AIBU to ask if anyone here still thinks Brexit is a good idea?

[Sundiamond]

There was a time when the board was alive with argument around Brexit.

Does anyone still believe that Brexit is a good move and we, as a country, will gain more than we will lose?

And can we please stop blaming poor people for Brexit.

Very well off babyboomers from the home countries voted Leave in droves. These people have lived the most prosperous, comfortable lives in human history as members of the EU/EEC. They just don't fit the narrative of poor downtrodden overlooked northerns and so for some reason are never mentioned.

I think having had 45 years or so of negative press by the media and politicians about the EU worming it's way into the minds of voters , it was no surprise that the Remain campaign was less effective at the time of the referendum.

Vitriolic press. Owned by millionaires and non-doms who pay little if anything in taxes. Why are these scumbags even allowed to own newspapers here and why are they allowed to have so much influence over the government?

@KenDodd

And can we please stop blaming poor people for Brexit. Very well off babyboomers from the home countries voted Leave in droves. These people have lived the most prosperous, comfortable lives in human history as members of the EU/EEC. They just don't fit the narrative of poor downtrodden overlooked northerns and so for some reason are never mentioned.

This.

Yes - absolutely true that many very well-off people voted Leave. In fact all the people I know who voted leave appear to be pretty wealthy and are likely to be just fine when the shit hits the fan. They have, at least, stopped posting on Facebook to tell us how stupid we all are not to believe in the wonderful opportunities and future prosperity awaiting us just round the corner once the transition period ends.

Returntospamfritters who do you think should be allowed to own newspapers?

Approximately half of the population of NI, including myself, hold Irish Passports. Are we still EU citizens?

Yes. How do you not know that?

If I were in government I’d be passing a law to ensure that those who own newspapers pay tax here.

@akerman

If I were in government I’d be passing a law to ensure that those who own newspapers pay tax here.

And are resident here. Also we need a Press watchdog with a bit more bite.

@Andante57

Returntospamfritters who do you think should be allowed to own newspapers?

Well definitely not Rupert Murdoch

Good article ( and no I'm not a Guardian fan; I only normally like John Crace):

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/30/boris-johnson-deal-betrayal-brexiters-no-deal

"Here’s the verdict from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on the deal, hidden in annexes and unearthed by Jill Rutter for UK in a Changing Europe. The deal will cause a 4% drop in GDP. Even the pandemic won’t hide the Brexit hit to manufacturing and finance, as mountainous red tape includes 270m customs declarations (as opposed to 55m now) and 50,000 new customs agents. New customs IT will only go live on 23 December; road hauliers have no handbooks; lorry parks are unfinished. No wonder the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was silent on Brexit in his spending review last week."

It is a good article, and I like her writing but I can't help but think she's being a bit hopeful here. If he wanted a deal why has it taken so long and so much dicking about? I think there won't be a deal and then he 'll go "oh we couldn't have a deal because of fishing", like he cares about fishing at all.

Fishing is worth buttons, but its useful to have something that you cant agree on if you never wanted a deal in the first place.

I think Boris will sacrifice fishing as he knows we need to protect financial services more

@MyNameIsArthur

I think Boris will sacrifice fishing as he knows we need to protect financial services more

I may be wrong but I thought financial services wouldn't be part of any deal. They are being dealt with separately, but if there's no trade deal..

.
uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-finance/eu-considering-stopgap-measure-for-uk-financial-services-post-brexit-says-eu-diplomat-idUKKBN28625S

Financial Services have already been hung out to dry

taking our pension investment returns with them

@JamieLeeCurtains

A lot of creative, entrepreneurial, once profitable British businesses are starting to post on their websites,

"Brexit: we have no idea what will happen after 31st December 2020" .

It's bloody shameful.

Can you link pls? I’m yet to see this

@MyNameIsArthur

I think Boris will sacrifice fishing as he knows we need to protect financial services more

And seriously - how many votes ARE there in an industry that only employs 24,000 people spread around the country and a hell of a lot of them in seats the Tories could never win anyway?

Real Politik. The Tories don't actually give a toss about the fishing industry or the people who work in it. It's macho gesture politics. It's the only old 'industry' they really have left to 'defend'. They've got to be seen to be trying.

Fishing is worth buttons, but its useful to have something that you cant agree on if you never wanted a deal in the first place.

I think I agree with this. Fishing is totemic; going No-Deal over it will look to the swivel-eyed loons to whom it's so important like Johnson is socking it to the EU.

If the value of fish caught in UK waters is for example £5 billion and 80% ends up getting landed by EU vessels or exported to the EU, then lease that percentage of fishing rights to the EU for 25 years in return for a capital sum of £50 billion payable upfront. The UK leased Hong Kong from China so a similar non-permanent arrangement could appeal.

We will end up back in whatever the EU looks like at the end of that time anyway

@CunnyLingus

If the value of fish caught in UK waters is for example £5 billion and 80% ends up getting landed by EU vessels or exported to the EU, then lease that percentage of fishing rights to the EU for 25 years in return for a capital sum of £50 billion payable upfront. The UK leased Hong Kong from China so a similar non-permanent arrangement could appeal.

We will end up back in whatever the EU looks like at the end of that time anyway

Didn't the UK already sell off fishing rights in many of its waters decades ago? Not sure we can lease something to people that we have sold to them already!

Didn't the UK already sell off fishing rights in many of its waters decades ago? Not sure we can lease something to people that we have sold to them already!

Well that's what I've been wondering, didn't we sell off our fish quotes?

Yes, we did sell off our quotas, but Farage and Johnson don’t want you to think about that.

We sold 60% of our quota.