that it has just hit me that this time next year I wont be an EU citizen

[garethsouthgatesmrs]

I know it's yet another brexit thread but it genuinely just hit me that it's actually happening THIS YEAR! I am truly gutted. Would love someone with political knowledge to come on and reassure me that it actually won't be that bad. I have 3 children who have to live with the repercussions.

buble is on jules holland-this has to be a good sign

I saw an interview where some elderly people held the EU responsible for “new coins” and thought “Leave” meant we could return to shillings - because “we were alright before new money.”

Some others in Wales were convinced the EU were going to bring back the poll tax

"I was mulling over 17yo Dd doing a gap year after A-levels... how to do it on the cheap. Working her way across EU is out, now. Bummer."

Travelling through Europe isn't cheap.

Well the travelling is actually free for EU 18 year olds, thanks to this scheme! www.youdiscover.eu

There are actually loads of great opportunities for EU citizens. I moved to Paris at 18 and found a job for a few months as did lots of my friends. We weren't massively wealthy and had to save up to do it but it was so easy and relatively cheap compared to the alternatives.

Paid for by Swedish tax payers, surely? I can only imagine the righteous outcry if anyone non-British started suggesting that they can get anything from UK public institutions "without paying a penny"

Such as any non English EU student in Scotland? Nope I've not seen an out cry.

@silvercuckoo I wonder if this marvellous course it in Swedish?

Nope, in English. Lots of courses are taught in English, as they are in the Netherlands and Germany and which are much much cheaper than the UK.

A friend studied Japanese via distance learning at a Swedish university.

Can’t come soon enough.

What are you looking forward to most?

And in Italy too - lots of excellent university courses taught in English at a fraction of the cost of UK courses. Really sad for my UK nieces who will have a huge debt if they want to go to uni.

Come on SilverySurfer. This is your chance to share the good news - don’t leave us hanging!

Feel free to elaborate MaxTeyon.

Is there any Brexiteer who can add any facts or substance to the outlook for 2019. Or are they only going to quip in with, “Yippee”, “Yay” etc. I’d just love to know why they “Can’t wait.”

What benefit are the “can’t wait”, “can’t come soon enough” expecting?

From a job security and affordability point of view, Brexit will hit the poorest first.

The supermarket was chaotic on 23rd and 31st December and that was just for one festive day at a time... thinking ahead to supply chain and customs/border issues, what are you doing ahead of March in terms of practicalities?

I’ve just filled an online basket to create a store cupboard to last a couple of months (because I’m expecting supply chain issues and high inflation). It’s with Asda, so one of the cheaper supermarkets. I’m not finished yet and it’s close to £400 on non-perishables (food only). I haven’t added frozen foods, cleaning products, OTC medicines or toiletries yet.

I’m not a doomsday prepper. Just keen to think ahead for my family.

What do you honestly think has been so great about being part of the EU

If any family needs 400 pounds of store cupboard items for 8 weeks then I suggest you sort out your spending habits.
Don't blame Brexit for your obvious greed.

This time next year? This time in three months and 29 days more like. Although I personally still think the whole thing will be called off somehow #wishfulthinking

Just to add that I think Brexit may actually bring a few benefits, but these are far outweighed by the downsides of it all.

I haven’t voted Labour since the 90s, but what a wasted opportunity they have in JC. If they even had a semi-reasonable leader on a Remain platform, I think they could probably swing the balance of power right now and call a second referendum. What is the actual point of JC in opposition - undermining and criticising everything, but a man with no plan of his own? I live in Richmond-Upon-Thames borough and don’t know anyone who voted Leave, but people are saying they would even vote for Corbyn right now if he could get us out of Brexit - despite the fact he’d bankrupt us all with his mansion and school fees taxes. But there’s only so much damage that can be done in 4 years. Brexit is forever.

Not one leaver I have spoken to can say anything other than "yea bring it on it will be great" followed by some vague waffling about taking back control, immigration and how it was fine 50 years ago. Usually with some flag waving and the theme from the dam busters playing in the background.

Well it won't be fine. It's not 50 years ago, the world has moved on. In the event of a no deal Brexit there will initially be chaos, followed by a decline in living standards, increased unemployment and fall in public services. How bad and how long for no one knows, but Jacob Rees Mogg reckons 50 years.

With some sort of deal, it won't be quite as bad, but rather a long slow slide into generally being worse off and having much less influence worldwide.

Without membership of the EU Britain will be worse off, we all will.

And yes, I am very angry at the effect this will have on me personally and my family.

Keir Starmer could be the man to help change tack for the Labour party.
He would champion a People's Vote option with more gusto than Corbyn could muster.

My family and I are now in mainland Europe with the intention of my children getting citizenship here in another 4 years or so. I will be Irish hopefully before Brexit happens. But after Brexit my husband won’t be able to get a job here and he will still need a resident permit despite being married to me. It’s all so awful. When people hear I’m British I get the looks of pity or, what’s worse, laughter.

Also my tax alone is about 2000k a month, that is money no longer in the UK treasury. Britain’s loss in my host country ‘ again.

When people hear I’m British I get the looks of pity or, what’s worse, laughter.

I think that says more about the people you know. I know I’d never be so rude to give looks of pity or laugh in someone’s face, no mater which country they told me they came from.

I had to hunt hard for this... not sure why. I also can't find out anything independent about the author.

"Benefits to hard Brexit". That has a key theme is assumption of NO £39 bn will be paid, yet equal claim that non-EU trade partners will stampede to get into deals with UK (even though we publicly welched on the last major trade deal ).

For those of us in Scotland there is a simple route out: Independence then back into the EU.

Nope. In order for an independent Scotland to join the EU, you will need the agreement of all the EU countries. Spain have always said that they will not allow any newly independent state who have broken away from a larger state to join the EU, and would veto any attempt for them to do so.

Spain do not want any independent Catalonia joining the EU, so they have repeatedly stated their position on this.

So there is no way for Scotland back into the EU, regardless of what some of your politicians might say.

When the talk of another referendum started to look more realistic I thought "the day the announce it, we'll be back to wall to wall migrant crisis stories".

Turns out I was wrong - the stories started once it was clear whatever Brexit we get will be an almighty fuck up.

The purpose is to make sure any rational discussion about what we need to deal with on March 2019 is drowned out by the anger and fear of those who believe they are about to be swamped by people speaking a different language in Tesco. (Founded by the son of a Polish immigrant - how is that for irony?)

And the reason they want to avoid rational debate is because as soon as we look rationally at what we need to do to prepare, it becomes unavoidably obvious to the majority of the country that there is no good Brexit.

(This is also why the Brexiteers kept undermining any agreement for a Brexit deal - not because they necessarily want No Deal, but because as soon as any deal gets looked at in detail it becomes obvious that A) it's better than No Deal, and B) it's worse than staying in. So they had to make sure that realisation was avoided until it was too late to do anything except grab whatever deal is on the table. Which is where we are now).

Yep, anything to distract from having to admit its all a giant balls up.

Very interested in max and silver coming back to tell what the benefits will be.

Personally I am horrified that the question was allowed to be asked (thanks Dave in the shed), that people believe that self centred oaf (boris) and further pushed by the disaster capitalist (RM) looks to bolster his family fortune, and people who generally had limited understanding of the eu on their lives -investment in areas out of London, protection of right, product standards etc not mention 70 years of peace in Europe; believed them.

I don’t understand on what planet don’t think the uk will be screwed. We aren’t a great global power, we are Albania with delusions of grandeur.

I am sad. I am sad that so much ignorance regarding how EU systems, politics and trade works (and that includes me, although I voted Remain) I am sad that so much ignorance regarding non British citizens exists. I am sad that we do not more forcibly influence our government and just accept the crapness that is our political parties. I am sad that so many people think that life was better prior to EU membership. I am sad that my children will not have the same opportunities that we have had and will wade through this mess for much of their lives. I am sad that we are likely to endure financially struggle through the remainder of our lives. I feel sad that I have to explain the actions of my relatives short sighted media fed beliefs. Mostly I feel sad for the future of our country. I am sad at the division this has created. Those who voted for this had every right to do so and I appreciate the democratic process which allows it, but I am angry that no process took place to educate the truth of this and although some voting is based on bigoted/rose tinted views either way, so much other voting was just through our lack of understanding. You may not agree with me and want to pick holes in my statement but you cannot take away the disappointment and sadness that the state of this has brought me to.

getting a work visa in many non EU countries has many obstacles” Errr, there's a reason for that... they don't want every Tom Dick and Harry to come and live the good life without being active contributors to the economy/society. Freedom of movement was one of the cornerstones of the whole Brexit movement.

SheilaBruce, are you implying that EU migrants to the UK (and let’s not forget the 1 million UK citizens who live in other EU countries) are not active contributors to the society? The Government’s own paper showed EU migrants in the UK are net contributors. You need to work when coming from another EU country to the UK and vice versa or have enough money to live without state support. This is why most EU migrants are young, work hard and whose tax goes into our nation’s coffers. The UK benefited from EU migration.

One of the reasons the USA has been such a economic powerhouse is they had effectively freedom of movment between the 52 states.