Would you vote to re-join the EU in another referendum?

[GorgeousSpringtime]

Simple question. If there is another referendum to re-join the EU, will you be voting to re-join?

This isn't to have a go at anyone who supported Brexit, or who supported Remain, it's just a quick straw poll. Thank you.

If anyone is wondering, (or cares!) I think I will vote to re-join. (I won't say at this point what I voted for last time...)

If you don't want to live there we can still go visa free for tourism

I do think freedom of movement is such a unique and treasured privilege. But surely if you're good enough and skilled enough you can be eligible for a work visa to move?

No
I voted leave
and I would still vote leave today

and a lot of people who say yes are thinking of the EU how it was years ago and also with the all the opt outs we had

when you ask would we accept the euro
Schengen
lose all previous opt outs that we had
freedom of movement
it drops below 35 percent who would want to rejoin

also France Germany and Italy are moving far right

I wouldn’t object to trading but everting else no not a chance

Like you and others I was appalled that we left the EU. I’d like us to rejoin but as you and others say absolutely not lose our own currency. Probably the eurozone needs some dismantling…
But as for the changes in European politics - I’m somewhat inclined to think Europe needs the U.K. too as part of its mix. Part of a Europe working together to rebuild itself away from dependence on America and not towards closer links with Putin’s Russia.

I completely agree that the leave vote in 2016 was a monumental shot in the foot and that it has undoubtedly been a financial cost to the economy.

However not wishing to repeat the mistakes of the Brexit referendum what would a "rejoin" look like. I am fervently pro Europe but without a detailed and agreed deal in advance of what "rejoin" would look like (and there is no way the EU would agree to this in advance) then I simply couldn't vote for rejoin without knowing what I am voting for.

@SoBoredOfSelfDoubtHowToGetOut ,

‘But just because you love Europe doesn’t mean you have to want to live there. Temporarily or permanently or even at all. That’s the whole point of freedom of movement. You can choose. You can have a preference today that might change tomorrow.

Besides there’s an awful lot more to EU membership than FoM.

It strikes me that there are some people who hate others having choices. Or being able to change their minds. Which is frightening.’

I really don’t want to go back 10 years, so I will just do this one post about it. Remain lost because they fought an awful campaign. Yes, Leave’s campaign was trite and mendacious, but it could still easily have been defeated.

However, you needed (and to rejoin, will still need) to understand the other side of the argument. The benefits the educated middle classs felt, such as easy travel, spending time in second homes and cheap years abroad for their children were not universally shared. And the waves of Eastern European immigration genuinely had a negative effect on wages and jobs for a swathe of the population.

Anyone has no idea why leave thought as it did should read ‘Citizens of Everywhere’ by Peter Gumbrell.

The main thing we lost when we exited the EU was friction free trade. The rest is just luxuries mainly for the middle classes. It was why I ended up posting like a Brexiteer in 2016, despite voting remain and being a typical ‘citizen of everywhere’.

We are kind of having a mini repeat of 2016 now. The benefits of a single market are measured in billions of £ sterling and could make a huge difference to things like defence and the NHS. That is what any future campaign should look like.

I think that's fair enough - I would want to know what it was going to look like too. It's a shame that we threw away the excellent deal that we had previously but we could not expect to get the same deal going forwards.

Realistically, I don't actually think we will end up "all in". I think we will eventually end up with some kind of associate membership instead. It will never be as good as what we had, but hopefully much better than what we have now.

You are being deliberately obtuse. It is the same approach others have when discussing immigration, and they say 'why don't you take a refugee to live with you?'. It only reveals inactive critical thinking and a puerile need to try and catch someone out.

But to answer you, I did leave, and way before the Brexit shit show, for no other reason than a youthful desire to travel, explore and indulge in my freedom of movement rights. The reverse of this is that returning to the UK now would be very difficult.

Brexit made a lot of us feel displaced and left out of a decision that affected us far more than those who needed to google 'what is the EU?' the day after leave won.

Reading this thread has brought it all up again and highlighted just how little is understood. It is clear the appetite to revisit this simply isn't there. I suspect for many, the knowledge and understanding will never be there. For this reason I imagine the EU wouldn't entertain it.

‘with the all the opt outs we had
when you ask would we accept the euro
Schengen
lose all previous opt outs that we had
freedom of movement
it drops below 35 percent who would want to rejoin’

We would get freedom of movement. It is one of the four pillars of a single market.

I agree with you about the Euro which is why, realistically, we could only join the single market, at least short term.

OTOH, people keep saying the EU is worse now. In a critical way, it is far better now. It is far more converged in terms of GDP. We wouldn’t have huge waves of immigrants prepared to work for a pittance as they can do that at home now. I don’t see an immigration issue at all. That side would work well, with a fair immigration/emigration balance, which would be a plus for everyone.

I would vote no
I don’t particularly agree with freedom of movement back then - even less now

Disagree that we aren't still 2 party system, when push comes to shove.

Want a light hearted bet that the next GE will be won by either Labour or the Conservatives (without a pact with Reform)?

I didn’t get a vote on Brexit because I was living in a European country at the time although the majority of my income comes from the UK and is taxed in the UK.

I was and am still bloody livid with David Cameron for fucking up my retirement plans and for fucking up some of the education opportunities for my DS.

Depends whether Labour "reform" the vote and when.

I think Reform are the most likely party to collapse.

To me Reform is basically Nigel Farage. Unless they come up with someone who can fill his boots I think they are over sooner than later, because I don't see Farage going on forever.

Reform are a party whose support can turn on a sixpence though. It only takes some bad stuff in the world happening to make them a lot more popular.

I also think about a few things with free movement. Disastrous left wing policies in some nations with their immigration policies.

Also I understand that EU in some sectors can be overly strict and overly regulated. Like in AI and tech. I know people who have set up great domestic businesses as it was so much easier to do things in AI and tech without the EU regs.

But the thought of it. Again. All the old arguments regurgitating around before the eventual vote. I would have to give up being interested in politics I think.

Really? I don't think they will ever become "a lot more popular". I think the people who are open to going to Reform have already gone (though some are drifting away now) and those that haven't already shifted in that direction are resolutely against Reform and determined to stay that way.

A lot of people find Reform repugnant. They are not suddenly going to be bounced into voting for them by "events" - not even as a protest vote.

I think the Green party is the most likely one to collapse.

Followed by Reform.

What a loss to the country that would be.

Agreed. They are both on shaky ground.

Whether the "will of the people" has changed will require another referendum. And you would hope if we vote back in that we go back in. Just as when we voted out we left.

The question is whether in a few years time the will of the people looks like it might want out again then presumably we would have another referendum on that. And back out we go. By then the EU may have morphed into a political alliance, being its ultimate aim for "ever closer union". And you would assume that the individual rights of countries to leave would be extinguished.

Having another referendum fundamentally undermines the democratic process of the first one, which was sold as a "once in a generation decision".

If it's justified to have another one after ten years, then should we do one every ten years?

The rose tinted view of "Europe 2016", has been replaced by economic failure and a swing to the Right, rejoining isn't going to fix our problems.

Reform are looking more and more like the right wing of the old Tory party.

I am not sure that they are worth a lot of seats at the next election, but they are worth a lot of votes.

I see some kind of merger. The question is how the leadership struggle would play out.

The first referendum was one of the worst political decisions in my lifetime (which is getting quite long).

It was a cynical ploy of Cameron to hold his party together and then he had to go through with it, which he did lazily and stupidly.

Another referendum would be similar and just won’t happen. We are in a parliamentary democracy. If we vote in a part and it is on the manifesto, it can be implemented and the details left to the party in power.

I think the Conservatives would be too wary of losing a lot of votes if they merged with Reform.

They don't seem to have that many left to lose. Certainly, they would lose a lot of their more moderate supporters if they merged with Reform. But they've probably lost a lot of those people already.