BREXIT: A Decade Later

By Sisaru Diyunuge

Britons decisively voted to end their 43-year membership with the European Union on the 23rd June 2016, effectively severing the UK’s economic, legal and labour market connectivity with the continent (BBC News,2016). As the UK completes a decade post-referendum, it can be argued that Britain is poorer, less influential, and more divided than it was in 2016.

This essay explores how the origins of Britain's troubles predate the consequences of the results of a single vote. In fact, this essay hopes to explore how Brexit was not the silver bullet its proponents were hoping for - a pivot to the Commonwealth and the Anglosphere in the hope for markets beyond the EU has arguably backfired as this strategy has come to terms with geopolitical, geographic and cultural realities. On the other hand, the topic of immigration - which garnered tremendous attention - an anxiety that ran deep in British society, which arguably was the key reason for the referendum, has indeed produced the opposite of what many “leave” voters wanted. Thus, this essay examines how the above two factors contributed to Britain’s woes a decade later before considering what Britain's future might be in the decade ahead.

A laggard of growth

A decade after the leave vote, economists are measuring the barometers of the economy to move past speculation. Measurements published by researchers concluded that Brexit has indeed become a burden to the UK economy over a structural drag rather than a permanent one-off shock. As the UK economy is no longer permeable to the EU free-market, the economic productivity of the UK is said to reduce by 4% year-on-year. In contrast, researchers claim this reduction in productivity is predicted not be as drastic had the UK remained in the EU (UK in a Changing Europe, 2026).

Nowhere is this rift more prevalent than the trade of merchandise and services across the channel from the UK to mainland Europe: it is estimated that exports from the UK are 10% to 15% lesser now than in the past. Key reasons quoted are complicated customs declaration forms, rules-of-origin paperwork and sanitary checks on all merchandise exports - this would not have been the case without Brexit as smaller to medium size UK exporters are unable to absorb legal and administrative costs as a result of these new non-tariff barriers (UK in a Changing Europe, 2026).

Brexit: The Straw that broke the Camel’s back

One must be forgiven if they treated Brexit to be the sole reason for all of Britain’s malaise. However, one must closely examine the destruction left by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008 on the British economy. It is no secret that London is arguably the world’s premier banking and finance hub, this meant that the UK economy was overly exposed to the crash of 2008. What followed the GFC of 2008 was a brutal austerity package delivered by the Conservative government’s exchequer led by then-chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne - leading to widespread spending cuts throughout the 2010’s crippling public services such as the NHS whilst wages declined year on year (Global Banking and Finance,2026). Thus, one may deduce that sustained cuts to public spending left UK public services with broken systems, a trajectory which each UK government since was neither able to reverse, reform nor change.

It is true that Britons were experiencing their real wages decline year-on-year since the GFC of 2008 leading to a stagnation of British wealth and standard of living compared to their OECD peers. Brexit, therefore, is a compounding of the malaise rather than the cause.

A lack of interest

Proponents of Brexit argued that leaving the common market would inherently mean Britain taking control of how they do business with the rest of the world, thus opening up the market for and to emerging economies of Asia and the Americas and harnessing the partnerships with the old Commonwealth nations. An article published by the London School of Economics (2024) explains what the British government’s strategy was “Global Britain” - which one may even argue is a strategy to pivot away from the European Union and onto Asia and the Americas. The same study concluded that this strategy, a decade on, has simply failed (LSE, 2024).

The UK-Australia trade agreement was the first of many trade deals negotiated and ratified, and followed by another with New Zealand - however, given both countries are; a) geographical distance from the UK, b) their existing trade agreements with Asian neighbours and most importantly c) both Australia and New Zealand having very successful agriculture exports, meant that the UK did not, in essence, get what it hoped for. In fact, the Centre for European Reform (n.d.) analysed that the agreements between these countries would only add to the British economy very marginally with 0.008% from Australia and, with 0.003% from New Zealand, over a period of time till 2035.

India, the former jewel in the Empire’s crown, is a comprehensive negotiator. The potential trade deal with India was trumpeted by the then-government of the UK as the largest prize of the Commonwealth strategy. However, talks have dragged on for years and the yields of this process have been significantly disproportionate for the UK - said to only add approximately 0.2% to the UK GDP (Centre for European Reform, n.d.) While the trade deal with the United States has not yet taken place in full, the UK’s major trade partners with or without Brexit remain to be EU member states (LSE,2024).

Immigration, not trade

Brexit has often perplexed experts and economists in Britain and across the world, and one would be forgiven if they asked “So, why did Brexit happen?” The EU’s policy on free movement within member countries have become a lightning rod in the UK for quite some time, and the ensuing economic malaise has cast a spell away from the actual problem the many jobs taken by new faces across Britain - in low skills sectors like fruit picking and gig-workers to doctors and nurses in the NHS. This has undoubtedly caused anxieties about wages, housing and public services and above all, national identity amongst Britons (UK in a Changing Europe, 2026).

One would be mistaken to believe, or perceive that anxieties about Britain’s immigration woes were limited to the precariat class, however a CNN report on the tenth anniversary of Brexit (2026) sheds light on a software developer named Geriant who voted “leave”, constantly citing that Britain did not have control over its borders due to EU laws and was anxious about what the impact would be to the NHS and other public services if inundated with foreigners, despite the decades of long austerity.

However, it can be argued that Brexit did not usher in the desired outcomes. “Taking back control” paved the way for over 550,000 immigrants, a far greater number than the approximately 250,000 in the pre-Brexit era, resulting in a peak in 2023 with approximately 950,000 (CNN Business, 2026). Essentially, intra and inter-EU migration was replaced by non-EU migration from the former Commonwealth, Latin-America and Africa who were needed to replace Britain’s ageing workforce.

As of 2025 and 2026, Britain’s net migration levels are down, but this is thanks to tough migration policies adopted by both the Conservative as well as Labour governments and not Brexit (Office for National Statistics, 2026; Full Fact,2026).

And the decade ahead?

It can be understood that Brexit did not deliver the intended results, and in fact, the reverse occurred in relation to immigration and nothing at all when it comes to international trade. Nonetheless, the investment bank Goldman Sachs (2026) reported that Britain may have weathered the worst of the Brexit malaise. The Labour-led government since 2024 has pursued a long-term reform agenda and has made inroads to iron-out any friction that might have existed with partners (Idea Farm,2026).

However, the long-term damage caused by years of austerity and Brexit, goes beyond the economy. Today, Britain is divided, more than ever whilst voters have become increasingly impatient with both the Conservative and Labour parties. This is evident through the recent polls which ensured wins for the far-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage, arguably one of the chief architects of the “leave” campaign (CGTN, 2026). While there is a renewed campaign to rejoin the EU via the “National Rejoin March” - this has been limited to urban areas like London, Manchester and are only popular amongst young urban university-educated voters.

The promises made by the leave campaign clearly did not bear fruit - Global Britain via the Commonwealth did not yield desired results, and the debate on immigration got even hotter. The case for Global Britain is weak, and is a hard nut to crack - years of austerity led to a stagnation of wages and a sharp decline in the standard of living. Brexit was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. Once, the mighty British Empire - the greatest ever known to mankind, struggles today to lead a delegation to successfully negotiate a trade deal, struggles today to keep social cohesion and unity within its borders while the Commonwealth moves on from the days of the Empire. A decade on, the UK finds itself at a crossroad, no closer to a settled answer to the question it once asked its citizens.

References

BBC News (2016) EU Referendum Results, http://www.bbc.com.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum/results

Centre for European Reform (n.d.) Weighed down by gravity: UK trade policy after Brexit, https://www.cer.eu/insights/weighed-down-gravity-uk-trade-policy-after-brexit

CGTN (2026), Analysis: 6 PMs in a decade - Why is UK stuck in political turmoil?, https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-06-23/Analysis-6-PMs-in-a-decade-Why-is-UK-stuck-in-political-turmoil--1Od38p1ro5i/p.html

CNN Business (2026), Ten years on: How Brexit has impacted the UK economy, https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/22/business/brexit-anniversary-uk-economy-impact-intl

FULL FACT (2025), How many migrants come to the UK?, https://fullfact.org/immigration/net-migration-to-the-uk/

Global Banking and Finance (2026), UK political instability: PM Turnover and Economic Challenges, https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/anyone-fix-britain-regular-change-pm-symptom-uks-malaise/

Goldman Sachs Investment Research (2026), UK - The Economic Cost of Brexit, Ten Years On, https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2026/06/24/487d9f10-f31c-4e8d-ac71-b248ce8a8aaf.html

Idea Farm (2026), Brexit 10 Years On: What’s worked, what hasn’t, what’s next?, https://theideafarm.com/markets/brexit-10-years-on-whats-worked-what-hasnt-whats-next/

LSE (2024) Global Britain has failed - what next? British Politics and Policy Blog, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/global-britain-has-failed-what-next/

Office for National Statistics (2026), Long-term international migration, provisional:year ending December 2025, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/longterminternationalmigrationprovisional/yearendingdecember2025

UK in a Changing Europe (2026), Brexit ten years on: the economy, https://ukandeu.ac.uk/brexit-ten-years-on-the-economy/

DISCOVERING ANGLO SAXON LITERATURE

By Sanumi Vinanga

Anglo-Saxon literature is basically Old English literature, originating in the 5th century AD with the arrival of Germanic tribes, which are Anglo, Saxon and Judas, in Britain - specifically, right after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in 410 AD, with the fall of the West Roman Empire. The Anglo-Saxon era existed from 410 AD to 1066 AD. Before the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain, the Celtic tribes already inhabited the island of Britain, and were known as ancient Britons, which later shifted to British.

Anglo-Saxon literature consists of great poems and riddles, which were not written down till later in the 6th century; therefore, most of them were carried across generations through oral transmission. With Christianization in the 6th century, the written manuscripts were introduced, and Anglo-Saxon literature, which was transmitted orally, began to be written down. Many such manuscripts were written in Latin, which gained visibility in Western Culture. The great pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature are the famous Beowulf Manuscript, The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife’s Lament, Waldhere, Deor and more. Most of the work can be categorised into Heroic epic, Religious Poetry, Elegiac Poetry, which are those poems that express sorrow, and those with a historical context. Importantly, most of these poems remain anonymous.

During the Anglo-Saxon period, there were constant attacks by Vikings who destroyed most of the Anglo-Saxon literature, which was later restored by King Alfred of England. Therefore, when reminiscing about the Anglo-Saxon period, one cannot ignore the role of King Alfred, who contributed to preserving Anglo-Saxon literature and encouraged the learning of English. One such prominent book is ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicles’, created during the reign of King Alfred the Great in the 9th century. It was distributed across the monasteries in England, and consists of four volumes of Old English poetry from this era.

An extract taken from the translation of the epic Beowulf, a heroic warrior who killed the ‘Grendel the monster’ and rescued Hrothgar, the king of the Danes and his kingdom, reads:

“Hrothgar answered, helm of the Scyldings:

“I remember this man as the merest of striplings.

His father long dead now was Ecgtheow titled,

Him Hrethel the Geatman granted at home his

One only daughter; his battle-brave son

Is come but now, sought a trustworthy friend.

Seafaring sailors asserted it then,

Who valuable gift-gems of the Geatmen carried

As peace-offering thither,

that he thirty men’s grapple

Has in his hand, the hero-in-battle."

This short extract explains how Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, introduces Beowulf, the warrior, and amused by his entrance, says he has the strength of 30 men. The manner in the storytelling unfolds is really captivating. This is one of the longest works of Anglo-Saxon literature. It says that the original Anglo-Saxon work is much closer to German than English, and some also argue that this falls into a category of prose. This is an early poem of the emergence of ‘England’ which was printed by an Icelandic-Danish scholar, Thorkelin, in 1815. And if you're into good old riddles, ‘The Exeter’ it is, that you should read! It is known as one of the jewels in the crown of Anglo-Saxon Literature (10 Works of Anglo-Saxon Literature Everyone Should Read, 2025).

One of the fascinating aspects is that ‘Women in the Anglo-Saxon period held a surprising degree of independence, including the right to own and bequeath property’, and I hope that would be something you look for. There were military leaders, queens, witches, and murderesses who consumed the utmost power and influence during that period.

A young woman must always be stern, hard-of-heart, unmoved, full of belief, enduring breast-cares, suppressing her own feelings. She must always appear cheerful, even in a tumult of grief.

(An extract from ‘The wife’s lament’ found in the book ‘The Exeter’. Perhaps the oldest feminist poems, as there are many interpretations)

This is just glance at the greatness of Anglo-Saxon literature. The more you read about it, the more you find how amusing the poetry is. If you hop onto the internet, there are tons of articles and sites that you can learn about the Anglo-Saxon Period. Anglo-Saxon literature is an area one should definitely look into, as it takes you on an adventurous journey to the early roots of English literature. Hope this article is an inspiration for that.

(The interest for this article was evoked at a lecture at Westminster House, Colombo, where Malcolm Godden, FBA, formerly Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford, spoke on ‘The Anglo-Saxons: Their Writings, Their Stories and Their Status in Modern Times’. Appreciation is due to the British High Commission in Colombo, the British Council and the Awarelogue Asian Institute)

BOER WARS: Comprehending the strengths of South Africa

By Githmi Koralage

Rainbow Nation, a country popularized as the Republic of South Africa (RSA) is located at the southernmost end of the Eurasian-African landmass. A unitary, parliamentary republic with an executive president, South Africa is often considered a middle power in the region. Despite the beauty of its landscape, and diversity in the society, culture, as well as environment, the world acknowledges the country as one that was once home to gruesome systemic racial-segregation; and apartheid. It garnered a negative perception, leading the general public all over the world to view them as a developing nation at the end of the spectrum. However, when observing its history, especially the creation of RSA, it is evident that South Africa is a country with strong, courageous, determined, warriors who cannot be toppled easily. It is specifically understood when studying the Boer War. Accordingly, this article discusses the Boer War, and what it says about the reality of South Africa.

Time Before the Boer War

The indigenous San and Khoikhoi people who lived in the modern-day South African region were joined by settlers from the North African continent from the 4^th century onwards. The continent and region were introduced to the Europeans with the Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias traveling around the tip of Southern Africa in the 1480s. The first European to land on African soil was however Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama when he landed on Natal coast in 1497. In 1652, the Cape colony at Table Bay was founded by Jan Van Riebeeck, a representative from the Dutch East India Company. (BBC News, 2022) It was established to provide refreshments to the ships voyaging between the Netherlands and the East Indies (modern-day Indonesian region). With time a population of “free Burghers” emerged, and expanded the settlements northwards and eastwards from the Cape colony. These Burghers were known as “Trekboers” and increasingly became independent from the Dutch East India Company. (Williams-Wynn, 2021)

In 1795, the British invaded and captured the Cape colony. The occupation did not last for a long time, because of the signing of the short-lived Treaty of Amiens in 1803, which resulted in the British returning the Cape colony to the Netherlands. In 1806, the British reoccupied the colony as a strategic move, due to Emperor Napolean Bonaparte including the Netherlands as a part of his empire. Meanwhile, another fighting force, the Zulu kingdom, which lasted from 1816 to 1826, was expanding in the Eastern part of the Southern African region. (Williams-Wynn, 2021)

The Trekboers increasingly became dissatisfied with the British authority in the Cape colony. It was especially because 80% of those who had farms did not receive titles for their lands (Williams-Wynn, 2021). This resulted in them migrating further north, which became popularized as the “Great Trek”. The migrated communities established Orange Free State and Transvaal. The British granted the Transvaal limited self-governance in 1852, which was followed by a republic being established in Transvaal in the late 1850s. (BBC News, 2022)

The Indian population which comprised the South African population today also migrated to the region from 1860-1911, as laborers (BBC News, 2022).

The First Boer War

The Transvaal Rebellion/ the First Boer War spanned from 1880 to 1881. In 1867, diamonds were discovered in the Transvaal region. The year 1875 saw a surge in neo-imperialism. According to that, the British annexed Transvaal in 1877 and defeated the Zulus in Natal. The annexation of the Transvaal was met with passive resistance. It turned into armed resistance with time, and on December 16, 1880, the first fight of the war broke out between the British garrison in Potchefstroom and a 'commando' under General Piet Cronjé. The Boers turned out to be experienced marksmen. Their knowledge of the territory of the region also contributed significantly to their success. Further, the “commando” system that was established contributed to getting the upper hand for the Boers in the fight. The final battle of the war occurred in Majuba Hill, where the Boers emerged as the victors. On August 03, 1881, the Pretoria Convention was signed and the Transvaal was given independence with the British having its suzerainty. Accordingly, the British had control over Transvaal’s foreign affairs and internal rules related to the black community.  It was on February 27, 1884, that Transvaal finally earned its full internal independence, until the Second Boer War. (BBC - History - the Boer Wars, 2011)

The Second Boer War

The discovery of goldfields in Witwatersrand in 1886 was a watershed moment in South African history. It made the struggling Boer Republic a potential political and economic threat to British supremacy. The failed scheme of Prime Minister of the Cape colony Cecil Rhodes to overthrow President Kruger of the Transvaal government during the Jamesson Raid ten years later flared up Afrikaner nationalism. The British colonial secretary Sir Joseph Chamberlain and the British High Commissioner in South Africa Alfred Milner were anxious that Kruger would unite South Africa under Afrikaners, which led to them being interested in getting involved in the domestic affairs of Transvaal. Milner agitated the English-speaking migrant workers for franchise rights, which President Kruger refused to grant. Instead, he gave ultimatums; disputes between the two states should be resolved through arbitration, British soldiers in the borders should be withdrawn, and troops bound for South Africa by ship should not disembark. British however rejected the ultimatum, which resulted in the breakout of the Second Boer War on October 11, 1899. (BBC - History - the Boer Wars, 2011) The war was marked as the bloodiest, longest, and most expensive war the British engaged in between 1815 and 1915 (History | South African Government, n.d.).

The course of the war, which was in favour of the Boers changed in February of 1900. After the British captured significant landmarks, Kimberly and Ladysmith, almost all Boer fronts collapsed, and the men were divided as some of the Boers joined the British. However, in August 1900, the military effort of Boer was revived under General Louis Botha. This revival lasted for two years and was known as the guerilla phase because of the application of the tactic of gathering swiftly to attack and dispersing quickly. (BBC - History - the Boer Wars, 2011)

End of the Boer War

Ending the Boer war with a clear-cut victory was not an easy task for the British. After the failure of the military methods, the British had to resolve to a different approach laced with strategy, tactics, brutality, and manipulation. In 1900, Lord Herbert Kitchener became Commander of the British Garrison, he integrated a three-fold strategy to end the Boer war. The first stage included the “scorched earth” policy, which deprived the guerillas of access to food and shelter. (BBC - History - the Boer Wars, 2011)

The second stage was expanding “concentration camps”. These camps sheltered the families of the guerillas especially the women and children whose houses were burnt during the first phase. Black people were also confined to the concentration camps to prevent the guerillas from accessing food and to get free labour for the gold mines. The terrible conditions and bad administration of these camps led to the demise of 28,000 Boer women and children and at least 20,000 Black people. (BBC - History - the Boer Wars, 2011)

The third stage included building blockhouses and barbed wire defenses. These blockhouses known as the Kitchener Maginot Line contributed to stopping the disruption of railway lines and bridges. Further, it prevented the Boer commanders from reuniting their units for coordinated action. (Blockhouses of the Boer War, n.d.)

The strategies were successful. By 1902, the Second Boer War formally came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging.  As a result, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State were made self-governing colonies under the British Empire. (BBC News, 2022)

Revelations about South Africa

Boer wars reveal a deeper narrative about South Africa and its people than what is popularized. Even though Boers were of Dutch ancestry and white, we could say they have much ownership of the land of South Africa as the Black natives, because of the contributions they made to lay the foundation of South Africa.

The African continent is deemed a war-torn, underdeveloped, and less civilized continent. As a part of the continent, South Africa is viewed through the same lens by the masses. However, the Boer Wars challenge this perception by revealing qualities such as unity, pride, a sense of unique identity, intelligence, courage, perseverance, and resilience of the ancestors of the nation, the Afrikaners, and the native African clans. It was the reason why apart from using military capabilities, the British had to take measures to crush the soul of the Boer fighters, through policies such as scorched earth and concentration camps. Further, the victories of the Boers revealed their tactical intelligence and combat capabilities.

The advanced military weapons the Boers used were facilitated by Germany and France (Pom Poms in the Boer War, n.d.). This reveals that the Boers had the skill and ability to conduct stable foreign relations. During the war, both factions decided not to involve the Black community. However, the British started employing the Black community as soldiers. (BBC - History - the Boer Wars, 2011) Arguably this also played a part in deepening the racist attitude of the Boers, which shaped the policies of early South African governments and ultimately contributed to the establishment of apartheid.

Conclusion

The Boer Wars are more than just a conflict over territory. It is a testimony to how strong, courageous, and intelligent South Africans were and are. The legacy of these wars has impacted every aspect of the country. The most significant aspect of history is that South Africa is not a country that is easy to conquer. The strength displayed by its people, then and now, has made it stand firm against every adversity it has faced.

References

BBC - History - The Boer Wars. (2011, March 29). https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/boer_wars_01.shtml

BBC News. (2022, December 19). South Africa profile - Timeline. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094918

Blockhouses of the Boer War. (n.d.). https://www.bwm.org.au/blockhouses.php

History | South African Government. (n.d.). https://www.gov.za/about-sa/history

Pom poms in the Boer War. (n.d.). https://www.bwm.org.au/pom_poms.php

Williams-Wynn, C. (2021). The Boers of Dutch Descent Under British Rule in South Africa [Review of The Boers of Dutch Descent Under British Rule in South Africa]. In Smart Surveyors for Land and Water Management - Challenges in a New Reality Virtually in the Netherlands. FIG e-Working Week 2021. https://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2021/papers/ts_his/TS_HIS_williams-wynn_11143.pdf