On 23 June 2016, British voters delivered a seismic verdict: 51.9% chose to leave the European Union, triggering a chain of events that reshaped the continent. The resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, years of fraught negotiations, and the UK's formal departure on 31 January 2020 have left deep imprints on both sides of the Channel.
For Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer, hosts of the podcast The Europeans, the referendum was a catalyst. Living outside the UK, they were struck by how British media portrayed the EU as distant and opaque. Their show, launched months after the vote, aims to demystify the Union's institutions and highlight the continent's diversity. 'One of the things that hit both of us quite strongly was how the European Union and Europe more broadly were talked about in our domestic British media in the run-up to the referendum,' Lee told Euronews.
The EU's Post-Brexit Resilience
Lee argues that Brussels has emerged stronger. 'A lot of people across the rest of the European Union have looked at Brexit and thought, oh, I didn't know if that looks so good. I don't think I want to do that,' she said. Indeed, a recent Pew survey found that support for EU membership has risen across member states since 2016. Kraemer adds that the EU, while imperfect, offers a 'source of tranquillity' in turbulent times. 'We started this podcast hoping to be able to come up with a definition of what it meant to be European. And I still feel like researching,' he said. 'And maybe that in itself gives me the answer that Europe is so many different things, it's this tapestry of different cultures, different backgrounds, different opinions.'
Yet not everyone shares this optimism. Connor Allen, a corporate lobbyist who voted Remain, now questions the EU's trajectory. 'I was in the Remain campaign, we believed that the EU was a bastion of rights and democracy and liberty, whereas now we have political parties being banned all across the member states,' he said. His view reflects a broader disillusionment among some former supporters, who point to issues like the rule of law disputes in Poland and Hungary.
The UK's Lingering Wounds
On the British side, the economic and social costs are clearer. Euronews reporter Shona Murray, who covered Brexit extensively, notes that 'it's not fair to say that the UK hasn't had an impact from Brexit. We know that there has been an impact on investment, unemployment, and prospects.' She argues that the Leave campaign's rhetoric often masked deeper grievances. 'It was a complete and utter rejection of, I suppose, years of maybe neglect in poorer parts of the UK and also just a disillusionment with the government as it had been.'
Allen, however, sees a more nuanced picture. '[The UK] is not in a better place because it left [the EU], and it's not in a worse place because it left,' he said, suggesting that the EU's own changes have complicated the comparison. Meanwhile, the UK continues to grapple with post-Brexit identity, as seen in recent anti-immigration protests in Belfast that underscore unresolved tensions.
Looking ahead, the EU and UK are scheduled to hold a summit in July 2026, expected to focus on trade rapprochement. For now, the ghosts of 2016 linger—a reminder that the referendum's consequences are far from settled.
