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Brexit

to agree with the positive Brexit plan below?!

658 replies

MenMust · 29/08/2016 20:27

Having watched a documentary recently about the making of the London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony, I was reminded of the sheer skill, innovation and creativity possessed by this nation. This left no doubt in my mind that the UK is completely capable of making a huge success outside the EU.
The first thing the people of the UK need to do is to focus on positive outcomes and opportunities created by the historic decision to leave the EU. Everyone, including those who voted to remain, need to put aside all negativity and differences and anger. Whether you voted to exit or not, it is now going to happen and so all thoughts of doom and disaster are wasted energy and need to be put aside. Pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophesy and if you concentrate on what you think are the negative consequences of Brexit, you will drag the UK down.
Of course there is a risk to exiting the EU. However, there was always a risk to staying in the EU as it is a changing entity. A vote to remain was not a vote for the status quo. The UK will face challenges as it has always done and there will be those who lose out because of Brexit but there will also be those who gain. The EU however also faces an uncertain future. The Euro is in trouble and requires fiscal and budgetary union for any chance of survival. The EU’s economic performance has been poor and its share of world GDP is set to fall. It has failed to keep up with 21st Century globalisation and emerging markets. Further integration is not popular. The EU needs to change radically if it is to survive.
Now the UK has a new PM, Theresa May in place as well as a new Cabinet, the Government needs to appoint the best advisors and negotiators in the land who can help secure the UK the best deal with the EU. The Government should take its time to work out what the best outcome is for the UK before declaring article 50. The UK is in a good position to secure a favourable deal with the EU. We are the biggest importer within the EU and in fact import more from the EU than the USA. It is in the EU’s interest to work with us rather than against us.
The Government needs to ensure that our fishing industry regains rights of fishing areas that it has lost previously under the EU Common Fisheries Policy. EU laws that have had the effect of closing down fishing businesses and communities need to be reviewed.
It is important to remember that, although we have voted to leave the EU, we are still friends with our European neighbours and will continue to maintain a close relationship with them and support them in whatever way we can.
We should now open up to the rest of the world.
Our Government should secure and enhance friendships and relationships with other countries. They need to look at trading partnerships and free trade agreements (FTAs) with all countries we wish to trade with. Australia has already announced it wishes to look at trade deals with the UK. China and India are set to be the future trading powers so we need to start discussions with them. We could possibly forge a link with NAFTA (North American free trade bloc). We should look at our relationship with the Commonwealth and foster trade and agreements with our Commonwealth partners. The EU is the only trading bloc in the world that requires such stringent conditions on its members and this has stifled competition and productivity over a number of years rather than promoting it. We are the sixth largest economy in the world and so other countries will want to do business with us.
Our Government should ease its focus on achieving a balanced budget by 2020. Reducing our debt is still important but should now be done over a longer period and the Government should spend more money on capital projects to help counteract the slowing of growth. It should also look at reducing the tax burden further.
Our police and legal system should stamp down and eradicate racism and racist attacks on our fellow migrants as this is not acceptable. The UK is still a society that welcomes people of all ethnicities, cultures, religions and countries. Racism was not what Brexit was about.
The Government needs to ensure that all project funding commitments by the EU shall be stuck to until we have left the EU. Also, it should ensure that UK organisations and individuals are not discriminated by the EU leading up to our exit.
Once we leave the EU, the Government should commit to funding existing projects previously funded by the EU for at least another three years until it has a department or system in place to make decisions about continuing or ending project funding.
The amount that the UK paid towards the EU budget should be used for capital investment projects within the UK and also for improving and supporting the NHS. The capital projects to improve our infrastructure such as roads will help boost aggregate demand in the UK and help counteract any negative effects on GDP of leaving the EU. The Government should spend money to improve areas of our country that have been neglected or just need fixing.
UK exports will be cheaper due to the reduced value of Sterling. This is an opportunity to promote and increase what we sell to the rest of the world. We must take advantage of this.
UK imports will be more expensive due to the reduced value of Sterling and possible import tariffs. The Government could provide tax breaks to ease the burden on companies that import.
We should focus on buying British goods and supporting our businesses.
We have many of the greatest universities in the world and the Government should invest more via research grants to help boost our universities success even more.
The City of London has great financial institutions and London is one of the world’s top financial centres. It is renowned for its flexibility, resourcefulness, connections, highly skilled workforce, experience. The City with the support of the Government should ensure that it does everything so that it remains one of, if not the most attractive centre for finance in the world.
Finally, we, the UK need to stop underestimating what our country can achieve. Our history has shown what we can do. We still do and will continue to do. We were the pioneers of the industrial revolution. We invented the train, the telephone, the computer, the internet for example. We discovered penicillin, DNA, the laws of gravity. We have Shakepeare, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, The Beatles, Florence Nightingale, just to name a few! Football, rugby, cricket all came from our country. Our reach and influence is global. We are not a great empire anymore and we have no desire to be but our systems of politics, law, finance are duplicated around the world. So let’s not underestimate ourselves. I have great confidence in our younger generation to continue what previous generations have done. They are bright, intelligent, skilled, energetic, creative. They and older generations have the ability to make a success of our exit from the EU. We all just need to believe in ourselves and remain calm and confident.
We have been in the EU for 43 years, not really a long time in the scheme of things.
So let’s not be afraid and let us take this challenge on and show what we can do!

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MenMust · 29/08/2016 21:18

maybe my post is a bit too long!

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SwedishEdith · 29/08/2016 21:21

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SquinkiesRule · 29/08/2016 21:25

I think I pretty much agree, all the doomsayers get me down. We all now need to work together and make sure we thrive.
Acting like petulant children achieves nothing.

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MenMust · 29/08/2016 21:25

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MenMust · 29/08/2016 21:26

not you Squinkies, sorry.

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cardibach · 29/08/2016 21:27

Edith has it. And yes your post is too long.
Just in the financial centre thing though - if the EU shut us out of that, who will the financial district serve?

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Hmmnotkeen · 29/08/2016 21:27

We should also give each citizen their own personal unicorn. That's what your 'plan' amounts to.

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Houseconfusion · 29/08/2016 21:28

The OP imagines herself to be Theresa fucking May as she delivers these grand words by Downing Street her greasy tablet.

Good luck with your utopian stately words.

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LordRothermereBlackshirtCunt · 29/08/2016 21:30

The City of London has great financial institutions and London is one of the world’s top financial centres. It is renowned for its flexibility, resourcefulness, connections, highly skilled workforce, experience. The City with the support of the Government should ensure that it does everything so that it remains one of, if not the most attractive centre for finance in the world
Except the rabid Little Englanders want us to leave the single market. Which means we will lose financial passporting and, with it, 20-30% of our GDP. No amount of positive thinking will make up for that, I'm afraid.

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PrettyBotanicals · 29/08/2016 21:30

I think that was a thoughtful, true and interesting post.

Sadly, I don't think the tone of debate I'm still seeing will result in equally thoughtful replies.

As you can already see!

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GoLightlyHollie · 29/08/2016 21:38

It all depends on the deal that can be wangled by Theresa May and David Davis/BoJo etc. One would have thought that they would realise that financial passporting is a key non negotiable. And possibly the free movement of labour but not necessarily automatic residence rights with all that that entails (access to schools, NHS, social welfare etc). If they get it right, it might not be so bad. I think that now that it has happened, you have to be sanguine about the whole thing, otherwise we might end up talking ourselves into another recession.
(Trying to be positive, I was devastated by the outcome of the referendum)

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MenMust · 29/08/2016 21:46

I agree GoLightly. have to be positive as all we will do is damage if negativity takes over

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cardibach · 29/08/2016 21:52

We have zero barging power though. Zero. Why would the EU hand us financial passporting? What benefit is there for them? No amount if positive thinking/talking up of the U.K. Gets away from the fact that we are I our own with no bargaining power. It's going to be a fucking disaster whichever way you look at it.

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Marynary · 29/08/2016 22:02

I don't think that all the "negativity" is wasted energy at all. If "negativity" takes over, perhaps those who voted to leave will wake up and smell the coffee and we won't leave.

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MenMust · 29/08/2016 22:10

If negativity takes over, we will go down the pan

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MenMust · 29/08/2016 22:12

We do have bargaining power as the EU exports a large amount to the UK, more so than it does to the USA, and it will want to continue doing so.

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Marynary · 29/08/2016 22:35

If negativity takes over, we will go down the pan

We "will go down the pan" if we leave the EU and the politicians can't negotiate good trade deals. Whether or not I feel negative about leaving the EU has zero impact on that.

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53rdAndBird · 29/08/2016 22:45

Well, it's very positive, but it's not much of a plan when it comes to the tricky stuff. Apart from the idea of massive government investment in national infrastructure and in deprived areas (which I fully support but not sure May's cabinet would!)

look at trading partnerships and free trade agreements - well yes, obviously, everyone is agreed we would need to do this. But a) we are restricted in what we can do on that front while still in the EU, b) these things take AGES to arrange, years and years and years, and c) we don't have a stable of experienced trade negotiators to do that, let alone to do that with half the world simultaneously. So we need a plan to deal with these problems.

The City with the support of the Government should ensure that it does everything so that it remains one of, if not the most attractive centre for finance in the world. - right, but again, how? What are we going to have that keeps the banks here, if we don't retain passporting? Or if we are, how are we going to do that?

I am all for positive thinking, but we will need more than Florence Nightingale and the Beatles to make a success out of this. That isn't 'talking Britain down', that's just reality.

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Dozer · 29/08/2016 22:49

Our creative industries are indeed fantastic. They were not pro Brexit.

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Dozer · 29/08/2016 22:50

Also, we're British and can moan if we want to!

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MaudGonneMad · 29/08/2016 22:52

So, what about the small matter of Northern Ireland in this utopian post-Brexit vista? Didn't see any mention of that.

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tametempo · 29/08/2016 22:55

Nice to see the pro-remainers have stopped behaving like spiteful, spoilt children. Oh wait...

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ToFindAndWakeTheDreamer · 29/08/2016 23:10

So, do we accept free movement of people to maintain access to the single market and to keep our banking passport? That's probably what it comes down to. What say the Leavers?

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xexxsy · 29/08/2016 23:14

Theresa May will sort it all out, no worries. In her quiet way. She knows where the bodies are buried after her stint as Home Sec.

Disaster for Britain this exit thing. Too much taxpayer money to be paid setting up Government Departments, recruiting Trade negotiation specialists, (no guarantees), flight of the City Banks and Traders... you know, to Dublin and Frankfurt. Farm subsidies gone.

I want to stay, I want my passport to fly through any EU country. I want my kids to be able to work anywhere in the EU. I could go on.

Expect a few flames. But this referendum is Cameron's fault, not thought through and very emotional without being practical.

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CanandWill · 29/08/2016 23:20

What can the Uk export to China, India and Australia? Manufacturing in China and India is far cheaper then the UK.

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