Britain: Safety & Security

With Theresa May as the nation’s new Prime Minister, leading the country towards an era of independence away from structures such as the EU, the United Kingdom is surely bound to change. The reasons why the people of the UK voted “yes” when they were asked to decided about the implication — or not — of those changes, are many, amongst which, the safety factor.

Many have overseen, or perhaps underestimated, the importance of this factor, regarding both the British citizens per capita and their homeland a toto. Most have naturally focused their attention on the political and economic impact of this historic decision of the country and, although their importance is also of great global interest, too, one cannot take those few facets as the whole picture of Britain’s divorce with the European Union.

There will be those that will wholeheartedly find Brexit as an overall false move on behalf of the British people, due to the countless changes that it will bring to modern world as we know it, most of which are bound to be of negative nature. Like stated above, nonetheless, those people do not factor in the parameter of safety, which, objectively speaking, is of far superior significance than business, politics, legislation etc.

Safety is a state that nowadays is treated more like a luxury, than a feature. Lack of safety has, ipso facto become more common than the existence thereof. Every day, people are vulnerable to theft — both physical and digital— , violence, and many other aggressive actions that altogether violate an individual’s rights as a human being.

It is, therefore, apparent that the stance that one holds as regards Britain’s move, lies solely on the observer’s perspective; and with the whole globe having so thoroughly analysed only the rest-of-the-world side of the circumstance, it would be meaningful to analyse the UK’s citizens story, as well.

Returning to the factor of safety, the people of the UK will probably have the ability to feel safer regarding their country’s borders and the people that cross them. Terrorism may fade and the United Kingdom may be gradually labeled as “The world’s safest land to step on”. It will take draconic measures on behalf of the government to realise such a vision, but by no means is it a plan impossible to see through.

The recent tragic, events in Nice, France with the death of more that 80 people, only but confirm the need for guaranteed safety, and that’s why the UK would much likely want to claim the above-mentioned title.

But that’s not the only luxury that Britain will want to offer.

Safety is best retained when accompanied by another, similar element that most countries nowadays lack partly, or wholly; security. Set free of most legal shackles of the EU, Britain will be able to truly adjust its legislation so to better suit its present needs and its future ambitions. Digital Security is a sub-category of this feature that deserves special credit. Though, at first, it may seem as if digital security is something that can be upgraded at any given moment, without the need of a country’s exit from the EU to kickstart this procedure, the speciality lies on the hitherto nonexistent legal freedom of the nation. With England not having the obligation to henceforth comply with some EU laws and protocols, the nation can begin its nationally customised upgrade procedure of its digital security undisturbed.

Safety and security are two fruits grown in the same garden, but on the root of different spores. Their blossoms are best enjoyed when put together; and Britain is one of the few states, if not the only, that is able to farm both, albeit with a high price, that will take the Nation years of constant work to pay.

As stated in the begging of the text, whether Brexit was a correct strategic move or a careless and reckless reflex of the British people, is an argument that requires the consideration of numerous parameters that no single story can entirely cover. Still, factoring Safety and Security in this long equation may assist us in our quest for the “right” side of this event.