The cursed margin of victory has reared its head again. Ten years on from Brexit, another European country has voted 52-48 against EU membership, with the people of Iceland deciding to keep the status quo. However, there appears to be much less jeopardy for the island nation.
ALSO READ: Former Clacton MP hammers Nigel Farage for ‘creating the small boats crisis’ via Brexit
Why Iceland voted against joining the EU
Almost 190,000 voters exercised their democratic rights on Saturday, withh the ballot paper asking if Iceland ‘should start new negotiations with the European Union’, providing a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer box. Iceland previously applied to join the EU in 2009, but shelved their plans in 2013.
And, as proved yesterday, a majority of the population still remain cold on the idea of unification. The ‘No’ votes totalled 99,000, almost 10,000 clear of those who backed the ‘Yes’ campaign, splitting the vote by a near identical percentage witnessed in the UK back in 2016.
Predictably, right-wing rent-a-gobs have been celebrating the result. Nigel Farage – who else – was online to praise the Icelandic electorate, saying that they had voted ‘to keep their independence’. Which is interesting, considering how many EU-led schemes Iceland remains a part of.
This ballot did not ask Iceland to give up its access to the Single Market. Their people can still travel freely across the EU region, as they remain part of the Schengen system. Students are free to pursue education on the continent, thanks to their continued membership of the Erasmus programme.
Little jeopardy for Icelandic voters as EU benefits remain in place
Hypothetically, if a small boat crossing made it to Iceland, they could send migrants back to the last safe country, due to their participation in the EU’s Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR). But due to Brexit, the UK does not operate under this framework, and cannot exercise the same luxury.
Independence indeed. Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir has stated that she would consider a victory for No as ‘the end of the debate’ on EU membership, with arguments regarding territorial fishing rights remaining high on the agenda. She plans to address the nation on Sunday.