scotland, where she died, to England. executives like Jair Bolsonaro🇧🇷 Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron were present at the wake that took place on September 17. For Igor Lucena, PhD in International Relations, this was the most important event of the year in the UK and he adds that 2023 will be the culmination of the King Charles III, who ascended to the throne immediately after the death of his mother, will give the most important speech of the year. The event is scheduled to take place on May 6th.
Political instability has been another recurring problem in the country, despite the news of the royal family growing in importance year after year due to certain circumstances. After all, there have been two resignations as prime ministers and three prime ministers since Britain left Brexit in 2016. Liz Truss, who took office on September 6, served only 45 days and was the longestserving man. His plan to improve the economy was not well received, and his attempts to carry it out caused Truss to create an even greater political and financial crisis than he already had. Lucena points out that the current situation of the British shows that the withdrawal of Brexit There was an error. “In my view, there is a clear position that amplifies the effects of the economic and political crisis caused by the war Ukraine and the disruption of production chains. This is causing the UK to recover more slowly compared to other countries in the US European Union and they are not moving forward in terms of governmentrelated exchanges,” explains the expert.
“In practice, we see a country that has opted for a vision of crowding out its main trading partners and is unable to establish new relationships,” adds Lucena, concluding that this scenario “puts the UK in a state that manages to be poorer than other Europeans and that in the long term with the socalled “hard Brexit” the negative effects on the economy will be amplified by the effects of the war in Ukraine”. Currently the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the country’s former finance minister. He is seen by many rightwing MPs as the right person to calm markets and pull Britain out of the economic and social crisis. The international relations expert points out that the new prime minister “needs to cut public spending sharply because the inflation problem is the main problem and the country’s economy is experiencing growth problems not seen since the 1970s. “. UK inflation hit 10.1% on an annualized basis, hitting a 40year high, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The last major record was in February 1982. “The main point of the UK economy in 2023 will be a sharp refraction, with the sole aim of reducing inflation in practice, which is a much more ‘funny’ issue here because it are completely unfamiliar with this inflationary concept that we live in Brazil,” explains Lucena.
To fight inflation, the Bank of England (BoE) raised interest rates to 3.5%, the highest level in 14 years. According to a statement, the European Central Bank also announced an interest rate hike of 50 percentage points. “While there is no doubt that economic activity is weakening, there are signs it is more resilient than expected and it is unclear how quickly the labor market will ease,” the British bank said. Both the BoE and the government believe the UK economy has entered a recession that is likely to last throughout next year. This is likely to be partly due to the impact of rising energy and fuel prices. Rising prices devalue wages and threaten to trigger strikes in the public and private sectors. In December, the nurses announced a twoday walkout in search of a pay raise. It was the first time this had happened in over 106 years.
Nurses stage largest strike in 106 years │EFE/EPA/ANDY RAIN
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reports that nurses’ salaries have fallen by 20% in real terms since 2010, the result of several years of subinflation adjustment. Despite a slowdown from 11.1% in October to 10.7% in November, UK inflation this year remains at its highest level in four decades. The strike comes at a time when Britain’s respected National Health Service (NHS) is grappling with funding it has said is inadequate for several years. The railway workers also went on strike in search of better wage conditions, especially with the approaching winter. In addition to political and economic problems, the British were also dealing with another problem that was long gone: high temperatures. Victims of climate change, the country reached more than 40 degrees. Until then, the previous record was 38.7 °C, measured on July 25, 2019 in Cambridge. Within a short time there were violent heat waves. According to scientists, this is a direct consequence of the climate crisis as greenhouse gas emissions increase in intensity, duration and frequency. It was so hot that two London airports had to close down due to runways melting and damage.