Brexit Mega Thread 16 – Who's Next?

[LouiseCollins28]

We are approaching the 6th anniversary of Brexit, or I suppose the 5th, if you count the period of transition as "in."

Since then, the world has endured Covid-19, seen war in Ukraine and many other things. Brexit has had reduced salience in the minds of many people recently.

When digesting the latest setbacks to befall the elite who govern our islands, a phrase I keep returning to, is “OK, so now do you get it?”

Brexit is undoubtedly the biggest “OK, so now do you get it?” moment directed at our leaders in my life. It’s surely the largest since 1979, since the Labour victory of 1945? or even since the advent of universal suffrage?

The U.K. local elections in 2026, and subsequent national ones, could see a big increase in support for the Green Party and Reform U.K. Two parties with more different attitudes to European integration could scarcely be found, so Brexit’s salience in the U.K. may rise again soon
.
There are many electoral contests in progress or coming across Europe too (the Netherlands and France, for example) which will be worth paying attention to. Maybe the next questions we will face are less about "what next?" and more about "who's next?"

Relations between mainland Europe and the UK remain a worthy topic for discussion, whoever leads the nations of Europe, or leads the E.U. itself.

Feel free to look up "Straw man fallacy".

It might help you in future. I doubt it

EEMigrant, you haven't answered my question: Would you be in favour of allowing asylum seekers to work from the point of arrival, thus saving in costs to the taxpayer? If not, why not?

The impact on pay - even low pay - due to EU migration is by no means as clear cut as you make it out to be.

@pointythings

Would you be in favour of allowing asylum seekers to work from the point of arrival

Never. What employer in the world would employ someone who has zero; history, references, security check, documentation…..

On the subject of questions not answered, when will you answer;

How do the 50% (thereabouts) asylum seekers who don’t find work support themselves?

Why are remain supporters not taking asylum seekers/illegal immigrants into their own homes to save the taxpayers £100 per night per person?

Free movement reduced wages for those at the lower end of the scale. Watch the BBC episode of question time held in Bishop Auckland in 2018 for confirmation.

That Straw Man is working very hard. Are you sure he's not an asylum seeker?

How do the 50% (thereabouts) asylum seekers who don’t find work support themselves?
Presumably in the same way that British people and other legal residents of the UK who do not fall under 'no recourse to public funds' regulations do - by being in recept of state benefits. I can't believe you couldn't have worked that out for yourself.

Why are remain supporters not taking asylum seekers/illegal immigrants into their own homes to save the taxpayers £100 per night per person?Side note:
There are no more Remain supporters. Brexit has happened, we are out, there is no Remain. You seem awfully hung up on this. In any case, what makes you think former Remain supporters are 1) all in possession of spare rooms and 2) affluent?

The cost of hotels has come down significantly since the current government took power. As indeed have levels of immigration to the UK. Funny you never mention this.

In other news the Prime Minister annouced his resignation this morning (not before time IMO). It looks as though there won't be a leadership contest and the person likeliest to become Labour leader, PM and ultimately responsible for the state our Britain's relationship with our European neighbours will be Andy Burnham. Lets see how things unfold in the next few weeks.

this from the BBC back pre-ref in 2015 I found interesting reading.
EU referendum: Burnham promises 'distinctive Labour Yes' - BBC News

His warning the the Guardian from June 2016 (pre-Ref again) I found a touch apolalyptic bt an interesting read nontheless.
Andy Burnham sounds alarm at 'very real prospect' of Brexit | Brexit | The Guardian

The EU-U.K. summit planned for next month will be postponed, the president of the European Council has said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/22/european-leaders-pay-tribute-keir-starmer-eu-uk-summit-postponed

10 years

Remember this?

!0 years

.

Ah, Daniel Hannan. Never knowingly correct. About anything.

He now sits in the HoL

Not everyone received £5m

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/23/from-bendy-bananas-to-350m-for-the-nhs-how-many-brexit-promises-actually-came-true?

@pointythings

So, you finally acknowledge that half of the asylum seekers are a drain on UK public (taxpayers) funds.

It’s estimated there are 17 million homes in the UK that have a spare room. That’s enough to house the increase in population from 50 million (1950) to 67 million (2025). But according to you, none of those homes belong to those who voted remain?

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/23/brexit-10-years-uk-economy-politics-charts.html

0.4% of the UK budget and most of that comes from the Foreign Aid budget

Drain?

Compared to Brexit?

So, when is the UK going to rejoin?

I don't have a problem with 0.4% of the aid budget being used to.house asylum seekers. I wonder why you do?

And I am fully in favour of people working. Some need help finding and staying in work. I want that to be available, irrespective of nationality. But then I do aspire to not be xenophobic.

The UK will rejoin, in time. The tide is turning. People are seeing Brexit for the shitshow it is. The Leave cohort is aging out. It's nice to see you so impatient for a rejoin, but a little patience will be required.

@pointythings

UK will need migration to fill jobs as population ages and birth rate declines. Maybe applications can be made via the consulate’s overseas.

For every country I have worked in, I had to obtain a visa from the UK consulate of the host country.

Rejoin is possible, but has many hurdles. I am not a believer in polls, but recent YouGov states that 3 out of 10 people think they would be better off.

The biggest gripe among exporters of goods seems to be additional time and paperwork. Considering that EU has trade deals with other countries, they must be a way to make it work. So, why is it a problem for trade between EU and UK?

Or we could just rejoin, making it easier to bring in the workers we need and striking down the red tape. Win win. But it will take time.

@pointythings

Would the first step be a referendum, or would that be sidelined on the basis that such decisions require an act of Parliament anyway?

We'll just bring in immigrants forgets that

China's population is falling
India's will start to fall within five years
the demographic slowdown in Africa is happening MUCH faster than the UN expected

Within another 10 years the demographic crunch will be as noticable as
the weather is today

Why do you think I'm a politician or a civil servant? I would prefer to avoid a referendum unless there's legislation on the management of referenda in place first, but essentially I am not fussed either way.

Or, y'know we could train people who are already here to do jobs that we need doing? Oh yeah but that's possibly slightly more expensive and it benefits British people, not foreigners, so yeah screw that then, let's not bother.

Which bit of

The UK has an ageing population with high levels of obesity and disability
so field harvesting jobs
that require

• being young
• being fit
• being able to constantly move around the country

do not work for locals (and have not been done by locals for about 100 years)

do you still not comprehend ?