Task A
1.
Sum up the consequences of Brexit for the UK as well as recent developments in the public debate as depicted in the article.
(Comprehension) (12 Punkte)
2.
Analyze Rachman’s intention and how he tries to make his point. Focus on communicative strategies and use of language.
(Analysis) (16 Punkte)
3.
Choose one of the following tasks:
3.1
In a newspaper article the UK politician Olly Grender, a member of the Liberal Democrats, claimed that “Young people’s voices are being ignored – let’s put them at the heart of policymaking” Taking her statement as a starting point, comment on ways to increase the representation of young people in political decision-making in general.
(Evaluation: comment) (14 Punkte)
3.2
In response to Rachman’s article write a letter to the editor evaluating his suggestion of rejoining the European Union as the best way forward for the United Kingdom.
(Evaluation: re-creation of text) (14 Punkte)
Gideon Rachman
Brexit could be reversed – here’s how
The article reflects on the consequences of Brexit for the UK and discusses recent developments in public debate regarding rejoining the EU.
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At the height of Britain’s Brexit debate, passions ran so high that some talked of a “new
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English civil war”. That comparison still intrigues me for one specific reason: the side that
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won the civil war ultimately lost. King Charles I was executed in 1649. Eleven years later,
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the English decided they had made a mistake and restored the monarchy.
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Could a similar reversal happen with Brexit? I think so.
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Seven years after the 2016 referendum, and three years after Brexit actually happened,
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opinion has shifted markedly. As the academic Matthew Goodwin wrote recently, some
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60 per cent of Britons now think Brexit was the wrong decision and would vote to rejoin
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the EU at a second referendum. An average of recent polls shows 58 per cent of voters not
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only regretting Brexit, but actively favouring Rejoin.
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It is easy to understand why. Brexit was sold as a way of controlling immigration and
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improving the NHS. But the NHS is now in far worse shape than it was in 2016. Immigration
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into the UK remains very high, with EU immigrants largely replaced by people from outside
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the bloc. And the IMF predicts that Britain will have the worst performing economy in the
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developed world this year.
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Demographics and economics suggest that the Rejoin sentiment will strengthen over time.
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Young voters are the most pro-EU of the lot, with 79 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds
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wanting to rejoin. And, sadly, the damage done to the UK economy by Brexit is likely to
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become increasingly evident.
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So far these changes have not filtered through into politics. Daniel Hannan, a prominent
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Leave campaigner, claimed recently that there was a “plot to overturn Brexit”. If only!
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In reality, with roughly two years before an election, the opposition Labour party says that
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reversing Brexit is out of the question – and talks only of “fixes” to the current deal. Even
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diehard Remainers often moan that it will take a generation before Britain can consider
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rejoining the EU.
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But this is too fatalistic and too accepting of the mounting damage Brexit is doing. It also
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ignores the speed with which events and opinion are moving.
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The truth is that the marginal “fixes” to Brexit favoured by Labour may not be achievable
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and would not compensate for exclusion from the EU’s internal market. The public seem to
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have realised this. Eventually politicians will have to respond – and the idea of rejoining the
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EU will become mainstream. [...]
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Any campaign to rejoin would face two big further objections. The first and most important
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is the claim that the EU would not want Britain back. The second is the argument that the
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British will turn against Rejoin, when they realise what it involves.
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European opposition to a British return certainly exists, but can be overstated. Michel
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Barnier, who led the EU’s Brexit negotiating team, says the door is open for Britain to
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rejoin the EU “any time”. [...]
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Most EU insiders, however, warn that, this time, Britain would not be offered any special
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deals. There would be no budget rebate; no opt out from the social chapter. Britain would
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have to accept the free movement of people and, quite probably, the euro.
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Some pundits think that once these realities sink in, the British would lose their initial
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enthusiasm for rejoining the EU. But that is not necessarily the case.
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The idea that leaving the EU will dramatically reduce immigration has been disproved.
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Embracing European social standards may horrify the Tory right, but would probably be
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popular among most of the electorate.
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Even the euro might not be a deal-breaker. I opposed Britain joining the single currency
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20 years ago because it was an untried experiment. But the euro is now an established
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international currency, while the pound looks chronically weak. The young voters who
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favour Rejoin care more about issues such as the environment than abstract notions of
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sovereignty.
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How could it be done? I would favour a two-referendum process. The first vote could be
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held in 2026, a decade after the Leave vote of 2016. It would simply give the UK government
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permission to open negotiations with the EU. A strong vote of approval – say, 60 per cent –
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might allay some EU scepticism about whether Britain is too divided to deal with. A second
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referendum would be held on the terms of the Rejoin deal.
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It took 11 years for Britain to restore the monarchy. Why not try to beat that by a year – and
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reverse Brexit inside a decade?
Gideon Rachman, “Brexit could be reversed – here’s how”, in: Financial Times, 6 February 2023