Would you vote to Rejoin the EU if there was another referendum? - Part 2

[EEexpat]

Advantages and disadvantages?

@StarlightLady

And for those who can read a map, you will notice that mainland Europe is much nearer and therefore a more practical trading partner than the Russian loving USA.

So, why is the EU talking about Australia and Canada being associate members? Are they much nearer than the USA?

@Pipsquiggle

The question was how people would vote if there was a second referendum. Advantages and disadvantages.

Early posts seemed to answer that. Some good points were made by those who voted both leave and remain in 2016 about the potential complications, disadvantages, downsides and risk of a second vote and a rejoin. However, much less was said about advantages.

Sadly, the thread, like so many others in the past, has become a rerun of the same old comments that began on 23 June 2016 rather than looking at measured data and what is happening in the World today.

Regards your reference to the YouGov poll, if you read it in full it records that 31% think their household finances will improve if UK rejoined the EU. Not a very high figure I would say.

@CharSiu

If previous Governments of every political colour had dealt with immigration issues previously we would not be in this mess.

A good point. Enoch Powel pointed out (admittedly not in the most tactful way) the risks of immigration as far back as 1968, but it was ignored.

Tony Blair pledged to reduce immigration to the 10s of thousands. Cameron said similar in 2010. Starmer said similar in 2024. However, it’s never happened.

Seems to me that immigration is not tackled due to:

Conservatives want cheap labour

Labour are purchasing future voters.

OP, you appear to be acting like an umpire of what is right and a school teacher marking homework, challenging so many individual comments one by one.

This is not how on line forums l meant to work.

Surely it’s up to the op. It’s not the only thread on here if it isn’t interesting.

@StarlightLady

challenging so many individual comments one by one.

If I am asked a question, it seems reasonable to reply. Also, if a comment makes a cherry picked, flawed or inaccurate statement, I will reply.

I was hoping to hear a balanced response which takes into account all known circumstances and facts. At the beginning it seemed to be the case. Sadly, it has become a rerun of, remain knows better.

This is not how on line forums l meant to work.

So, how are online forums meant to work? Are there any specific laws you can provide?

Probably because their values align with Europe whereas the USA doesn't and whose values get further away from Europe's every day.

Balanced? 😆😆😆

Is that you Nigel?

We won’t mention the £5m “gift for delivering Brexit” from someone who had crypto interest and whose main home is in Thailand will we? And then when it was suggested this could be unethical all of a sudden it became for security?

@Kpo58

Probably because their values align with Europe whereas the USA doesn't and whose values get further away from Europe's every day

That doesn't explain the comment

And for those who can read a map, you will notice that mainland Europe is much nearer and therefore a more practical trading partner

Neither Australia nor Canada are near the EU.

It's easier to trade when you have similar regulations. For example you cannot easily trade food between 2 countries if one of them allows many harmful chemicals in it and the other one doesn't. The same with toy regulations. How can you trade something if one place thinks that it's dangerous and the other doesn't care about quality? Or if one place wants to only use raw materials and excessive amounts of packaging for creating things and the other wants to be more eco friendly?

@Kpo58

It's easier to trade when you have similar regulations

Definitely. However, that doesn’t explain the proximity argument presented previously by another poster.

@StarlightLady

We won’t mention the £5m “gift for delivering Brexit” from someone who had crypto interest and whose main home is in Thailand will we? And then when it was suggested this could be unethical all of a sudden it became for security?

I think that relates to another thread? However, if Farage or the Reform Party are found guilty of wrongdoing, then they will have to faces the consequences

@StarlightLady

I can't see the connection of your last post and the original question.

It is a good discussion on the current issues though. Emojis aside.

@EasternStandard

It is a good discussion on the current issues though. Emojis aside.

There are several threads which touch on NF and the recent donation to Reform. However, it's down to MN to decide what can and can't be posted.

There seems to be part consensus on the difficulties and potential downsides of both a vote to rejoin and actually rejoining. However, not much has been said about advantages. There must be some as it's rare for something to be clear cut in any direction.

I think the Brexit threads had typically been just snark and emojis lobbed at leave voters but re-join is another issue.

And ten years on the EU landscape has changed, and will likely continue to change.

As I am a Brit, with British children, who can't return to my own country, unless I leave their Father behind, then Yes.

@Hedgehogbrown

Are you married? If yes, your partner may be able to apply for long term visa or ILR (indefinite leave to remain).

You are hallucinating.

Since Brexit, UK has grown faster than, France, Germany and Italy. FALSE

Fact: France (+9%) and Italy (+8.7%) have grown faster than the UK(+6.2%). Only Germany lags (+1.9%)

UK has lower immigration than, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. FALSE

Fact from 2020-2025 only Germany has had a higher gross average immigration than the UK avg of 1,500k/yr which was driven up by Ukranian refugees, the UK has averaged 750k/yr, almost double that of France at 400k/yr and Italy at 400k/yr.

UK has lower tariffs on exports to the US (World's largest economy) than the EU FALSE

The confusion arises on the fact that UK has a base of 10% tariffs whereas the EU has a cap of 15% tariffs. The way this works in practice is the UK ends up paying more tariffs than the EU because the 10% only applies to a few items at low volume. For example, the first 100,000 cars exported from the UK to the US are at 10% tariff, any cars over that are charged at 25% tariff. Meanwhile, the EU pays no more than 15% in tariffs no matter how much they export. The end result is that the UK pays higher tariffs than the EU when averaged across the total number of exports.

UK reduced tariffs on 100 supermarket items to help with the cost of living. This could not have been done if still a member of the EU. FALSE

These tariffs are being suspended indefinitely but this could have been done if still a member of the EU without needed EU permission. The EU does in fact allow member states to autonomously suspend tariffs under Article 31.

No they can’t. They have to first go through 5 years of 30 month partner visas.
https://ilrtracker.com/guides/spouse-visa-to-ilr

It’s worth watching what happens as EU AI regulation slows growth there but not here.

@EEexpat

The Brexit deal was implemented by Brexiteers under Boris. Why is that deal not delivering the benefits that were expected?

You stated “For the services sector, which is over both 80% of UK employment and GDP, the TCA is working as demonstrated by the growth in that sector since 2019.” FALSE a teeny tiny growth in spite of Brexit is not a Brexit benefit.

Evidence from LSE Study
A recent discussion paper from the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE entitled ‘Deglobalisation in disguise? Brexit barriers and trade in services’, provides an analysis of how the TCA has reshaped services trade. The authors identified and categorised specific regulatory frictions, such as licensing, residency, and qualification recognition, across 713 service categories and 27 EU countries. This mapping was then matched to detailed trade data to assess the impact of each barrier on UK-EU services flows.
The paper’s key findings highlight that:

• UK services exports to the EU in sectors affected by these barriers have declined by 15.8% relative to other bilateral flows.
• Overall, UK services exports are estimated to be 4-5% lower than they would have been without Brexit.
• These losses have not been offset by increased trade with non-EU markets, challenging the vision of a UK pivot successfully toward global markets beyond Europe.

The report highlights that the most significant barriers are regulatory frictions such as residency requirements, licensing restrictions, and the lack of mutual recognition of professional qualifications. These obstacles disproportionately affect high-value sectors, such as legal, financial, and tech services, where the UK has traditionally held a comparative advantage. What UK Businesses are saying? BCC data has consistently highlighted these issues, and survey of over 1,000 businesses carried out between July and August last year, finds that SME exporters in particular are disproportionately impacted:

• Customs procedures are the top perceived barrier, cited by 45% of businesses, followed by export documentation cited by 39% of firms. A firm in Manchester told the BCC they were losing several EU clients due to new licensing requirements that prevent them from offering cross-border services.
• Many firms are calling for simplified trade regulations and improved EU market access, and others are advocating for rejoining the Single Market or enhancing the TCA. A firm in Bristol highlighted delays and increased costs in hiring EU-based talent, citing visa complexities and lack of mutual recognition of qualifications.
• Nearly half of businesses (46%) urge the UK Government to prioritise the easier movement of personnel between the UK and the EU in any negotiations with the EU.

https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/news/2025/08/the-reality-of-uk-services-trade-post-brexit/

There are relatively few advantages to leaving. For example, we have to comply with EU regulations to do business with the EU. Not having freedom of movement means British businesses need to pay more to access the common market - postal costs have recently risen as part of this. Now we're no longer a member of the EU we can't return migrants to the first place they entered the EU as we could previously. The list goes on and on.

Should we rejoin that will likely be in at least 10 years time and we won't have the exemptions we had before.

The irony is that some leavers expressed that they disliked closer political and defence co-operation: they had only agreed to economic co-operation. Geopolitical developments have shown how sensible it is to co-operate on defence and resource procurement and management. The EU has raised the standards of many aspects of our daily lives and we should remember that.

Tbh I just want us to rejoin. The arguments for outweigh those against in my opinion. I also think that for referendums on matters where the impact can be great, there should be a requirement for a specific majority, e.g. 75% or more in favour, not a simple majority. Just as there is for companies asking their shareholders to vote on special resolutions.

The AI industry is looking like the .com bubble so regulation is a good move imho. The UK is going to have more bail outs costing trillions on par with the financial crash of 2008 if they don’t follow suit and regulate the growth. But then most MPs likely have AI in their personal portfolio's and would benefit from some bailout money…which will come from higher taxes and cutting public services even more.

https://wlockett.medium.com/ai-losses-are-about-to-spiral-out-of-control-72a7e8a0fe0d

https://www.thealgorithmicbridge.com/p/you-have-no-idea-how-close-the-ai

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nizangpackin/2026/10/15/too-big-to-fail-30-when-ai-goes-bankrupt-who-keeps-our-secrets/

Let’s see. It’s not as if the internet itself has gone away, it’s still underpins growth, business and so much of what we do.

Plus it’s the development that’s key and getting revenue from that. Plus with any guidelines
you need to understand what’s happening with it.

China and US will move ahead, the EU will lag.