Theresa May Leaving EU

On June 23rd most British voters decided to leave the European Union and the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, decided to deliver a speech about the event and what would happen. This occurrence has been dubbed on the internet as “Brexit”, sort of a play on the words Britain and Exit. It seems that the main reason the people voted to leave the European Union was because of the cumbersome trade regulations the European Union required. It was a meme on the internet for about a month before finally getting shipped off to the meme graveyard when the news got old. Theresa May explained in her speech that Britain voted to leave the European Union to have better relations with the international world, to rid themselves of restricting mandatory rules, and to have greater freedom to make good trade deals. 

I think that the main idea that Theresa May was trying to get across was the idea of a Global Britain. This is blaringly obvious when the Prime Minister repeatedly uses words like international, global, and outward-looking to show how chummy Britain wants to be. I guess now that they cannot use force to take over half the world, they are now going to gain control with fake smiles and trade deals. The PM also printed the words GLOBAL BRITAIN all over the stage next to her, making it so that even the Hilliest of Billys would know what her speech was about. But just because she keeps repeating that idea does not mean that it is true. The PM is implying that by staying in the EU, Britain is keeping itself just as a European country. The PM does not want that for her country, and instead she wants Britain to have good relations with countries from other continents besides Europe. The PM also talked about how everybody needs to come together to “make the most of the opportunities ahead”. I think she is giving off this positive vibe to distract everybody from the fact Britain is leaving the EU for selfish purposes. I also thought it was funny when Theresa May said that “Britain's history and culture is profoundly internationalist”. It is ironic when she says that because international relations during British history were mainly those of a colonizer and a colony. The PM’s main message in the beginning of her speech was that Britain is not stepping away from Europe, it instead wants to become more global.

The PM explained in her speech that one of the main reasons British voters wanted to leave the EU was to gain greater freedom. The EU seemed very restricting to the British people and “bends towards uniformity, not flexibility”. The PM does not use antagonizing words or directly say that the EU is too strict. Instead she makes it sound less criticizing by saying the EU was not flexible enough for Britain. The PM also says that the people need a government that is able to be held responsible for their actions, but that is not very possible with the EU. The PM also uses this line, “We are leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe”. This is a nice little analogy because it is saying even though Britain is leaving the EU, they are still going to be a part of Europe. The PM ends her speech by saying that Britain did not want a partial membership with the EU or anything like that. Instead, Britain wants to make a new unique relationship with the EU.

Overall, I think Theresa May was trying to calm down the general public by creating a positive image of Brexit. She repeatedly uses positive words and says negative things in a nice way. This masks the implications behind Brexit with wide smiles and promises of a “Global Britain”. The speech seemed like it used “Global Britain” as an excuse to get out of all the restricting rules imposed by the EU. Then again, the job of a politician is to calm the masses and prevent riots from breaking out all over the place. Theresa May did a very good job of convincing everybody that everything was fine. 

May, Theresa. “Global Britain”

Lancaster House. British Parliament