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The book publisher
Sharmaine Lovegrove, Dialogue Books
From a cultural perspective, Brexit could be a really interesting tipping point where rather than hearing just from the metropolitan liberal elite we start hearing from a range of people. In terms of more literary and commercial fiction, we will see more representation of stories that tell us about people’s lives – families and culture from northern writers, and from people living in urban environments outside of London. I’m really interested in how we reach out to writers from the regions, especially working-class writers. I think if we’d done that before as an industry, we might not have had Brexit.
The EU is our biggest export market. On the one hand, with the pound being weaker this might create a more buoyant market in terms of what they buy. But physical trade and distribution and exports will be a sticking point. We’re also really concerned about not being at the table when there are so many chances in terms of digital practice.
The scientist
John Hardy, chair of molecular biology of neurological disease at the UCL Institute of Neurology
Brexit is the greatest danger to British standing in research in 70 years. While I think all scientists are always loath to trust promises over facts, this is only one part of the issue. Any business would hesitate to rely on a single customer, and currently my department gets about a third of its funding from the UK government, a third from European sources and a third from charities: switching to a situation where funding would be two-thirds from the UK governmentis not attractive.
The greater problems, however, are not related to funding. Of my staff, about half are Europeans, and many, including myself, have European partners whose status remains uncertain. We feel an implicit contract has been broken. Europeans have lived here, contributed to the economy, paid their taxes and now, without getting a vote, they have been told they are only welcome if they “prove” their value with form-filling for them and their children and spouses. We collaborate closely with groups in France, Belgium, Germany and Italy: we send students back and forth, we plan projects together. Currently, this works seamlessly. With visas, paperwork, passport queues, this will break down.
The cattle farmer
Maggie Kelly, chair of the Cumbria Kendal branch of the National Farmers’ Union
There are a lot of opportunities to be had, but it all depends on what happens with the trade deals. One of the worries we have is that if the trade deals do not go the right way, then we could import loads of cheaper, substandard beef, lamb and chlorinated chicken. If you’re up there with your standards then you can’t compete with somebody who has little or no standards at all. [After Brexit] we’ll have world markets to go out and sell in. There’s the Commonwealth, for example, and China, and other places are keen to trade with us. If we have a fantastic product we should be able to compete in their markets. But we’re reliant on the negotiators keeping up the standards.
[Recruitment of labour] is a worry for a lot of people, particularly dairy farmers. But you would think that it would not be beyond the wit of politicians to work out some sort of a system where people can come and work here for five years on visas, and people from here can go and work in those countries on a reciprocal basis.
The student
Sheri-Ann Bhim, NUS Wales black students’ officer. Third-year sociology and social policy, Cardiff University
For many EU students who arrive here, the first thing they worry about is, “Will I be accepted by my British flatmates?” I’ve heard from students whose relatives warned them of potential prejudice and racism, which only fosters a culture of fear. I worry about our status as an open and tolerant place to learn. It’s depressing. There have been a rising number of racist incidents on campuses.
Is Brexit going to put students off coming here, because of the fees and also because of the levels of hate crime on campus? At the same time Erasmus, which has allowed so many British students to go abroad and experience a life with no borders, is only guaranteed up until 2020. What happens after that? Flights to Europe are way cheaper than going to China or Singapore or India – which have been suggested as possible replacements. Erasmus students get an allowance every month, so it’s much more affordable than going to a university in America on a study abroad programme. I worry that universities won’t be as open. I think it’s going to be easier to have a culture of suspicion, with underlying tensions coming out and to the surface.
I worry about our ability to maintain world-class standards without EU funding.
The managing director
Sir Nicholas Kenyon, managing director, Barbican
We will adapt. Post-Brexit, our artistic life will go on and as a creative nation we will find ways to ensure the ingenuity and innovation that made us great in the past will go on making us great in the future. If there are hurdles, we will surmount them; if we need more visas, I’m confident we will get them. But we hope and argue for a system that stimulates creativity and allows us access to the best talent – home-grown, from across the EU and from the rest of the world.
Here at the Barbican our international collaborations are flourishing: last year we worked with artists from 61 countries, bringing theatre from Japan and Australia, great orchestras from the United States, and we export productions and exhibitions around the world.
Europe has always been central to our work, from relationships with theatre companies such as Toneelgroep Amsterdam and Schaubühne Berlin, to partnerships that enable landmark exhibitions such as the Barbican’s record-breaking Basquiat: Boom for Real, now being seen in Frankfurt. This must continue.
