to agree with the positive Brexit plan below?!

[MenMust]

Having watched a documentary recently about the making of the London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony, I was reminded of the sheer skill, innovation and creativity possessed by this nation. This left no doubt in my mind that the UK is completely capable of making a huge success outside the EU.
The first thing the people of the UK need to do is to focus on positive outcomes and opportunities created by the historic decision to leave the EU. Everyone, including those who voted to remain, need to put aside all negativity and differences and anger. Whether you voted to exit or not, it is now going to happen and so all thoughts of doom and disaster are wasted energy and need to be put aside. Pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophesy and if you concentrate on what you think are the negative consequences of Brexit, you will drag the UK down.
Of course there is a risk to exiting the EU. However, there was always a risk to staying in the EU as it is a changing entity. A vote to remain was not a vote for the status quo. The UK will face challenges as it has always done and there will be those who lose out because of Brexit but there will also be those who gain. The EU however also faces an uncertain future. The Euro is in trouble and requires fiscal and budgetary union for any chance of survival. The EU’s economic performance has been poor and its share of world GDP is set to fall. It has failed to keep up with 21st Century globalisation and emerging markets. Further integration is not popular. The EU needs to change radically if it is to survive.
Now the UK has a new PM, Theresa May in place as well as a new Cabinet, the Government needs to appoint the best advisors and negotiators in the land who can help secure the UK the best deal with the EU. The Government should take its time to work out what the best outcome is for the UK before declaring article 50. The UK is in a good position to secure a favourable deal with the EU. We are the biggest importer within the EU and in fact import more from the EU than the USA. It is in the EU’s interest to work with us rather than against us.
The Government needs to ensure that our fishing industry regains rights of fishing areas that it has lost previously under the EU Common Fisheries Policy. EU laws that have had the effect of closing down fishing businesses and communities need to be reviewed.
It is important to remember that, although we have voted to leave the EU, we are still friends with our European neighbours and will continue to maintain a close relationship with them and support them in whatever way we can.
We should now open up to the rest of the world.
Our Government should secure and enhance friendships and relationships with other countries. They need to look at trading partnerships and free trade agreements (FTAs) with all countries we wish to trade with. Australia has already announced it wishes to look at trade deals with the UK. China and India are set to be the future trading powers so we need to start discussions with them. We could possibly forge a link with NAFTA (North American free trade bloc). We should look at our relationship with the Commonwealth and foster trade and agreements with our Commonwealth partners. The EU is the only trading bloc in the world that requires such stringent conditions on its members and this has stifled competition and productivity over a number of years rather than promoting it. We are the sixth largest economy in the world and so other countries will want to do business with us.
Our Government should ease its focus on achieving a balanced budget by 2020. Reducing our debt is still important but should now be done over a longer period and the Government should spend more money on capital projects to help counteract the slowing of growth. It should also look at reducing the tax burden further.
Our police and legal system should stamp down and eradicate racism and racist attacks on our fellow migrants as this is not acceptable. The UK is still a society that welcomes people of all ethnicities, cultures, religions and countries. Racism was not what Brexit was about.
The Government needs to ensure that all project funding commitments by the EU shall be stuck to until we have left the EU. Also, it should ensure that UK organisations and individuals are not discriminated by the EU leading up to our exit.
Once we leave the EU, the Government should commit to funding existing projects previously funded by the EU for at least another three years until it has a department or system in place to make decisions about continuing or ending project funding.
The amount that the UK paid towards the EU budget should be used for capital investment projects within the UK and also for improving and supporting the NHS. The capital projects to improve our infrastructure such as roads will help boost aggregate demand in the UK and help counteract any negative effects on GDP of leaving the EU. The Government should spend money to improve areas of our country that have been neglected or just need fixing.
UK exports will be cheaper due to the reduced value of Sterling. This is an opportunity to promote and increase what we sell to the rest of the world. We must take advantage of this.
UK imports will be more expensive due to the reduced value of Sterling and possible import tariffs. The Government could provide tax breaks to ease the burden on companies that import.
We should focus on buying British goods and supporting our businesses.
We have many of the greatest universities in the world and the Government should invest more via research grants to help boost our universities success even more.
The City of London has great financial institutions and London is one of the world’s top financial centres. It is renowned for its flexibility, resourcefulness, connections, highly skilled workforce, experience. The City with the support of the Government should ensure that it does everything so that it remains one of, if not the most attractive centre for finance in the world.
Finally, we, the UK need to stop underestimating what our country can achieve. Our history has shown what we can do. We still do and will continue to do. We were the pioneers of the industrial revolution. We invented the train, the telephone, the computer, the internet for example. We discovered penicillin, DNA, the laws of gravity. We have Shakepeare, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, The Beatles, Florence Nightingale, just to name a few! Football, rugby, cricket all came from our country. Our reach and influence is global. We are not a great empire anymore and we have no desire to be but our systems of politics, law, finance are duplicated around the world. So let’s not underestimate ourselves. I have great confidence in our younger generation to continue what previous generations have done. They are bright, intelligent, skilled, energetic, creative. They and older generations have the ability to make a success of our exit from the EU. We all just need to believe in ourselves and remain calm and confident.
We have been in the EU for 43 years, not really a long time in the scheme of things.
So let’s not be afraid and let us take this challenge on and show what we can do!

Why does being prevented from supporting elderly relatives deserve the comment 'Good Grief'?

As well as showing ourselves as a nation to be in thrall to racist bigots, are we now to show that we don't have any compassion either?

As well as splitting the country down the middle, we've damaged the sense of commitment, security and, dare I say it 'engagement', of around half the country - mostly economic contributors or potential contributors.

Bit of an exaggeration there. The majority of the remain voters I know, although initially upset at the referendum result, have accepted it and have acknowledged there are positives to leaving the EU. I know none who have become un "engaged".

You don't know WrongTrouser, whether Remain voters have accepted it or not.

Quite. This is not something I discuss with leave-voting colleagues in real life. In any case it is not possible to "accept" it when we don't yet know what it is that we are accepting.

At this moment in time any of us could work in the EU and bring an elderly. parent. My DH has a friend who teaches in Spain & taken his Dad there, so I can appreciate what the poster said about Brexit making this difficult. Not to mention many of our pensioners living in Spain and using their services.

Yes, I believe we currently export a lot more of our elderly than we import.

The difference with retiring to a country and only moving there when you need care is quite marked though.

If you retire there you are at least a consumer of goods and services for a prolonged period and may or may not require medical resources etc.

Moving somewhere for no other reason than care is very difficult to justify.

I am not sure acceptance is the right word, resigned and hoping for the best more like it, with sadness at the racism.

I'm fascinated by some of the odd things going on on this thread. First there's the pp's siting, as one of the negative effects they see from Brexit, an increase in division in this country and rejection of "anyone who's different." But at the same time making stereotyped, insulting comments about all leave voters.

Hint: If you don't want an increasingly divided society, consider the effects of your own behaviour.

Also interesting that "Surfer* is expected to show empathy with a pps motivation for remaining. I have seen very little attempt to have any empathy for leave voters motivation, and insults from many (not all of course) posters.

To clarify my post of 9.01, I was talking about the majority of remain voters I know who I have discussed it with. I am not claiming to know the views of all remain voters, but it is clearly not true that half of voters are going to turn their backs on the country because of Brexit.

"Also interesting that "Surfer* is expected to show empathy with a pps motivation for remaining"

Amazing distortion of that exchange. A poster said that leaving would affect her personally because of her situation with her elderly mother and Surferjet responded with "good grief". You don't see the problem there?

As for remainers being the cause of the division, this is too far through the looking glass to waste any time responding to.

"I have seen very little attempt to have any empathy for leave voters motivation,"

Several posters have asked how the EU is having a negative effect on people's lives. So far there has been no response whatsoever.

Wrong trousers How many of the remain voters you have spoken to are under 30?

I felt disappointed at the lack of empathy shown, whatever happens this is a poster worrying about her elderly mum. Don't know the circumstances she may pay for her own care etc.

As for remainers being the cause of the division, this is too far through the looking glass to waste any time responding to.

I didn't say that. I think the causes of the division which is now apparent in this country are many, and many were there before the referendum but have been exposed as a result. I think that everyone who does not want to see increased division in our society has a responsibility to act accordingly. It is not about apportioning blame. It is about everyone considering the effects of their actions.

"Turning their backs on their country" is an exaggeration. There will be a significant loss of engagement if most of them answer 'yes' to the question 'do you feel less positive about the uk as a consequence of the vote to leave the EU'.

Tbh everyone I know is 'getting on with it', but that's obviously not the same as feeling positive of hopeful about the future.

It is very difficult to justify a case for moving someone from any country to another one only at the point where they can make no contribution and will very likely be a drain on resources.

For sure, and I've never asked for sympathy. It was a factual statement. The reality is that if my mum were to develop dementia like my aunt the only choice might be to have her care paid for by the British tax payer (as is the case for my aunt, who has four carer visits per day) - assuming she cannot be cared for for free by her children due to restrictions on free movement.

Comtributions is a red herring though: my children have never paid a centime in contributions but are still entitled to education, healthcare etc.

Mistigri hasn't said she intended to have her mum cared for by the UK's health service, she might like her here so that she can provide that care herself (as much as possible). Should she be letting her mum in an institution in her home country instead? There's only one humane solution, isn't there? Why are we so completely obsessed about people's monetary value?

Let's be clear: the Leave vote has caused the division - not simply on the vote but between white British and ethnic minorities and immigrants. Meanwhile Leavers claim that if only Remainers would just shutup everything would be fine.

Kaija my leave voter friends feel being in the EU has contributed to over population, they had no idea about implementing the Australian points system they voted for would come at such an economic risk. As Farage said to people there are things more important than the economy, your street, your community etc etc. I refuse to fall out with any body about it though!

X-post (& I had misunderstood your situation Mistigri, seems you're a Brit abroad...:))

ron, none of the remainers I have spoken to are under 30.

I am not saying that there are not people who are deeply angry at the result and there may be people who want to leave the country, are disengaged etc as a result. I was disagreeing with the pp who said that half the country felt like this, which I think is an exaggeration.

WrongTrouser, I don't think it's helpful to throw around insults either. But it seems faintly ridiculous for the whole discussion to get turned into a conversation about whether Leave voters feel hard done to.

This thread is about somebody's 'positive Brexit plan'. It was heavy on the patriotism but lacked any detail, totally ignored a lot of very real and very worrying issues, and wasn't really a "plan" at all. And I appreciate that people who liked the sound of it might feel sad to hear others say "that's a ridiculous plan", but the answer to that is to say "no it's not and here's why", not "you called the plan ridiculous - that's MEAN!"

I don't want anyone to "shut up".

I want everyone to treat everyone else with respect and not stereotype and insult them.

Just to clear up one thing: my Mum is British living in the UK. I'm in the EU. As a person on a relatively small pension with few assets, the UK taxpayer is going to pay for her care if if she needs it, assuming it can't be provided by family because of the end of free movement.

Before brexit, our assumption was that if she ever needed care, we would provide it and indeed we built a granny flat with that in mind.