"The empire on which the sun never sets" was the phrase used to describe the Colonial British Empire, which was the largest empire in history. It encompassed vast territories across Africa, Europe, America, and Oceania, allowing the British Empire to gain immense wealth from the various resources acquired from its colonies. However, the U.K. has passed its prime, and the country’s economy is currently in crisis.

On February 1st, approximately half a million workers across the U.K. initiated strikes with the message to halt the attacks on strikes and begin negotiating with the unions regarding public sector pay. This strike was primarily caused by the unbelievable inflation rate of 10.5%, which is even higher than the rate during the financial crisis of 2008. Due to their inability to handle the inflation with their current income, U.K. citizens had no alternative but to strike. Comparing this rate to 6.5% of the U.S. and 5.2% of Korea, the economic impacts on the lives of citizens are likely to be severe.

Governments of developed countries are concerned by the prospect of the IMF, the International Monetary Fund that the economic growth rate in 2023 will drop to nearly 1%, which is not enough to catch up with the skyrocketing inflation rate. However, the situation in the U.K. is worse than any other country, as it is the only developed country in the world expected to show a negative growth of -0.6%, which is even lower than a country at war - Russia, with 0.3%.

Many economists believe that the primary cause of the decline in the U.K.'s economy is Brexit. Brexit was the decision of the U.K. to leave the EU for several reasons such as opening new markets outside of Europe, stopping illegal refugees from the Middle East, and not having to pay the EU budget contribution fee. The government expected to handle the economic problems caused by the departure and hoped to provide better public welfare using the contribution fee that does not have to be paid anymore.

However, the economic issues caused by this decision were worse than expected. When Brexit was officially decided, 32% of the U.K.'s exports were to EU countries like Germany, France, Netherlands, and Ireland. This dropped when the U.K. officially left the union, significantly impacting the trade balance. Although the government tried to increase trade with other countries like Australia, added on with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not enough to remedy the damage.

There were indirect effects as well. The U.K. used to be the optimal country for global corporations to target the European market and base their business on various advantages such as using English, being part of the EU, and being the center of finance. This changed when Brexit was initiated as there were no more advantages to convince companies to stay in the U.K..

The effect of this decision is clearly shown in Ireland's economy. Ireland, a country that uses English and has stayed in the EU after the U.K.'s departure, replaced the U.K.'s position as the hub of finance. After Brexit, the GDP per capita of Ireland, which used to be similar to the U.K., increased rapidly and reached $100,000. Compared to $47,000 in the U.K., the difference is massive. As a result of Ireland's efforts to take over companies from the U.K. with policies such as decreasing corporate taxes, over 1,000 international companies currently have their headquarters in Ireland.

The political situation in the U.K. is in turmoil. Within less than a year, the country saw two changes in the Prime Minister, with Boris Johnson resigning on September 6th, 2022, followed by Liz Truss's resignation on October 25th, 2022. Rishi Sunak succeeded her as the new Prime Minister. It is worth noting that Liz Truss's resignation was due to her rapid implementation of economic reforms, which led to more problems. The future of the U.K.'s economy seems gloomy.

These chain reactions were among the reasons that prompted half a million workers across the U.K. to initiate a strike on February 1st. If this trend continues, citizens will face difficulties, particularly in the current global recession. Therefore, all eyes are on Rishi Sunak, hoping that he can revive the struggling economy of the U.K.