Your Brexit questions answered

With even the date of Brexit still up in the air, we’ve been looking at what the whole process might actually mean to YOU.

The Prime Minister’s still trying to get her Brexit deal signed off by Parliament, with MPs due to vote on it for a third time once changes have been made to it.

All of this has left many people feeling confused, so we’ve been finding out what you’re most bothered about when it comes to Brexit. We put your questions to the director of the UK’s only Centre for Brexit Studies at Birmingham City University, Professor Alex de Ruyter:

*Are we going to need a visa to go to Europe?

If we have a deal in place, the status quo will continue for the foreseeable future. If we don’t, it is distinctly possible we’ll need some kind of visa set up. It is possible we might need to pay a fee, maybe £7 of something like that. It may cause some hiccups or hold-ups in the queue to get in.

"Are we going to need new passports?"

I don’t think so. There’s been a lot of hoo-ha about the colour but one of the myths about the EU is that it insisted we had to have burgundy passports - it did not.

"Are we going to be allowed to drive in Europe on our UK licenses?"

That depends on whether we get deal or no deal. If we don’t, we refer to international driving conventions, so there might well be a need to have some kind of driver’s permit. And the conventions differ by different EU countries. But you could apply for that at the Post Office. Again, it’s an inconvenience.

"Are we still going to get the cars we have here?"

The simple answer is yes, we will continue to get the cars we drive now. The issue may well be where they’re made. Honda are due to pull out of Swindon by 2021 given Brexit uncertainty. The other issue is where the various bits and pieces in the car are imported from, and that's the killer. Our supply chains extend deep into Europe – Germany for example. Any new barriers to trade will have a knock-on effect in terms of the time it takes for companies to move things around, or they might change their mind about where they produce these things... so it is likely they’ll be more expensive.

"Will flights be affected?"

No I think this is something where we should put our minds at ease. We’re not going to have Armageddon in terms of planes being grounded, the UK government will make sure that doesn’t happen. We’ll have an arrangement in place with the EU. There may be issues landing on the other end if we face new immigration controls to get into Europe, but that’s an inconvenience not a catastrophe.

"How are we going to secure all the trade deals and perks we have the EU, but still leave?"

If we have a withdrawal agreement in place with the EU, we will not have trade deals with any other country, simple as that. As to trade deals with the likes of the US, my own personal view is there’s really nothing to gain. All the gain would be on the American side in terms of farmers being able to export chlorinated chickens or hormone-treated beef to the UK, and American pharmaceutical companies wanting a slice of the NHS. And in terms of the timings, we would not be able to conduct trade negotiations until we’ve left at the end of any agreed transition period with the EU.

"Will it make it easier or harder to get jobs for young people?"

As a member of the EU, you have the right to live and work in European countries – if we leave the EU, you lose that right, it’s as simple as that. In terms of jobs in the UK, the evidence suggests certainly in terms of manufacturing and the car industry the most likely effect of Brexit will be job losses. The only sector where there may be job opportunities would be agriculture but one of the ironies of Brexit is, when it comes to jobs like picking strawberries, why do we have Eastern European migrants doing that work? Because British people don’t want to.

"Will we still be able to watch Netflix in Europe?"

If we leave the EU without a withdrawal agreement then we don’t get it, it’s as simple as that. It would basically stop Netflix and other downloadable streamed content, so things like the BBC iplayer. So for companies like the BBC this is potentially a huge headache because it means they could possibly face having to move operations into Europe in order to continue that.

"Why are we paying the EU £39bn?"

This is a commitment the UK government entered into by being a member of the EU. The EU sets its funding cycles in 7 year frameworks – we last entered into one in 2014 so we have to continue that until 2021. It does pay for things the UK benefits directly from, for example money lent to benefit UK schools and hospitals.

"Will there be food shortages?"

Let’s rule out the Armageddon scenario here, I’m not stockpiling food. Where we may see an impact if we leave without an agreement is some items might be more infrequent. For example lettuces - we rely on Spain for about 20% of our fresh produce. If there are hiccups at Calais in terms of food getting across in time, we may see some items become more intermittent. But I don’t see any general food shortages occurring. But will food get more expensive? Yes that is distinctly possible.

To sum up – pretty much all of your questions hinge on getting that all important Brexit deal agreed with the EU. Alex says for individuals, the effects of leaving will be largely ‘inconveniences’ –but for businesses, the disruption will be much more significant