To not really understand how leaving the EU will directly impact us

[DoreenSamuel]

Just reading the brexit threads. I voted remain as I didn’t really understand the benefits to leaving.

Now it’s actually happening I’m a bit confused. I mean I understand how not being in the EU directly effects businesses trading with EU countries and ultimately job losses which of course is significant.

I’m not clear about how this effects things like our children’s future, homelessness, education and the NHS? I hear people are concerned but I don’t understand the direct connection?

@DoreenSamuel the prices of fuel that is imported to the UK by the US will be highly dependent on who we decide to bomb or blow up or even just poss off. I will tell you this you guys are paying twice the amount of money for a gallon (damn the US for not using metric system) then we are already. If I’m doing the math correctly we would only be paying .60 per liter while you are paying almost twice that

There was a typo it should have 1 of. US comes in second to Norway to importing crude oil to UK

Farmers will lose their subsidies from the EU. Think the government are meant to be coming up with a plan, but not sure where they will get their money from.

Don't we get power from France?

Leaannb - other than about 20% of the coal imported into the UK, the US supplies very little fuel to the UK. The UK imports hardly any oil from the US.

The reason UK consumer petrol prices are high is due to taxation. A price of a litre of petrol includes 57.95p of Fuel Duty (Tax) and another 20% of the sales price is VAT (Tax).

If price hikes etc come with leaving the EU, would we expect similar problems if Scotland left the UK?

Fuel and food imports get more expensive irrespective of where they come from if the pound goes down in value - which it will if the general belief is that the UK economy is going to suffer.

Your children's future is impacted by the economy growing more slowly than it would have done (actually agreement that it is / will be slower over short to medium term, longer term view is dependent on which way you lean). That means fewer jobs and higher unemployment. It also means less tax income for the government to spend on things like education and the NHS.

There was a typo it should have 1 of. US comes in second to Norway to importing crude oil to UK

That's not what you originally wrote - believe it or not the US is your main supplier of fuel

The major suppliers of crude oil to the UK are the UK itself and Norway. Even as the second highest exporter of crude oil to the UK, the US is only one of many suppliers (Nigeria, Algeria and other OPEC countries), all of which are of about the same size in terms of volumes.

Fuel comes in many forms - coal, gas, electricity etc. - and with the exception of coal, the US supply to the UK is of no significance at all in most of these.

I was thinking of fuel as in petrol / diesel- that comes from the Far East doesn’t it?

Yes good point teddy, I hadn’t thought of the impact of the devaluation of the pound of course that will have a far reaching knock on effect. But the strength of our economy has been precarious before and essentially the uk is a rich country compared to a lot of EU countries (with the exception of Germany), so I’m not sure if that’s likely, hopefully not.

Don't forget Cheddar Cheese, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Cornish pasties. They'll lose their protected status so anywhere can make them now.

#firstworldproblem

Unfortunately Cheddar Cheese is not protected.

Basically we will become more like America. Erosion of workers rights and worshipping the pound/ dollars. NHS will get sold off.

Only one benefit that I can see- going back to pounds and ounces for shopping will make buying for baking a bit easier (almost all ingredients are sold in grammes and my favourite recipes are all in lb/oz!)

Also DH recons that when garages switch back to gallons it will make it easier to work out the cost of the journey given all UK cars calculate fuel efficiency in MPG.

I also think blue is a better colour for a passport.

Can’t see any benefits apart from that mind.

I’m sad we’re leaving. 😞

'Nobody has been able to come up with any reasons why it will be good'

Well on Saturday I for one will be standing at the airport to wave all them foreigners goodbye, and on Monday morning I'll expect to get a GP appointment straight away that day because all the buggers will have gone home and stopped clogging up the health service and job centres etc. Maybe I'll be referred to one of the brand new hospitals that'll be built with all those hundreds of millions of pounds we've got spare now, that definitely will not be going into the pockets of dodgy Tory's and their mates.

I was thinking of fuel as in petrol / diesel- that comes from the Far East doesn’t it?

Crude oil comes from Norway, US, Algeria, Nigeria and OPEC.

Refined oil products (petrol, diesel) are either produced in the UK from the crude oil, or are imported from Russia, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as from a number of other countries. None comes from the Far East.

essentially the uk is a rich country compared to a lot of EU countries (with the exception of Germany)

The UK is the 3rd richest European country in terms of GDP, but when that GDP is shared out per head, the UK is only the 15th richest country, behind all of the Western European countries except Italy and Spain.

A greater issue is that UK wealth is not shared out particularly evenly. 14.5 million people in the UK are in relative poverty (that is more people than live in 20 of the 27 EU countries), while others, such as the boss of Bet365 (paid £320m last year) and the boss of Persimmon Homes (2018 bonus, £112m) are making obscene sums.

@fligglepige and now that we know, through the example of those nice Chinese people, that a hospital can be built in a week, they've got no excuses have they?

@Davros West Country Farmhouse Cheddar was indeed protected by the EU, and will cease to be, like the other products mentioned and many others.

"oh it'll be nice to have blue passports being able to bake in pounds and ounces again!"

Such analysis. Such insight.

This is.exactly why you simpletons shouldn't.have been given the choice in the first place.

YANBU. The Brexiteers don't seem to know either.

But today doesn't change much because the transitional period was agreed. It's a nominal Brexit as it were. The most visible changes are political. The UK is no longer involved in European lawmaking and policy, our MEPs have left the European Parliament.

The end of the transitional period, planned for the end of the year and that's when real change happens.

Basically as part of the EU we were signed up to various advantageous trading agreements with countries around the world. We did this because the EU is bigger and more powerful than any single European country and so our bargaining power was much better.

We have decided to rip up all our trade agreements and start again on our own. For some reason, lots of people think that the UK is big enough and powerful enough to trade with China, the US and Russia and get a brilliant deal without having to give up anything in return. This is, of course, deluded. As a smaller and less influential country we will have to offer something in return. What exactly is difficult to know before negotiations take place but one example is that the US wants us to accept their chlorinated chicken. Trump has also said that he would want access to the NHS (so basically privatising it and selling it off). Other countries will also want something in return for a trade deal - you don't get something for nothing! This might mean we will have to increase immigration from countries in exchange for trading with them (e.g. with India).

Whilst it is true that we don't yet know exactly what the Brexit negotiations have in store, we do know that we won't be getting a better deal or even an acceptable deal without giving up a lot too. That is just the logic of tradeSo even if you think Brexit won't affect you, it most definitely will. It will affect everyone, and the poorer you are the more strongly you will feel the effect.

essentially the uk is a rich country compared to a lot of EU countries

However, a lot of the UK is living in poverty and, more importantly, other EU countries haven't decided to shoot themselves in the foot. Almost all experts believe that the UK will be worse off and the UK population will be poorer after Brexit. Yes, they could be wrong but why risk it?

*Only one benefit that I can see- going back to pounds and ounces for shopping will make buying for baking a bit easier (almost all ingredients are sold in grammes and my favourite recipes are all in lb/oz!)

Also DH recons that when garages switch back to gallons it will make it easier to work out the cost of the journey given all UK cars calculate fuel efficiency in MPG.*

I'm sorry to disappoint you but I can't see either of those things happening! Ingredients will still be sold in grammes as this is what people are used to.

@Softskin88 What on earth makes you think we are going back to the Imperial system of measurements?? That was never on the table.

Oxfordcat interesting. I've always been horrified by the abominations that call themselves Cheddar. The protected version seems too niche