“Everybody thought the EU was about people coming into the country … no-one told of us the benefits”.

Obviously people are too Brexit obsessed to actually realize this

I haven’t read the entire thread but there are so many stupid people out there still blaming Brexit. These people didn’t benefit because they were / are deprived and live in deprived areas so of course no one told them. But successive governments have had a hand in the state of the country outside of the powerhouse of London and SE of England.

If you’re poor, it’ll rarely get better. I thank my lucky stars I’m not poor and my children are dual EU citizens.

What the people of Clacton think of their "wonderful" MP old Nige when they see him in their constituency every weekend.
Hang on - he has not been there since July 2024. Oh I see. Did he say why would I want to go to that awful place?

Ok the EEC, it evolved and changed names and powers a few times over the years but member states didn't have to rejoin every time this happened, we joined the then EEC in 1973 which is now the EU. Apologies assumed most people would understand that without the explanation needed ....

Think people forget that it wasn't EU "funding" individual projects for our towns and cities, it was our money in the first place, they just "directed" where spending should go.
Boris did indeed lie about where this money would/did go
I cannot believe the amount of short-sighted thickos who are going to vote Farage 😱
We're a doomed

Depends what you are comparing.

The are spelled differently, I grant you that.

And now the same people who told them that are telling them (again) that all the problems can be easily fixed - ‘trust me in, just in me’ style. And how they are falling for it.

Remain did a rubbish job of promoting their side, but when people say they ‘didn’t know’ how much we benefited from the EU, or that they believed the 350m lie, or any of the other reasons people say they voted to leave, I feel a bit confused. They had access to the same information we all did, could read and think and make up their mind. And ok, maybe once a snake oil salesman could trick you, we’ve all been there. But Farage is doing it again, the same lies about simple solutions to complex problems and blaming it all on immigration. And people in the shittiest towns are falling for it again. I don’t really have any sympathy any more.

That money was money we paid to the EU in the first place.

If those areas are now not getting that money, then it's because the UK goverment have stopped paying it because they are using it for other things which they perceive to be of higher priority.

Wonder how Ireland can have joined the EU 20 years before it was in existence

Not 'everyone'. 😒

The UK was a net contributor to the EU budget

Some countries paid more than others and the UK was one of the top contributors.

This was the point of the EU though, make every state stronger economically to benefit the EU as a whole and the single market which it embodied. If you look at Ireland as a case study, in 1973 when they joined they were an under developed mainly agricultural economy and were a net beneficiary of EU funding for years. Ireland is now a net contributor to the EU budget. They used their funding to strengthen their economy expand their industries and improve their infrastructure, this doesn't just benefit the Irish economy but the EU as a whole because it contributes to it becoming a stronger trading block. The EU is about strengthening all its members so they are collectively stronger, it provides access to the single market, the most affluent market in the world, and Britain lost that access overnight. On a micro level I no longer buy from many UK companies because of the excise duties you now have to pay so you look elsewhere and buy from other EU states, multiply that action by millions of consumers and the trade lost is huge.

The two are not remotely comparable - to create wealth in any country you have to make or grow something and sell it to another country, bringing fresh money into your economy.

As one example, Electrical & Musical Industries, a British firm, were the inventors of the CAT scanner, pre-eminent in electronic recording technology, the worlds biggest manufacturer of records and CDs, one of the biggest manufacturers of radio, television, light fittings, fire alarms and extinguishers etc etc - all made here at numerous factories throughout the land.

They were a good employer (I did my apprenticeship at their Hereford factory, where we made office lighting) paid good wages and made good stuff, sold worldwide.

How has that got anything to do with slavery?

I'm not surprised if some people genuinely did not know that their area benefited from EU funding. The media at the time amplified the message that the EU was to blame for uncontrolled migration and the poor state of public services. I don't recall EU funding for deprived towns really being discussed at all.

Those millions weren’t given so long ago - what was the money spent on. Strikes me too much money thrown at ‘projects’ and not invested wisely. For example better to improve a school than build a swimming pool no one can afford to use. With our housing situation seeing those houses boarded up a depressing. A programme to teach the trades and encourage construction companies to get involved in getting communities the support to rebuild thier own communities would be a good start?

Farage - lied about Brexit. Farage - believed about Reform. We have too many gullible stupid voters. We were told of the dangers of Brexit. You are being told about the dangers of Reform. The nation is addicted to Farage! Madness - look at the Brits. Keep voting for failure.

I think the pp was being ironic, no?

Yep. I live in a Reform controlled local authority. I'm far from being a fan of the Tories but at least our Iast Tory council was somewhat competent at getting stuff done, even if I didn't always agree with what they were actually doing. Under Reform, everything has just stalled.

Reform UK supports zero hours contracts

Lol really, do you honestly think Reform gives a shiny shit about communities like this other than to use them as pawns to get elected? Prepare to be disappointed

Unfortunately people are getting sucked into Reform UK half truths the same as they got sucked into Boris's Brexit half truths.

Reform support companies being able to get rid of staff and replace them with lower paid people.

Currently in South East Have also lived in NE.

The deindustrialization was in the bloody 80s mostly That's 2 generations of adults. Theres no excuse for treating your surroundings like filth. Or not getting any job available. And bringing up your kids to do the same. The govt and EU has " helped" for a generation.

Industrialisation created huge wealth which the whole country enjoyed.

So did slavery.

#justsayin'

I read that article and noticed it said that there is a community of Nigerian families living there. A worryingly large number of Daily Mail readers actually thought Brexit meant that all the foreigners would be rounded up and sent back to their respective countries like what's happening right now in the US. The fact that these 'foreigners' were legal citizens paying tax didn't figure in their equations.

The article also states that England flags went up during elections and Nigerian families suffered racist abuse such as eggs being thrown at them in the park.

Call me cynical, but it sounds like a bunch of racists that blamed all their problems on the foreigners (guided by Boris/Nigel) that then voted for whatever would get them out. No thought was ever given to grants or funding because why would it? The papers said it was the foreigners so lets get them out. Now they are left with the shit show that is Reform that don't have the ability to effect real change in deprived areas even if they wanted to.