No politics? Oh dear...

[Grant]

opium of the people

EEMMM ... Opium :licklips:

[AH1951]

The UK will be fine, as will Germany, but God help the other EU members, trapped in their economic and political prison with Merkel holding the keys.

[Chris_R]

That's fine for you to say from where you are. Unfortunately I don't share your optimism. There is no appetite in the EU to make it easy for us. There is no obligation on the EU to do or conclude anything. We're the ones deserting them, why should they do anything to help us?
The EU Trade Commissioner has today laid down the EU Commission opening position that there will be no trade negotiations until the UK is a 3rd party country, i.e. until after the UK has left the EU despite the fact that it may harm UK and other European economies. If that happens the UK will leave the EU with no trade agreement in place. If there is no trade agreement, there will be no banking agreement, no movement of people agreement. Nothing.
Bizarre? Yes. Ludicrous? Also yes. Can we change that position? No. The UK Government will have to negotiate directly with other important European Governments to get them to force the EU Commission to change its position. Will they (the other Governments) do that? No one knows.
Personally, I don't think the leading Brexit campaigners expected to win which is why they were able to make such ludicrous promises without the ability to deliver. Only last night Douglas Carswell was on BBC Question Time promising an extra £100m for the NHS. Since he is in a Parliamentary party of 1, yes 1, he has absolutely no power or influence on that. Such a decision will be up to a future Chancellor of the Exchequer to decide what the NHS budget will be. And Douglas Carswell, and in fact none of the Brexit campaigners will be in any position to make that decision.
The whole economic basis of the Brexit campaign was a con.

[zacmarshall]

previous comment removed - please keep it polite. Banter is OK but please don't insult those members with different views. Unless it's about BoJo - he's fair game (may have to ban myself...)

[kees]

That's fine for you to say from where you are. Unfortunately I don't share your optimism. There is no appetite in the EU to make it easy for us. There is no obligation on the EU to do or conclude anything. We're the ones deserting them, why should they do anything to help us?
The EU Trade Commissioner has today laid down the EU Commission opening position that there will be no trade negotiations until the UK is a 3rd party country, i.e. until after the UK has left the EU despite the fact that it may harm UK and other European economies. If that happens the UK will leave the EU with no trade agreement in place. If there is no trade agreement, there will be no banking agreement, no movement of people agreement. Nothing.
Bizarre? Yes. Ludicrous? Also yes. Can we change that position? No. The UK Government will have to negotiate directly with other important European Governments to get them to force the EU Commission to change its position. Will they (the other Governments) do that? No one knows.
Personally, I don't think the leading Brexit campaigners expected to win which is why they were able to make such ludicrous promises without the ability to deliver. Only last night Douglas Carswell was on BBC Question Time promising an extra £100m for the NHS. Since he is in a Parliamentary party of 1, yes 1, he has absolutely no power or influence on that. Such a decision will be up to a future Chancellor of the Exchequer to decide what the NHS budget will be. And Douglas Carswell, and in fact none of the Brexit campaigners will be in any position to make that decision.
The whole economic basis of the Brexit campaign was a con.

Absolutely right!!
Kees Oudesluijs

[felixkk]

As long as the democratic vote is seen to be done it does not have to be done. This is how we are all ruled. Bread and circuses and opium of the people

Didn't realize that it was such a banana republic

[Frankoid]

...trouble is that I am not all that keen on bananas .....

[zacmarshall]

I did wonder what the South Africans thought about the American advert for the S-Type as having been imported from Royal South Africa rather than the Republic of South Africa.

[Barrie]

We're not dead yet.
I was in a restaurant in Westminster today and there was a group of Indian businessmen talking to two English businessmen.
As I get older I must be getting deaf so they must have been talking too loudly because I quite clearly heard them talking about their plans to to inject billions into GB to take up any vacuum created by Brexit.
It stands to reason really - there must be loads of people waiting in the wings to step in.
It's what business people do.

[Denis]

Well,

what now comes to my mind is the two beautiful Pet Shop Boys songs:

- I Am With Stupid
- I Get Along.

[AH1951]

It's ironic that the only way for individual EU countries to be allowed to negotiate with the UK is for them to also leave the EU.

[Frankoid]

It would also be ironic for the far right if rather than white eastern European migration we had an influx of Indians

[Jen I V8]

opium of the people

EEMMM ... Opium :licklips:

Easy tiger..

[Barrie]

Looking back through some of the posts in this thread I've detected a certain amount of schadenfreude which has an irony all of its own.

[felixkk]

It's ironic that the only way for individual EU countries to be allowed to negotiate with the UK is for them to also leave the EU.

That's kind of the point of the EU- so that you don't have to negotiate with 30 countries. Imagine each Shire, District or County having different currencies, import duties, safety regulations on products.