As the European Union grew, the unanimity in decision-making increasingly gave way to qualified majority voting. This development took away an important weapon the UK deployed to pursue its national interest. It use often to frustrate the collectivist decision-making in Brussels and exert its will for a broad union that preserved national sovereignty.

National sovereignty is at the crux of the matter now. This is the bedrock upon which those who want the UK to leave the EU are basing their case. The EU rules that encroach upon nearly every aspect of business. It threatens to become a super-state.

Even if one believes that Prime Minister Cameron identified the right reforms to safeguard the UK’s interest, which not everyone does, no agreement would have or could have appeased those seeking greater independence. Those advocating a UK exit have been making a forceful case, and the European Commission’s bungling of the immigration issue provides timely fodder.

Those that favor the UK remaining in the EU could not vigorously make their case during Cameron’s negotiations. Only now will this case be articulated. The Labour Party are strong advocates of remaining in the EU, and Corbyn’s essay in the Guardian over the weekend. Large businesses and financial institutions also support continued EU membership.  Key traditional media outlets can also be expected to support the Prime Minister.

News that the current London Mayor Johnson will campaign for Brexit is not very surprising though Cameron made a special personal appeal. Sterling appeared to have lost a cent against the dollar on the news. Johnson is thought to be a potential rival to Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne as Cameron’s successor. Before the referendum will be held, Johnson will no longer be Mayor (May 5 election in which he is not running), but a Tory backbencher.

The point of analysis is not to recapitulate one side or the other of this partisan debate, but to think through some the issues. Here we are interested in the impact of Brexit on trade and sovereignty. While volumes can be written about both issues, two important points often seem to be overlooked.