The people of Swindon: do they regret voting for Brexit?

[EddyF]

With the closure of Honda - closing their Swindon plant, with the loss of 3,500 jobs, which the firm has attributed to Brexit, I wonder if the people of Swindon are having regrets since they were from the leave camp.

Reminds me of those who voted for Trump knowing his policies were targeted at them but felt they somehow were exempt. Like the Mexican man and his US wife voting for Trump then crying on the news he had been deported/couldn't get back in when he was out of the country.

I'm finding it really difficult sympathising with those who voted to leave by not looking at their own circumstances, but rather, other people. Majority of the people I have heard from who voted leave (from fb, and so on) they only cared about immigration. They thought leaving meant a 'clear up' taking hardly into account their own future and that of their children.

I'm sorry to the people in Swindon, but they did it to themselves.

And before people say "there wasn't enough information" there was enough to determine that we did not know what the 'deal' was.

I can't link article for Honda but it's everywhere on news sites.

Shortages in the shops due to a messed up food supply chain affect everyone.

Well, isn't it nice for surferjet that she isn't married to a spouse from another country, and doesn't know anyone in that situation, only knowing people who have lived here since before the Norman Conquest? So she doesn't have to worry about "will I be able to stay with my husband, wife or children?" Without stopping to think I know of at least 10 families in this situation, and they came under terms which permitted them to move here freely.

Not all are applying to stay here - a significant number have already gone, and furthermore, they are the ones we could do with keeping - health care workers, scientists are some that I know of.

many eu citizens are leaving and if theres no deal, many more will leave, many are stuck- like many remainers - and are wondering and waiting how bad it is going to get here.

we're not all wealthy like you, surfer, we cant easily up sticks and put homes/money elsewhere like your brexiteer leaders are doing.

Shortages of medication will affect significant numbers too.

we cant easily up sticks and put homes/money elsewhere like your brexiteer leaders are doing.

This needs highlighting. They are not staying to get stuck in, in this wonderful new post EU UK, when they told us that all the world would be rushing to our door. What wonderful leaders they were.

surferjet

I am one of the eu migrants you are referring to.
I am Dutch.
I came here because my dad's (German) company moved his job to London. This was after we had lived in Germany for 9 years.
My parents moved back to The Netherlands once dad retired.
I have been her for 28 years.
I have studied here (paid my own fees as an EU resident), worked here, paid tax, NI.
I have a husband. Two children. British.
I have a job, a house, hobbies, friends.
I have built my life here.

Would I leave if it was not for my husband and children - possibly, yes.
Am I staying because of my husband and children, definately yes!

Most migrants so 'busy applying to stay here' (your words) are not doing so because the UK is the land of milk and honey. They are doing so because they have built a life here that they cannot walk away from just now. They are stuck here. With the rest of you. And they are desperately hoping all will turn out well because, believe it or not, they do like the UK, their adopted home, and they want it and its people to do well (regardless of the way they voted)

Surferjet, for someone who claims to be bored with an echo chamber on MN, you seem to love sticking your two penn'orth in. Please do it more often.

we cant easily up sticks and put homes/money elsewhere like your brexiteer leaders are doing

Why not? Isn’t that what millions of people have done under freedom of movement? or just under the general immigration rules?
Most people I know have come here from Australia, South Africa or China. They can manage it.

Money oils the wheels surferjet, as you might know. But that's not the point - those wonderful Brexit leaders reckoned that we would be better off outside the EU, but they are not risking their own livelihoods and money to do so. Oh no, they are doing a Cameron and running as fast as their sorry legs take them.

yes i have seen you plenty of times telling people if they dont like it they can 'just leave.'

no, its not easy for families to leave their jobs, schools and communities here especially when they thought they were here long term.

we'll have to see how bad things get here.
i dont want to go anywhere. i dont even know where my family could go now. but your brexit britain gets uglier by the day.

I know most remainers won’t leave the UK, even the extreme ones, because they know where they’re better off.
Empty vessels & all that.

This is just one source but if you google “Japanese ambassador Brexit warning” you will find the same from all media, both left and right.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-03/japan-waves-goodbye-to-u-k-as-gateway-to-europe-post-brexit
We were warned in the strongest terms, and didn’t listen.

telling people if they dont like it they can 'just leave.'

but your brexit britain gets uglier by the day.

That's about right. Even without the economic arguments of Leave vs Remain, Brexit has been utterly toxic for all of the people of the UK.

I know most remainers won’t leave the UK, even the extreme ones, because they know where they’re better off.
Empty vessels & all that

where the fuck do you expect me to go?

unbelievable.

rich brexiteer who doesnt give a shit about the economy laughs at remainers for not leaving the country

I've not read all the comments but I can say for sure that Brexit has had a huge impact on the decision for Honda to stop production at Swindon
well that's strange because there's just been a statement again that it has nothing to do with brexit.
I assume you have more knowledge than the senior vice president of honda in Europe?

The EU has just signed a trade deal with Japan

Unless we stay in the EU single market we won't benefit from this trade deal with Japan. Our trade deal negotiations seem a bit shaky.

So sad listening to the devastation in this town whatever the reasons for the closure.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47285076

Surferjet why are you so lacking in empathy ? You always pile in on threads like these and just minimise peoples’ fears. Most people are stuck here because of family commitments.From your comments I presume you haven’t lived anywhere else or travelled widely if you think the state the uk is in at the moment is anything to be proud of !

Was anyone seriously expecting Honda to blame Brexit? It's a political hand grenade, of course they're going to advance other reasons and keep themselves out of the row.

It won't just be Brexit but the mind-boggling uncertainty it introduces will be one of a number of factors that influenced Honda's decision.

Ah right, so even when a company categorically states it's not to do with Brexit, we now assume they're lying and we all blame Brexit anyway?
That makes sense

What on Earth is an extreme Remainer?

It will be a mixture of things influencing the decision.

This is the reaction from a couple of Honda workers but not sure how widespread that view is -

www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/18/workers-blame-brexit-for-demise-of-hondas-swindon-plant

borntobequiet It was all spelled out in the Parliamentary report on Brexit and the automotive sector in Feb 2018.

There are no advantages to be gained from Brexit for the automotive industry for the foreseeable future. The negotiations are an exercise in damage limitation.

www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-energy-industrial-strategy/inquiries/parliament-2017/inquiry1/publications/

Government response? The equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and saying la la la ...

And whilst I wouldn’t expect the Japanese to overtly put the blame on Brexit, they’ve been quietly warning what would happen for years.

From what I've read this has very little to do with Brexit and more to do with issues within the changing car industry and from a quick scan is even mentioned in most articles, but its only brexiteers who only read headlines.

Considering all the economic expert remainers are here then I'm sure they underdstand that the operations in Swindon are pretty peripheral too - only 200,000 cars at most - 100,000 a year last year. The euro market is in the toilet. The EU economy still has fatal unresolved structural problems. There was never a solution to the debt crisis. I think the changes in the exchange rates (yen-pound and euro) probably haven't helped. At best i think Swindon might have lasted another model cycle so maybe something like 2026-2028 the EU auto tariffs end totally in 2027. Plus Honda probably has spare capacity in Japan and probably doesn't want it's US exports caught up in the EU-US trade spat that's coming especially if the UK ends up in the customs union.

Even if Honda had stayed in the EU most economics guess it would have been a repeat of Ford - Southampton where we paid for them to build an expensive new factory in Eastern Europe or Turkey where they can pay workers £200 a month instead of £1500 a month.

Ah right, so even when a company categorically states it's not to do with Brexit, we now assume they're lying and we all blame Brexit anyway?

When a company comes on and says that Brexit is a factor, (flybmi) then the Leavers tell us that it isn't. When CEOs say they will have to consider relocating, Johnson, Rees-Mogg and Co, (who wouldn't know how to change a lightbulb, never mind run a manufacturing industry), tell them that it isn't the case and they are talking rubbish.