If you voted for brexit did you get what you wanted?

Haha. Something that adds 0.004% to GDP? The EU has FTAs with most of these countries anyway and we would have benefitted from these agreements.

But what was it you wanted?

Data show retailers have retained 80% of savings since VAT was cut on sanitary products

https://www.ft.com/content/1b43b113-4dd0-4548-8bf8-0a629b3796c0

it has not benefitted women and screwed the country up. Hurrah for Brexit.

Hm. As an average Jo, I would measure the impact of Brexit's success in the everyday things that affect my family. So...

Food & leisure: I'm yet to see my wages go any further, COL is ridiculous - we are decent earners and still have to budget.
Health: I do not bother trying for GP appointments, unless it's the kids. My dentist is now fully private & no NHS ones locally.
Security: Car theft and stripping cars is through the roof here but no particular police presence or initiatives noted.
Schools: My children's class sizes have grown particularly the last 2 years through immigration and I haven't seen the resources/staffing at my kids school increase to accommodate this. There are no new schools planned for the area.
Work: I'm in the CS and they're cutting numbers & budgets. We have no staff in two very key areas affecting safety.

I mean, it may have been equally shit if we'd stayed but I would genuinely be interested in where I'm missing the positives that others are pleased about. It would really bring me some peace of mind I think.

Yes, Germans after the 1930’s wanted change. Not all change is good.

Yes,it is great that we had Truss and Sunak that were democratically elected. Notwithstanding the fact that we can get rid of the House of Lords when we want as well as the heredity monarchy who rule over us. This is why we need British democracy so that the people we elect decide on our lives.

By the way, what rules from the elected EU MEPs did you not like? The bits that regularised trade and standards to ensure the free flow of goods and services to unify standards that is usual in a free trade area or only the bits about bananas being straight? or did you not like the thing about human rights as it has European in the title so it should not apply to us?

Yes, there are European immigrants who've been here for decades but were not allowed to vote on Brexit. Quite a few of my European friends have left the UK, taking their jobs and businesses with them. It's not the case that they left high paying jobs behind for UK people to step into. Their employers (mostly multinationals) on the whole allowed them to move and work from their new country. And then of course there are the organisations that moved as a whole, taking their contributions to the UK economy with them. The idea that Brexit was not going to affect the UK economy was always a bit silly for many reasons, and now evidence shows it's not true. I'm not massively affected, other than worries about economy, hassle with travelling to the EU, and huge extra cost for posting gifts to family in the EU. I'll move back as soon as my dc father allows me, which may not be for quite some time.

We had sovereignty, you wombat.

Yes. Sovereignty

It's really not Brexit, it's increased movement which some countries will try to counter and others won't. No one has been sending people back in large numbers using the Dublin agreement, look at the numbers they were tiny, eg about 500 per year and we took more than sent back.

Sending large numbers of people back wasn't an option.

If it's Brexit related can you explain how Germany is struggling with they same issue atm?

Since we left in 2020, the UK no longer has access to the Eurodac fingerprint database, so it is harder to prove definitively which other countries that the European small boat arrivals to the UK have previously passed through. We haven't set up any other bilateral agreements so refugees are stuck in hotels (who's making money out of that?). The backlog grew during the previous government and the numbers have rocketed since.
It's a mess.

No it's just another way to enter became more established. The peak for arrivals was 2002, just by another way to get here. Pre Brexit.

Also look up what's happening with the EU and various countries reacting to the strain politically and socially. No Brexit there.

There are other downsides but for some reason people seem to go with this

*Can't send refugees back to the European country they came from - as we could prior to Brexit!

We really couldn't. Look at the numbers it was very small and we took more than we sent back*
When we left the Dublin Agreement in 2020, the numbers of 'small boats' increased because refugees believed the fact the UK was no longer part of the EU made it more appealing to risk the dangerous crossings because they could no longer be sent back to other European countries under EU legislation.

I was a remain voter and don't blame politicians for people's choices as they are adults with agency. All the information was there, we had months of debates, articles, questions.

In the same way I place the blame on the rioters for their behaviour, even if it was whipped up by rabble-rousers on social media. As adults, it's up to them to take responsibility for their behaviour.

People voted Labour because they were so badly effected by the Tories, they could no longer believe the right wing press.

Because people weren't coming in on boats because there was a simple deterrant that you could be sent straight back. Now they're put straight in hotels.

Because people don't vote 'for' things anymore, they vote against things. Even in the recent election, people weren't voting for Labour (they had nothing to offer), they were voting against the Tories. So when it's a binary vote in/out people chose out.

This is also the fault of politicians. The case for the EU wasn't made well enough.

Can't send refugees back to the European country they came from - as we could prior to Brexit!

We really couldn't. Look at the numbers it was very small and we took more than we sent back

I know two women who voted for it. One is Australian and immigration was her big issue. It would be interesting to know the percentage of Commonwealth people for and against. I know some felt abandoned when Britain joined the EEC originally.
Both women I know are around retirement age and both have Irish passports - longstanding through marriage in the case of the Australian lady. Hastily acquired post Brexit in the other case under the 'granny ' rule. I'm not sure what they make of it now tbh. Apart from a moan about queues for the Channel Tunnel the subject has never arisen. I certainly don't bring it up with them. Not much point I fear.

Disaster!

Can't send refugees back to the European country they came from - as we could prior to Brexit!

Brits can't go and work the summer seadon (or longwr) in Spain, Greece etc.

Europeans can't easily come and work here ... its almost killed the restaurant/pub trade in the Lake Distruct.

I find it extremely difficult being only allowed to spend 90 days out of 180 in Europe.

Who do you think should make the decisions about the country then?

The elected government; especially regarding something so seismic. We should never have had the referendum.

What makes you think Remain didn't have sound bites and bias?

You sound a bit undemocratic to be honest. Who do you think should make the decisions about the country then?

It made quite a lot of UK citizens search for their Irish roots to get citizenship and an Irish/EU passports.

Some issues are simply too important to be made by electorates who base their vote on soundbites and bias.

I voted to leave from a left wing democratic perspective and was upset that the narrative of leaving was completely hijacked by right wing racists.

Having said that we are now back to being a small, more democratic state, and we have a labour government, so in spite of all the disadvantages, which I do acknowledge, I’m happy with my vote.