The price of freedom

That is the question. And the stakes are far higher than they ever were when those words were uttered by game show host Noel Edmonds.

Unfortunately, after a weekend of staring down the barrel of a no-deal Brexit, we still don’t know the answer since yesterday’s deadline came and went with no conclusion to the negotiations.

But with the transition period still set to end on 31 December, the UK will be leaving the EU within weeks – with or without an agreement in place.

The referendum which set this chain of events in motion four years ago was essentially a battle between the concepts of sovereignty, freedom and independence on the one hand, and unity, peace and prosperity on the other. The former won by a whisker but most of those voting for it seemed confident they could keep hold of the latter too.

And so Britain embarked on what was to become a long and bitter divorce battle, dragging the Crown Dependencies along with it, for better or worse.

Since then, the whole process has been like watching a slow-motion self-harm experiment as the UK government has subjected the country to years of uncertainty, lies and broken promises, while issuing ineffective threats to its most powerful trading partner and ally.

One year since the UK Prime Minister claimed he already had an ‘oven-ready’ Brexit agreement, the two sides remain in deadlock over fishing rights and measures to protect the level playing field within the single market.

While the simple purity of severing all ties with the EU might sound appealing to some, even the most ardent Brexiters cannot deny that crashing out without a deal was not what was sold to those voting ‘leave’ back in 2016.

Like a tempestuous teenager leaving the comfort and protection of home in favour of making their own way in the world, this bid for freedom could end up making or breaking the country. But even if Britain manages to prosper without the benefits of being part of the world’s largest trading bloc, the upheaval and uncertainty in the meantime is having a detrimental effect on many of its citizens.

Throwing a global pandemic into the mix is only making that worse.

As for Guernsey, some have claimed that Brexit could create new opportunities and benefits for us.

With negotiations now reaching the end of the line, all we can do is hope they are right.