Brexit Vote

[Sheba]

The Not-So-Quite-United Kingdom.

[Guardian Enzo]

Wales voted for Brexit, unlike N.I. and Scotland which overwhelmingly rejected it, so I wouldn't be so quick to assume they'll be out the door on the U.K.. They might - COVID has exposed some fault lines in their relationship - but there are clearly some fundamental forces in play in Wales that are different than Scotland or N.I..

[mangamuscle]

This news reports was done before covid19 was part of our daily lives, the cracks were already there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtoO5u0X6LA

... also remember, we have not seen the worst of covid, crumbling health services will not be a pretty sight anywhere, but it is coming to many countries. I remember seeing a documentary that talked about how the black plague (or other such pandemic) ended the serfdom system in europe, this pandemic will no doubt bring (for better or worse) many political changes around the world.

[OH&S]

Brexiters left stunned after several EU countries demonstrate easy control of their own borders (satire)

One French citizen, Christophe James, told us – after he had stopped laughing – “Oui, it turned out to be remarkably easy to control our border. We just, you know, said ‘Let’s shut the border with plague island’ and within a few hours the restrictions were in place.

[SeijiSensei]

Somebody needs to start delivering pizzas to these guys.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Somebody needs to start delivering pizzas to these guys.

Yeah, and then, go into quarantine, as you'd have to cross the border to get back .

[Anh_Minh]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...medium=twitter

British businesses that export to the continent are being encouraged by government trade advisers to set up separate companies inside the EU in order to get around extra charges, paperwork and taxes resulting from Brexit, the Observer can reveal.

It's probably uncharitable to laugh.

[James Rye]

So they have to invest into the continent, pay taxes and employ people in the EU to avoid the Vat and other stuff for exports. Genius. Brexit winning at life.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by James Rye

So they have to invest into the continent, pay taxes and employ people in the EU to avoid the Vat and other stuff for exports. Genius. Brexit winning at life.

Worst still: they're basically suggesting them to lay off people in the UK to hire for the same role in the EU. (Indirectly but that's basically what they're saying).

Turns out the EU really is taking their jobs. Shocking! /s

[mangamuscle]

I would like to hear from those 19 forum members that voted on the poll for the "leave" option, I mean, they are still convinced it was the best option, right?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

I would like to hear from those 19 forum members that voted on the poll for the "leave" option, I mean, they are still convinced it was the best option, right?

Considering that the British poll at +20 for "Remain" these days, I wouldn't bank on it.

Still - likely relatively few of those votes here came from UK citizens.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

I would like to hear from those 19 forum members that voted on the poll for the "leave" option, I mean, they are still convinced it was the best option, right?

As someone who would have voted leave, if I had participated in the poll, I can totally understand everyone who wanted the UK to just leave already, and it's actually a rather common sentiment in the EU.
And frankly I think the EU should have just given them an "take it or leave it, just know that you are responsible for the consequences if you don't"- kind of ultimatum on the deal, after the 2nd time british parliament refused a previously negotiated deal.

And yes, it's their right to refuse the deal, but the chambers actually only ever told the EU what they didn't want back then, never what they actually wanted.
If they had actually done that we could have wrapped this up under Theresia May already. So yeah, any non-UK EU voters were probably just tired already.

And I honestly believe letting them go hard Brexit and let them bear the consequences might have been the better option for everyone, the Uk included.
If they wanted back in afterwards, k, but first of all, due process, and second without any previous special rights they originally had.


So yeah, it feels like the EU-negotiators forgot that their duty is towards the benefit of it's members first and foremost, and not towards the country that wanted to go.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

As someone who would have voted leave, if I had participated in the poll, I can totally understand everyone who wanted the UK to just leave already, and it's actually a rather common sentiment in the EU.
And frankly I think the EU should have just given them an "take it or leave it, just know that you are responsible for the consequences if you don't"- kind of ultimatum on the deal, after the 2nd time british parliament refused a previously negotiated deal.

And yes, it's their right to refuse the deal, but the chambers actually only ever told the EU what they didn't want back then, never what they actually wanted.
If they had actually done that we could have wrapped this up under Theresia May already. So yeah, any non-UK EU voters were probably just tired already.

And I honestly believe letting them go hard Brexit and let them bear the consequences might have been the better option for everyone, the Uk included.
If they wanted back in afterwards, k, but first of all, due process, and second without any previous special rights they originally had.


So yeah, it feels like the EU-negotiators forgot that their duty is towards the benefit of it's members first and foremost, and not towards the country that wanted to go.

The problem is that you couldn't just let the UK go cold turkey because it would take down with them a good chunk of the EU economies as well. The UK was (and will still be for a bit) a large export market for EU countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc. Letting the UK drop with an hard brexit would be like shooting off your foot to take care of an itchy finger.

Global economies are intertwined and, after years of free market, the UK was deeply intertwined with the rest of the EU despite what the brexiteers wanted to believe.

Heck! The brexiteer idol, Margret Tatcher, was one of the architects of the free market with the goal of saving the dying British economy of the 1970s! The irony of the whole thing is frankly astonishing. It takes an insane amount of ignorance to forget these basic facts, it's genuinely impressive.

[ganbaru]

How is the situation with Ireland for now? I remember than some were worried about the impact of Brexit on Ireland (in particular about the border) but I failed to find any info about the current situation.

[Dextro]

Well good timing, someone just sent me this:

Northern Ireland halts post-Brexit port checks after ‘sinister behaviour’

So bottom line is: things are still calm but it's not necessarily the best environment for good things to happen.

[SeijiSensei]

Here's a good summary of the situation in Ireland:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-55934636

Bloomberg News, an opponent of Brexit from the beginning, follows the issue closely. Here's an overview of recent developments:

Businesses tell a different story, one of bureaucracy and delays that add up to higher costs. Elsewhere, hidden under the impact of virus lockdowns, Brexit seeped into all parts of the economy, affecting everyone from online shoppers to fishermen, car dealers, bankers and farmers.

Some of the issues may be short-lived as firms get to grips with the situation. But as the U.K. tries to untangle an economic and trading relationship forged over almost half a century, some frictions will linger, creating a drag on economic growth.

“People refer to lots of the problems as teething problems,” said Sam Lowe, senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. “But while businesses will learn how to fill in forms, we should acknowledge that new bureaucracy is the new reality and there’s a lot more to come.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ly-ground-down