Brexit 10 years on: What have we learned?
Brexit 10 years on. Well, wow! Has it really been a decade since the result of the Referendum was annunced? Sometimes it seems so recent – other times like it was another lifetime.
Anyway… now that we have that decade under our belt… let’s take a deep dive into what has changed since that result. Grab a cup of char (or something stronger) and settle in. It’s a long read.
On 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The result shocked much of the world and divided Britain almost exactly down the middle.
Leave won with 51.9% of the vote, while Remain secured 48.1%, according to the official result published by the Electoral Commission.
Ten years later, Brexit remains one of the most significant political decisions in modern British history.
Supporters argue it restored democratic control, ended free movement and gave Britain greater authority over its laws, borders and trade policy. Critics argue it created economic costs, increased bureaucracy and delivered fewer benefits than promised.
Whatever your view, Brexit continues to shape politics, immigration and daily life on both sides of the Channel.
So, almost a decade on, what actually happened?
Brexit by the numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Leave vote (2016) | 51.9% |
| Remain vote (2016) | 48.1% |
| Record net migration (year ending June 2023) | 906,000 |
| Net migration (year ending June 2025) | 204,000 |
| Brexit implementation date | 31 January 2020 |
| End of free movement | 31 December 2020 |
| Estimated long-term reduction in UK trade intensity (OBR assumption) | Around 15% |
| Estimated long-term productivity impact (OBR assumption) | Around 4% |
Sources:
https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk
Brexit did not appear overnight.
Britain’s relationship with Europe had been a source of political tension for decades. While the UK joined the European Economic Community, the forerunner of today’s European Union, in 1973, arguments about sovereignty, economic integration and national identity never fully disappeared.
The issue resurfaced repeatedly throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Although Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher initially supported Britain’s membership of the European project, she became increasingly critical of what she saw as growing political integration and the transfer of powers from national governments to European institutions.
Her famous 1988 Bruges speech warned against the creation of a European “super-state” and became a defining moment for the emerging Eurosceptic movement within the Conservative Party.
Throughout the following decades, Conservative politicians remained divided over Europe. Disputes over the Maastricht Treaty in the early 1990s exposed deep divisions within John Major’s government, while growing concerns about immigration, EU regulation and political integration continued to fuel debate among both politicians and voters.
By the 2000s, support for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), led by Nigel Farage, was growing rapidly. UKIP’s central message was that Britain should leave the European Union and regain full control over its laws, borders and trade policy.
At the same time, many Conservative MPs were becoming increasingly frustrated with Britain’s relationship with Brussels and were demanding a public vote on EU membership.
Facing pressure from both UKIP and his own party, Prime Minister David Cameron sought to resolve the issue.
In January 2013, he announced that a Conservative government would renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the European Union and then hold a referendum on whether the country should remain a member.
The promise was partly intended to unite the Conservative Party, partly to counter the electoral threat posed by UKIP and partly to settle what had become one of the most divisive questions in British politics.
Many political observers believed the strategy would succeed.
Cameron secured a package of reforms from the EU ahead of the vote and campaigned for Britain to remain. Much of the political establishment, many business leaders and most economic forecasters also supported Remain.
The expectation in many political circles was that Remain would win comfortably and that the European question would finally be settled for a generation.
Instead, the referendum transformed British politics.
The Leave campaign focused heavily on sovereignty, immigration and the argument that Britain should regain control over its laws and borders.
The Remain campaign largely centred on economic arguments, warning that leaving the EU would damage trade, investment and growth.
When the votes were counted, Leave prevailed.
David Cameron resigned the following morning. He made the announcement before walking away humming a tune.
The years that followed saw political turmoil, three Conservative Prime Ministers, prolonged negotiations with Brussels and repeated parliamentary deadlock before the UK formally left the European Union on 31 January 2020.
The sovereignty argument
For many Leave voters, Brexit was never primarily about economics.
Their central argument was democratic control.
Supporters believed decisions affecting Britain should be made by elected politicians in Westminster rather than through European institutions.
As a result of Brexit:
- The UK is no longer part of the EU’s political institutions.
- The UK controls its own immigration system.
- The UK negotiates its own trade agreements.
- Parliament has greater freedom to amend or replace laws that were previously governed by EU frameworks.
These changes are real and measurable.
Whether they justify the costs of leaving depends largely on political priorities.
That fundamental difference in perspective remains one of the reasons Brexit continues to divide opinion.
Brexit 10 years on: Has it reduced immigration?
Immigration was one of the defining issues of the referendum campaign.
The slogan “Take Back Control” became closely associated with concerns about freedom of movement and Britain’s ability to determine who could live and work in the country.
In one sense, Brexit achieved exactly what many Leave voters wanted.
Migration from EU countries fell dramatically after the referendum and particularly after free movement ended in 2021.
Research from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford shows that EU net migration turned negative in 2022 and remained negative in subsequent years, meaning more EU citizens were leaving the UK than arriving.
However, overall immigration did not fall.
Instead, migration from outside Europe increased significantly under Britain’s new points-based immigration system.
According to the Migration Advisory Committee, net migration reached a record 906,000 in the year ending June 2023 before beginning to decline.
One of the biggest misconceptions in the Brexit debate is that these record migration figures were driven primarily by refugees.
The data shows otherwise.
Most of the increase came through legal migration routes including work visas, student visas and family members accompanying visa holders.
Immigration by Category
| Measure | Before Brexit | After Brexit |
|---|---|---|
| EU workers | High due to free movement | Fell sharply |
| Non-EU skilled workers | More restricted | Increased significantly |
| Health and Care workers | Relatively modest numbers | Major increase |
| International students | Growing steadily | Increased substantially |
| Dependents of visa holders | Lower numbers | Increased significantly |
| Humanitarian routes (Ukraine and Hong Kong BN(O)) | Not applicable | Significant contributor |
| Asylum seekers | Politically prominent but minority share of migration | Continues as minority share of total immigration |
| Overall net migration | Lower than post-Brexit peak | Reached record highs before later falling |
Health and Care Worker visas expanded rapidly as the NHS and social care sectors sought to address chronic staffing shortages.
International student numbers also increased substantially, while dependants accompanying workers and students became a significant contributor to migration totals.
Humanitarian schemes for Ukrainian nationals and holders of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status added further arrivals.
While asylum applications remained politically contentious, they represented only a minority of overall migration numbers.
The outcome surprised many observers.
Brexit ended free movement from Europe, but overall migration reached the highest levels ever recorded before subsequently beginning to decline.
According to the latest Office for National Statistics estimates, net migration had fallen to 204,000 by the year ending June 2025, a dramatic reduction from the 2023 peak.
Trade and the economy
The economic impact of Brexit remains one of the most fiercely debated aspects of the entire project.
Before the referendum, many economists warned that leaving the EU would reduce economic growth over the long term.
Nearly a decade later, many official institutions continue to make that argument.
The Office for Budget Responsibility continues to assume that Brexit will reduce UK trade intensity by around 15% and lower long-term productivity by approximately 4% compared with a scenario in which Britain had remained in the European Union.
Research has consistently highlighted several challenges:
- Lower business investment
- Increased trade friction
- Additional customs paperwork
- More complex regulatory requirements
- Reduced goods trade with Europe
However, the impact has not been uniform.
Some sectors have adapted more successfully than others. Large corporations often possess the resources to absorb additional administrative costs, while smaller businesses have frequently reported greater difficulties navigating new trading arrangements.
Very few serious economists argue that Brexit improved trade with Europe.
The debate instead centres on how large the economic costs have been and whether they are outweighed by the political and constitutional benefits that supporters believe Brexit delivered.
For many voters, that remains the central question nearly ten years later.
Who benefited?
Brexit is often discussed in terms of costs, but it also produced outcomes that some groups actively wanted and, in some cases, benefitted from.
People who wanted an end to free movement
One of the clearest objectives of the Leave campaign was achieved.
Before Brexit, citizens of EU member states had the right to live and work in the UK without needing a visa.
That system ended when free movement ended on 31 December 2020.
For voters whose primary concern was reducing immigration from the European Union, Brexit delivered a significant policy change.
Some non-EU workers
One of the more unexpected consequences of Brexit was that opportunities increased for workers from outside Europe.
Under the old system, employers could recruit freely from EU countries. Once free movement ended, a points-based immigration system applied to both EU and non-EU nationals.
As a result, workers from countries including India, Nigeria and Pakistan gained access to employment opportunities that might previously have been filled through recruitment from within the EU.
Immigration and compliance specialists
The UK’s post-Brexit immigration system is considerably more complex than the previous free movement framework.
Visa applications, sponsorship requirements and compliance obligations have created increased demand for immigration advisers, legal specialists and compliance professionals.
Some exporters
Since leaving the EU, the UK has signed trade agreements with countries including Australia and New Zealand and has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Supporters argue these agreements create opportunities for future growth, although most economists note that the EU remains by far the UK’s largest trading partner.
Who lost out?
Small businesses
Many smaller exporters faced challenges adapting to new customs procedures, regulatory requirements and paperwork.
Large multinational companies often had the resources to absorb these costs. Smaller firms frequently did not.
According to the British Chambers, several business organisations have reported that some smaller exporters reduced or stopped trading with EU customers because of increased complexity.
Agriculture
The farming sector experienced a combination of labour shortages, changes to subsidy arrangements and additional export bureaucracy.
Particular challenges emerged in sectors that had previously relied heavily on seasonal workers from EU countries.
Hospitality
Hotels, restaurants, bars and tourism businesses had long relied on workers from across Europe.
Following the end of free movement, many employers reported difficulties filling vacancies, particularly in lower-paid and seasonal roles.
Universities
While Britain remains a popular destination for international students, universities lost access to the EU’s Erasmus+ student exchange programme and have had to adapt to new arrangements for research funding and collaboration.
British citizens who wanted to live in Europe
This is perhaps the area most relevant to Spain Buddy readers.
Before Brexit, British citizens could move to Spain, France, Portugal or any other EU country under freedom of movement rules.
Today, those rights no longer apply to people moving after Brexit.
For many Britons, the practical consequences of Brexit are felt most clearly not in Westminster or Brussels, but in everyday interactions with immigration systems that previously did not exist.
What happened to British people in Spain?
One of the most significant but least discussed consequences of Brexit has been its impact on British citizens living in Spain, or hoping to move to, Spain.
For those already legally resident before Brexit took full effect, the Withdrawal Agreement provided important protections.
These residents were generally able to retain many of their existing rights, including residency, healthcare access and the ability to continue living in Spain.
For newcomers, however, the situation changed considerably.
British citizens are now treated as third-country nationals under EU immigration rules.
That means moving to Spain often requires visas, residency permits, proof of income and compliance with immigration requirements that previously did not apply.
Life in Spain before and after Brexit
| Right | Before Brexit | After Brexit |
|---|---|---|
| Move to Spain | Freedom of movement | Immigration rules apply |
| Work in Spain | Automatic right | Visa or residency usually required |
| Retire to Spain | Freedom of movement | Financial and residency requirements |
| Stay indefinitely | Automatic right | Residency required |
| Short stays | Unlimited | 90 days in 180-day period |
| Healthcare access | EU Framework | Depends on residency status and circumstances |
| Property ownership | Unchanged | Unchanged |
The often-discussed 90/180-day rule means that British citizens who are not residents can generally spend no more than 90 days within any 180-day period in the Schengen Area.
This restriction affects holidaymakers, second-home owners and people who previously divided their time between the UK and Spain without needing formal residency.
At the same time, Spain has introduced alternative routes for non-EU citizens, including non-lucrative visas and digital nomad visas.
These options make relocation possible, but they involve additional paperwork and financial requirements that did not exist before Brexit.
Brexit and the language of migration
Brexit also prompted a wider conversation about how migration is discussed.
For many years, British citizens living abroad were often described differently from people moving to Britain.
In public debate, Britons overseas were frequently referred to as retirees, overseas residents or “expats,” while people moving to the UK were more commonly described as immigrants.
In reality, both groups are migrants.
Brexit highlighted this distinction by placing British citizens under many of the same immigration systems and residency requirements that apply to people moving across borders elsewhere in the world.
For some, this represented a significant shift in perspective.
Millions of British citizens who had previously exercised EU free movement rights suddenly found themselves navigating visas, residency permits and immigration regulations.
The experience helped illustrate how immigration systems operate from the other side of the process.
Did Brexit increase racism?
This remains one of the most sensitive questions surrounding Brexit.
Most people who voted Leave did not do so because of racism.
Many cited concerns about sovereignty, democratic accountability, immigration policy or dissatisfaction with political institutions.
However, there is evidence that hate crime reports increased following the referendum.
Data published by the UK Home Office showed a notable rise in reported hate crimes in the period immediately after the vote.
Many EU citizens living in Britain also reported feeling less welcome than before.
Researchers have argued that the referendum campaign brought issues of national identity, immigration and belonging into sharper focus.
Whether Brexit directly caused racism remains a matter of debate.
What is less disputed is that it exposed social tensions that had often existed beneath the surface.
The verdict
Nearly ten years after the referendum, Brexit remains a work in progress.
It ended free movement.
It reshaped immigration.
It altered Britain’s relationship with its closest neighbours.
It introduced new barriers to trade with the European Union.
It changed what it means to be a British citizen living elsewhere in Europe.
At the same time, it delivered outcomes that many Leave supporters sought, including greater national control over laws, borders and trade policy.
The evidence suggests that Brexit achieved some of its political objectives while creating economic and practical challenges that continue to be debated.
Supporters point to sovereignty, democratic accountability and the ability to set independent policies.
Critics point to slower economic growth, increased bureaucracy and the loss of freedom of movement.
The argument remains unresolved because it ultimately depends on which outcomes matter most to individual voters.
What is certain is that Brexit did not end Britain’s debate about Europe.
If anything, it ensured that future generations will continue to have it.
Elle, along with Alan, is the owner of Spain Buddy and the busy web design business – Spain Web Design by Gandy-Draper.
Born a “Norverner”, she then spent most of her life “Dann Saff” before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle’s loves are Alan, the internet, dogs, good food, and dry white wine – although not necessarily in that order.
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Information correct at time of publication.
