Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it’s clear as day now that Brexit was a massive mistake and we need to rejoin the EU asap

221 replies

G3ran1um · 08/03/2026 11:19

How can anybody still argue than it was a good idea?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:18

I have a friend, he works in AI. He told me that his business and industry in the UK massively benefitted from Brexit and the lighter regulations the UK has compared to the EU. So much less red tape, a pro innovation environment.

fromthegecko · 09/03/2026 10:36

We had a really sweet deal (no Schengen, no Euro, massive rebate) that we'll never get back, so I don't think it's worth rejoining just to have a seat at the table - there are other ways for us to work with our neighbours.

On the other hand, joining the EEA could mitigate some of the practical harms from Brexit, even now: I would vote for a party with that on their manifesto.

JHound · 09/03/2026 10:37

Agreed.

I think there are two Brexit camps (or three) those who can admit it was the wrong choice snd those who simply can’t.

However it’s not simple to rejoin:

  1. There would have to be another vote on it, either as a referendum or party manifesto clearly stating their intent.

  2. We would be shafted. We had a lot of carve outs. Crawling back would put us in a very weak negotiation position.

JHound · 09/03/2026 10:41

TheFilliesWillRiseAgain · 08/03/2026 14:02

I would NOT want to rejoin the EU at the time. Have you seen how badly the economies of all the countries in the EU are doing at the moment? It's clear that union is not benefitting them.

The (low tax) US economy has grown by about 50% in the last 15 years. The (high tax) EU economy has grown by about 1% in that time.

I'd rather we became the 51st state TBH.

I would not want the US poverty levels, inequality and socio-economic problems.

Growth in and of itself is a meaningless stat.

(Also not so sure the US is low tax, it varies state to state - similar to the EU.)

catipuss · 09/03/2026 10:45

I think the nation is just as divided as it was then. There would have to be a vote and I think it could go either way. I don't see much point in going back, the EU has gone one way and has a lot of problems of it's own, we have gone our own way. Closer ties with Europe yes, but do we want to be tied and bound to every decision of the EU? I don't think I would vote to go back to that and the huge expensive extra bureaucracy of the European parliament where everyone elected seemed to come out rich...

JHound · 09/03/2026 10:48

hairbearbunches · 08/03/2026 16:23

I don't regret voting to leave. I regret the absolute shit show that came next. Westminster did not cover itself in glory over Brexit. Too many of them were adamant they weren't going to leave and behaved accordingly, with the intention of thwarting the vote. Others used it as a political wedge (Sturgeon, I'm looking at you), it was a mess from start to finish.

You cannot have FOM with a non contributory welfare state between countries that do not share economic parity, it's bloody stupid and so has proved to be. Outside of London, the UK has some of the poorest parts of the EU and yet we were net contributors, banging millions into a fund to bring places like Poland up to speed. And the irony is that Britain, at US bidding, were the ones pushing for eastern european expansion. The French and Germans were rather more circumspect about enlargement and probably wouldn't have gone ahead, so we shafted ourselves a long time before we actually voted to leave.

CAP has been a disaster.
European fisheries policy has been a disaster.
FOM was a disaster.
With all our opt outs, we were never fully committed anyway. We should have been good friends and neighbours, but no more than that.

I agree on FOM between countries of unequal economic parity being a bad idea. I have always and will continue to think this and it always baffled me politicians never saw this.

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:49

JHound · 09/03/2026 10:41

I would not want the US poverty levels, inequality and socio-economic problems.

Growth in and of itself is a meaningless stat.

(Also not so sure the US is low tax, it varies state to state - similar to the EU.)

Edited
Show quote history

The USA has a higher GDP per capita, more innovation and higher productivity.

pocketpairs · 09/03/2026 10:51

G3ran1um · 08/03/2026 12:18

Whatever the terms it’s clear we need the EU in all sorts of ways not least defence.

Show quote history

Stop being overly dramatic and stop reading sensationalist newspapers!! While I 100% agree that we need to rejoin the EU to boost GDP by up to 4% (£80-120bn), we certainly don't need it for defensive purposes. No one IS attacking us or no one Will attack us..just warmogers pretending we face imminent threats.

pocketpairs · 09/03/2026 10:53

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 08/03/2026 12:42

Dh is still confident it was the right thing to do. I’m a remainer still! We do fall out whenever I make your point OP. He’s better at economics and arguing than me!
He would say, and in this he’s probably correct, that the EU over reached its original purpose that we’d agreed to. There are issues I am not aligned with the EU over. Maybe it wasn’t possible to hold to idealistic goals that were a bit too challenging to meet.

lol..he's not better at economics. Actually he'd probably fail primarily school economics if he thinks brexit has benefited us economically.

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:53

We don't need to rejoin the EU at all, we need to keep our sovereignty and just have free trade of goods and services (but not people)

pocketpairs · 09/03/2026 10:57

MyFunSloth · 08/03/2026 13:59

There might be arguments to rejoin, but they are not economic. France and Germany - the most similar countries to us - are growing even slower than the UK right now. Re-aligning ourselves with a declining bloc wouldn’t change anything.

Should have finished those GCSEs. Let me try to explain to you in simple terms. EU is by far our largest trading partner. If you erect trade barriers, rather than having barrier-free access to large single market, some of that trade decreases (eg. the buyer now buy the good from another EU country instead of UK). It has been estimated that annual GDP growth has decreased by up to 4%.

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:58

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NYGDPPCAPKDGBR

Real GDP is higher. COVID was the main bummer

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:59

pocketpairs · 09/03/2026 10:57

Should have finished those GCSEs. Let me try to explain to you in simple terms. EU is by far our largest trading partner. If you erect trade barriers, rather than having barrier-free access to large single market, some of that trade decreases (eg. the buyer now buy the good from another EU country instead of UK). It has been estimated that annual GDP growth has decreased by up to 4%.

Show quote history

Then just remove those trade barriers and allow the UK to have their own free trade deals elsewhere
UK wins, EU wins

Original poster
G3ran1um · 09/03/2026 11:02

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:53

We don't need to rejoin the EU at all, we need to keep our sovereignty and just have free trade of goods and services (but not people)

But it’s not working. Businesses have been hit massively post Brexit.

OP posts:
ShakeNCake · 09/03/2026 11:05

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:53

We don't need to rejoin the EU at all, we need to keep our sovereignty and just have free trade of goods and services (but not people)

What does sovreignty mean to you? Do you feel it has tangibly increased since we left the EU?

warmpinkshawl · 09/03/2026 11:06

randomchap · 08/03/2026 14:08

It just wasn't done right. Nigel will get in and do Brexit right. He's a proper patriot, you can tell by how hard he works for his constituency

Very good! 😂

JHound · 09/03/2026 11:07

WheretheFishesareFrightening · 08/03/2026 14:09

This.

While I don’t want to be the 51st state, and there’s something to be had that’s in between high regulation and low growth and little protection for citizens and high growth, I don’t think the EU is the model I’d be jumping into.

I voted leave as I think we should be able to decide our own regulation, and the EU was becoming too broad and their legislation had to cater for countries that were in very different economic situations and so couldn’t possible be the right answer for all countries. I wouldn’t vote to rejoin now either. Even if we were the 51st state we’d have more autonomy over our own state legislature than the EU afforded us.

What reasons do you think we should rejoin?

Show quote history

Why do you think being a 51st US state would provide more autonomy than being an EU member state?

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 11:07

G3ran1um · 09/03/2026 11:02

But it’s not working. Businesses have been hit massively post Brexit.

Show quote history

Read upthread by friend's business massively thrived thanks to Brexit. We don't need to deal with pesky EU regulation and red tape anymore. Maybe SMEs can learn to deal and better manage the paperwork then, we can also have a deal to now have this friction and not be in that political union.

JHound · 09/03/2026 11:10

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:49

The USA has a higher GDP per capita, more innovation and higher productivity.

Show quote history

None on which detracts from what I wrote? High GDP per capita is meaningless with much higher levels of inequality.

Also the productivity levels across EU member states varies enormously a number of EU / European countries have higher productivity levels than the USA.

Also Sweden being in the EU has not stopped it ranking as more innovative than the USA:

https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-innovation-index/2025/index

JHound · 09/03/2026 11:11

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:59

Then just remove those trade barriers and allow the UK to have their own free trade deals elsewhere
UK wins, EU wins

Show quote history

Grief…

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 11:58

JHound · 09/03/2026 11:10

None on which detracts from what I wrote? High GDP per capita is meaningless with much higher levels of inequality.

Also the productivity levels across EU member states varies enormously a number of EU / European countries have higher productivity levels than the USA.

Also Sweden being in the EU has not stopped it ranking as more innovative than the USA:

https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-innovation-index/2025/index

Edited
Show quote history

The USA is much larger country so of course there will be more inequality. The USA will lead of size, has a fabulous university system and will be the place tech companies set up.

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 11:58

JHound · 09/03/2026 11:11

Grief…

Show quote history

Surely then both sides win?

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 11:58

JHound · 09/03/2026 11:17

Show quote history

Didn't have to deal with the strict EU regs

SoSadSoSadSoSad · 09/03/2026 12:17

OhSheetaABridge · 09/03/2026 10:53

We don't need to rejoin the EU at all, we need to keep our sovereignty and just have free trade of goods and services (but not people)

Oh god. Sovereignty. That bollocks again.

Swipe left for the next trending thread