Today’s news comes out of the European Union. If you don’t live under a rock you have probably heard about Brexit. Simply put Brexit was a referendum – a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age can take part – and was held on Thursday 23 June, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union.
For those who don’t know, The UK is made up of Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
The voters chose to leave 51.9% to 48.1% or 17,410,742 votes to 16,141,241 votes. The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting. It was the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election.
So why did UK want to leave the EU? They said Britain was being held back by the EU, which they said imposed too many rules on business and charged billions of pounds a year in membership fees for little in return. They also wanted Britain to take back full control of its borders and reduce the number of people coming here to live and/or work.
One of the main principles of EU membership is “free movement”, which means you don’t need to get a visa to go and live in another EU country. The Leave campaign also objected to the idea of “ever closer union” and what they see as moves towards the creation of a “United States of Europe”.
As for us, we are anxious to see what it means for ongoing mining and construction projects over there. Only time will tell and all we know is that our earthmoving equipment is looking to go visit!
For a deeper look into Brexit please read about it here: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887.
