To ask what has improved since leaving the EU?

[Butterflyfluff]

I’ve just had to pay customs charges on something I ordered from Germany - whilst we were in the EU there were no such charges.

Which got me thinking.

Leaving hasn’t been the disaster some predicted but, I can’t think of anything that affects me that’s actually improved since leaving.

What have other people’s upsides been? (And just being able to say we’re not in the EU anymore doesn’t count! 😂)

@Alexandra2001

Lots of people rejoicing at having their passports stamped

They won't be saying that when they are stuck in queues, no one is going to be "waved through"

I'm looking for a positive! And I like the stamps. I'd much rather be in the EU, but we aren't, so I'll focus on the positives.

Even the stamps are a myth - I’ve been to several EU countries since Brexit and no sign of a stamp in any of them

The current energy crisis isn’t as bad in the EU.

Am fucking howling at this! Louder than Storm Franklin!

I suggest you read different press to whatever rag told you this BS.

@Bunnyfuller You're spot on, here's a pint of for you and a goat classic (love the goats):

@Butterflyfluff

Even the stamps are a myth - I’ve been to several EU countries since Brexit and no sign of a stamp in any of them

I got one going to Spain in October, so not a myth.

@OpheliaThrupps

I read your link.

I’m especially confused about no.14.

14. EU popular support: Polling shows that support for EU membership is above 80 percent in most member states following Brexit. The Kantar survey asked how people would vote in an in-out referendum and found that Luxembourg (94 percent), Portugal (92 percent), Ireland (91 percent), and the Netherlands (91 percent) had the highest support for EU membership out of the 27 countries in the bloc.

Can you explain to me please how that’s a benefit to the UK?

Unless I’m reading it wrong, surely that demonstrates that most member states believe that leaving the EU would be a bad thing, possibly because they’ve seen the shambles that is Brexit?

[quote Whadda]@OpheliaThrupps

I read your link.

I’m especially confused about no.14.

14. EU popular support: Polling shows that support for EU membership is above 80 percent in most member states following Brexit. The Kantar survey asked how people would vote in an in-out referendum and found that Luxembourg (94 percent), Portugal (92 percent), Ireland (91 percent), and the Netherlands (91 percent) had the highest support for EU membership out of the 27 countries in the bloc.

Can you explain to me please how that’s a benefit to the UK?

Unless I’m reading it wrong, surely that demonstrates that most member states believe that leaving the EU would be a bad thing, possibly because they’ve seen the shambles that is Brexit?[/quote]
It's a benefit to the EU. They ran out of ones for the UK and figured nobody would notice so long as there were nice big numbers.

My daughter’s passport is blue and it suits her complexion better than red.

It's a benefit to the EU. They ran out of ones for the UK and figured nobody would notice so long as there were nice big numbers.

They’d want to be careful. If Hermann Kelly and the other gowls Irexit supporters get wind of that, they’ll be devo.

@Butterflyfluff

Even the stamps are a myth - I’ve been to several EU countries since Brexit and no sign of a stamp in any of them

Then I'm confused. That claim of passports being stamped came from another thread where people were complaining about the delays having passport stamps took. So people chose to find a positive from that. If you're now saying there are no stamps, that undermines the person on the other thread who was moaning that it took longer because of that. So it's good they don't stamp, isn't it? I guess that's the problem with MN, it's just full of contradictory, anecdotal moaning.

[quote Whadda]@OpheliaThrupps

I read your link.

I’m especially confused about no.14.

14. EU popular support: Polling shows that support for EU membership is above 80 percent in most member states following Brexit. The Kantar survey asked how people would vote in an in-out referendum and found that Luxembourg (94 percent), Portugal (92 percent), Ireland (91 percent), and the Netherlands (91 percent) had the highest support for EU membership out of the 27 countries in the bloc.

Can you explain to me please how that’s a benefit to the UK?

Unless I’m reading it wrong, surely that demonstrates that most member states believe that leaving the EU would be a bad thing, possibly because they’ve seen the shambles that is Brexit?[/quote]
Presumably if you think brexit is good and gives brexitannia a competitive advantage, then being in the EU is bad, and the more of those dozey foreigners who are fooled into staying in the better for global Britain, able to run rings around them. Or something.

(Plus blue passports. God save the Queen.)

My friend works at a quite high ranking university and does overseas recruitment. He was very worried after the Brexit vote how it would impact on his job because EU students were important to the uni and there was a lot of uncertainty for the EU students about funding. But actually it worked out really well. They had (pre covid) a lot more applications from non EU countries than they could accommodate and the money that they can charge them has brought a lot of benefits for enlargement and upgrading of the buildings and facilties. The city has benefitted because with the extra money overseas students bring in, the uni has bought up a lot of run down and seedy properties and has done them up. The place just feels safer and looks smarter. My friend has benefitted because he got a massive pay rise commensurate with the funding he's brought in. And I've benefitted because when we meet for lunch, he always pays (because he's flush now!) Kerching! 🙂

So glad you're bringing this up, @Keladrythesaviour, this was totally my experience too, working in restaurants for years. No one was claiming universal credits or benefits or being interested in free money. Most were either students, or aspiring to be students, or looking to start their own businesses, etc. All young and ambitious, a far cry from the sad benefits-claiming, remittance-sending 'burger flippers' stereotype (as we were charmingly described on MN once.) That whole cliché really pisses me off. Everyone happily lived in flat-shares or student accommodation and wanted to get on, as I would imagine is common all over the UK when you're on a low salary at the beginning of your career. Or, some were married and kept a waitressing job for evening and weekends as a flexible way of bringing in two salaries without having to rely on childcare, so still no benefits-claiming there @ILoveAllRainbowsx

@Sarahcoggles

I think most people who can think of benefits of Brexit will not bother posting on here, because the vitriol rains down on them and all their points are ignored anyway. So OP, you won’t get an answer. Not that you wanted one anyway. I’ll ask if this thread can be moved to the Brexit forum.

Your wish has been granted!

It's funny how there is a strong correlation between brexitiness and a desire to avoid or stifle open discussion of its consequences

I went to Spain last week and last August. On the way back last week I got pulled at Nothing to Declare for the first time for and told I had “rather a lot of stamps” in my passport in a very accusatory tone. I looked and yes do have 4 Spain stamps which they had piled on the pages with US and Caribbean destinations so yes now I do look like an international drug trafficker apparently.

How do they decide where to stamp?

@Pennox

I went to Spain last week and last August. On the way back last week I got pulled at Nothing to Declare for the first time for and told I had “rather a lot of stamps” in my passport in a very accusatory tone. I looked and yes do have 4 Spain stamps which they had piled on the pages with US and Caribbean destinations so yes now I do look like an international drug trafficker apparently.

How do they decide where to stamp?

Pre-brexit as an EU citizen you had as much right to come and go in Spain as you do in the UK. With an EU passport Spanish immigration control had no power to stop you unless they thought that the passport was fake.

Now you are only in Spain under sufferance and if they want you. And if they get arsey about it, it's up to you to convince them.

@Fawful

So glad you're bringing this up, *@Keladrythesaviour, this was totally my experience too, working in restaurants for years. No one was claiming universal credits or benefits or being interested in free money. Most were either students, or aspiring to be students, or looking to start their own businesses, etc. All young and ambitious, a far cry from the sad benefits-claiming, remittance-sending 'burger flippers' stereotype (as we were charmingly described on MN once.) That whole cliché really pisses me off. Everyone happily lived in flat-shares or student accommodation and wanted to get on, as I would imagine is common all over the UK when you're on a low salary at the beginning of your career. Or, some were married and kept a waitressing job for evening and weekends as a flexible way of bringing in two salaries without having to rely on childcare, so still no benefits-claiming there @ILoveAllRainbowsx*

I used to teach EFL and practically all of my students were from the EU. Many of the overseas students set up their own businesses but I don't know if I can remember any EU student talking about doing so, although I'd guess some might. They were attending college so their English wasn't good enough to go to university and most were not looking to do that. Simple truth is they could earn more money in the UK working behind a bar than they could as an accountant in their in country. They simply had a better standard of life here. Many claimed benefits, like housing benefits and tax credits. They didn't pay college fees because of their low earning. Obviously single people are often not able to claim some benefits, but I remember a Spanish 18yo coming over as an au pair and leaving her job after 3 months because by then she qualified for housing benefit so she could get a flat. There were many young people that came in couples or who met and married here. Of course they claimed benefits if they were entitled. Why wouldn't they? I'm not commenting on whether that's right or wrong, people will have their own opinion. But saying that low income earners don't apply for benefits they're entitled to because they come from a different country is nuts. I have a British friend living in the Netherlands and he's now on permanent disability benefit. He's not thinking I mustn't take from the Netherlands welfare pot because I wasn't born here. Nor do workers from other countries who live in the UK. I loved my students. On the whole they were hard-working, law-abiding, funny, lovely people. They are a real asset to this country. But, yes, they claim benefits they're entitled to.

I will be forever dumbfounded by the ongoing ignorance of the people of this country when it comes to benefits which are, and have been, shit in this country in proportion to the cost of living and in comparison to the EU. Research first, then get out of your small mind frame that EU nationals wanted your benefits so bad that they moved over here and took your money. You were fed so much BS over the years it beggars belief. Also research net contributions of EU workers to the British economy pre-Brexit.

@PurplePansy05

The current energy crisis isn’t as bad in the EU.

Am fucking howling at this! Louder than Storm Franklin!

I suggest you read different press to whatever rag told you this BS.

Howl away in shame because the fact is energy prices (for the consumer) have risen far less in the EU. French consumers are facing a massive 4% rise in their electricity prices.

But a rise in electricity prices, planned for next month, has been limited to just 4%. Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday that if he had not intervened, prices would be going up by a whopping 45%

@Earlydancing

My friend works at a quite high ranking university and does overseas recruitment. He was very worried after the Brexit vote how it would impact on his job because EU students were important to the uni and there was a lot of uncertainty for the EU students about funding. But actually it worked out really well. They had (pre covid) a lot more applications from non EU countries than they could accommodate and the money that they can charge them has brought a lot of benefits for enlargement and upgrading of the buildings and facilties. The city has benefitted because with the extra money overseas students bring in, the uni has bought up a lot of run down and seedy properties and has done them up. The place just feels safer and looks smarter. My friend has benefitted because he got a massive pay rise commensurate with the funding he's brought in. And I've benefitted because when we meet for lunch, he always pays (because he's flush now!) Kerching! 🙂

Not in my nearby uni town, uni halls have had to be rented out to the general public. Nationally the number (of non eu int students) has risen 12k across the UK, no where enough to offset the fall in EU ones.

all made far worse by CV which has seen falls in international numbers.

then there is the loss of Horizon science funding to UK uni's

Plus UK students cannot study so easily in EU now (if at all)... what a benefit.

@PurplePansy05

I will be forever dumbfounded by the ongoing ignorance of the people of this country when it comes to benefits which are, and have been, shit in this country in proportion to the cost of living and in comparison to the EU. Research first, then get out of your small mind frame that EU nationals wanted your benefits so bad that they moved over here and took your money. You were fed so much BS over the years it beggars belief. Also research net contributions of EU workers to the British economy pre-Brexit.

I find this funny too. The welfare systems in other European countries enable people to actually live a normal life between jobs. In the UK people can barely afford to eat. EU citizens really do not go to the UK to steal your benefit money

I don't know in what EU country you get less money as an accountant than as a bar worker in the UK, honestly. You can easily be on 18K working in a restaurant, and if you rent a bedroom in a flat share, why would you need benefits? This went for the British staff too, I really doubt anyone was on benefits, everyone wanted to work more hours to get more money, always talking about backpacking, and half the staff were students. We've clearly not met the same demographics. I don't know about 18 year olds who go to college, but restaurant workers I met didn't need or want benefits, and that was hundreds of them over 25 years

And I agree you'd have a much better quality of life on benefits or in a low paid job in the EU than in the UK, with housing so much cheaper.
On the whole i thought it has been calculated that EU citizens brought in more they took out, so I don't know what this insistance of us draining resources is about.

I think anecdotes from ~10 years ago aren't helpful.

After the financial crisis,youth unemployment in Spain hit 55 %. So I can imagine it was quite attractive to come to the UK to work in a bar or as an au pair. It's now back at historic norms (still around 30% but think that includes those in education)

So the EU served its purpose by allowing free movement of labour to balance things out.

Likewise in places like Poland since 2005 average wages have tripled and unemployment is a quarter of what it was.

The appeal of the UK had already diminished pre- Brexit.