Brexit, for once some facts.

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
May should be worried - apparently Trump favours bringing all American bank operations in London back to New York, he will relax US regulations to allow them to deal direct with Paris and Frankfurt. Basically shafting London big time.
 

oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
23,461
32,613
80
From Trump's point of view (and this will be made clear to him by his handlers)
Trade with 550 million people is easily a better bet than that with a very dodgy 65 million who are already on a slippery slope, economy wise, and no longer a valued pro US voice within the EU.
Far from being a great asset to Brexit, Trump is a Mafia kiss.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
I think the EU is failing and in particular the currency is failing. There is unrest amongst the population over a number of issues and I think there will be a massive financial meltdown in the not too distant future. That is going to cause the UK a lot of pain weather we in or out of the EU, but I think of the two situations being out of the EU is the lesser of the two evils.
Where is the EU failing? I can see the French government failing miserably in certain places, but the EU? You see it is the French govt who make the laws here, not the EU. I have been hearing this failure theory from the UK and US press ever since... hell ever since the UK joined the EU. In fact the EU failed even before the first treaty was signed. Did I hear someone whisper "political agenda" in the back row?

The currency: lets just say that I haven't seen 12% price rises in common food articles while shopping since June and even since the introduction of the Euro. At that time the industrial food manufacturers and even the local boulanger and local café raised their margins. All is fair in shop keeping and war or something like that.

Why would there be a financial melt down in the EU? Doesn't the USA have a huge debt problem compared to the EU? All the waffle about the EU and the Euro being in dire financial straights is published in a certain UK and US financial press, theoretically the financial meltdown was years ago but here we are...

Now tell me about your UK financials, solid as a rock, no debt, lots of public investment in infrastructure, splendid! Keep it up... :rolleyes:

"Other commentators believe that the euro is under attack so that countries, such as the UK and the US, can continue to fund their large external deficits and government deficits, and to avoid the collapse of the US$. The US and UK do not have large domestic savings pools to draw on and therefore are dependent on external savings e.g. from China. This is not the case in the eurozone, which is self-funding."
 
Last edited:

oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
23,461
32,613
80
Siri Hustvedt in the Guardian made a comment about Trump being elected that is cogent to the Brexit situation here
"Now all of us will pay for a collective fantasy that belonged to only half of us."

Very true! except that here it was just a few percent more.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: flecc and trex

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Most importantly the German government has made the final decision that they will accept the economic cost of refusing to negotiate a deal for the UK. This precisely matches what I've been maintaining in this thread, that Germany and its motor industry can easily absorb the loss of trade that can result.
.
If true, then it is an excellent outcome and should speed up exit negotiations.

All they need to do now then is ensure this decision obeys EU rules, perhaps the Commission will contact them as they did with the UK regarding the Nissan announcement.

I doubt that the other trading member states would be to pleased to hear this as it means they would have to follow suit.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: tillson

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,200
30,603
Two examples in the last few days of why we individually need to be in the EU and subject to EU law:

1) A family with a very seriously disabled child who is unable to walk, talk or feed himself obviously needs a carer giving support. In their circumstance the carer also has one bedroom for them to have respite breaks.

Under the new bedroom tax that doesn't count as a legitimate need because the carer isn't family, so they were being charged the tax. The relevant government departments refuse to listen or discuss the matter, rigidly enforcing our typically uncaring UK law.

The matter was taken to the high court where the judges ruled that their rights were being breached under European Human Rights law and the government has been overruled.

2) A British lady of Nigerian extraction is seriously ill and in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant to save her life. She has a match with a relative in Nigeria, but the Home Office are refusing to grant a visa for that relative to visit for the transplant to be performed. No number of appeals from them or others will budge our governing officials who obviously don't care if death results, so once again European law will have to be turned to if this lady's life is to be saved.

These are the latest in a very long line of many hundreds of cases where we have been protected from UK abuse by the EU and European laws, the subsequent rulings benefitting tens of thousands of Britons.

But our conservative governments want to remove the European protection so that they can return to abusing us at will.
.
 
Last edited:

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
If true, then it is an excellent outcome and should speed up exit negotiations.
.
excellent outcome for losing access to the Single Market?
it will take us years to get back where we were.
 

oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
23,461
32,613
80
If true, then it is an excellent outcome and should speed up exit negotiations.

All they need to do now then is ensure this decision obeys EU rules, perhaps the Commission will contact them as they did with the UK regarding the Nissan announcement.

I doubt that the other trading member states would be to pleased to hear this as it means they would have to follow suit.
Apparently they are all in agreement that the stability of the EU is more important than the trivial loss of the UK contribution.
Just why are you still intent of damaging the economy of this country and harming the lifestyles of those in it ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: flecc

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,200
30,603
All they need to do now then is ensure this decision obeys EU rules, perhaps the Commission will contact them as they did with the UK regarding the Nissan announcement.
This doesn't arise and the comparison is false. The decision re: Nissan has taken physical effect via Nissan's immediate investment decision, so a breach of EU law can have occurred.

Germany's decision is an intention which can only have a physical effect once we leave, at which time we will not have the protection of EU law. Legally all they are doing is warning of the post Brexit status.
.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: trex

tillson

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 29, 2008
5,252
3,197
Two examples in the last few days of why we individually need to be in the EU and subject to EU law:

1) A family with a very seriously disabled child who is unable to walk, talk or feed himself obviously needs a carer giving support. In their circumstance the carer also has one bedroom for them to have respite breaks.

Under the new bedroom tax that doesn't count as a legitimate need because the carer isn't family, so they were being charged the tax. The relevant government departments refuse to listen or discuss the matter, rigidly enforcing our typically uncaring UK law.

The matter was taken to the high court where the judges ruled that their rights were being breached under European Human Rights law and the government has been overruled.

2) A British lady of Nigerian extraction is seriously ill and in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant to save her life. She has a match with a relative in Nigeria, but the Home Office are refusing to grant a visa for that relative to visit for the transplant to be performed. No number of appeals from them or others will budge our governing officials who obviously don't care if death results, so once again European law will have to be turned to if this lady's life is to be saved.

These are the latest in a very long line of many hundreds of cases where we have been protected from UK abuse by the EU and European laws, the subsequent rulings benefitting tens of thousands of Britons.

But our conservative governments want to remove the European protection so that they can return to abusing us at will.
.
No one can argue with those two cases, but we are all aware of abuse of the benefit system, aren't we?

Then there is health tourism.
 

oldtom

Esteemed Pedelecer
I quoted the largest examples, but there's nothing historic about right wing enforcement of views by violence, as our anti-terrorism laws and their widespread misuse shows. The frequency of the Metropolitan Police killing often innocent civilians by shooting or direct physical violence is another illustration. And Guantanamo Bay still has it's untried prisoners, often there beyond a decade and shown to be entirely innocent.

It's the right wing who have the organised truly vicious thugs.



Simply because the so called "democratic" system denies them access to the same power of official enforcement that the right wing enjoy, so frustration takes over.

Our "democracies" are enforced when necessary by armies and police forces, and these are structurally and fundamentally very right wing. It is impossible for such forces to be left wing or even politically balanced.
.
Every single word of this post is true but for those so steeped in their bigoted right-wing beliefs in the ongoing class war, they will never agree with your explanation 'flecc'.

Once again, I see (and I hope I'm not alone), how badly our British history has been presented for decades in our schools and universities. The truth has been corrupted so shamelessly for so long that it is now virtually impossible to alter people's understanding of why the country, indeed the world, is as it is today.

The education system fails young people but worse, I believe it has always been meant to distort the reality and show poor people that the British model of monarchy with a completely separate parliamentary democracy are great things.

Couple that with the obligatory religious learning and singing of patriotic songs, hymns and anthems from childhood and it is not difficult to understand how generations of people can be hoodwinked by those whose fortunes and grand lifestyles depend on the exploitation of the lower classes.

In the same way that dead people don't know that they are dead and feel no pain, the ones close to them feel all the pain - so it is with stupid, brainwashed people!

Tom
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
No one can argue with those two cases, but we are all aware of abuse of the benefit system, aren't we?

Then there is health tourism.
Germany has 5 year pay in rule before you can claim, we choose not to do same. As for EU health tourism, I'd say it's the other way round, some of us go to EU for treatment. Healthcare is better, less queuing in France, Germany, Spain, etc.
The truth is Gordon Brown and George Osborne wanted immigrants to help growth and pay their taxes.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: oldgroaner

oldgroaner

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 15, 2015
23,461
32,613
80
Every single word of this post is true but for those so steeped in their bigoted right-wing beliefs in the ongoing class war, they will never agree with your explanation 'flecc'.

Once again, I see (and I hope I'm not alone), how badly our British history has been presented for decades in our schools and universities. The truth has been corrupted so shamelessly for so long that it is now virtually impossible to alter people's understanding of why the country, indeed the world, is as it is today.

The education system fails young people but worse, I believe it has always been meant to distort the reality and show poor people that the British model of monarchy with a completely separate parliamentary democracy are great things.

Couple that with the obligatory religious learning and singing of patriotic songs, hymns and anthems from childhood and it is not difficult to understand how generations of people can be hoodwinked by those whose fortunes and grand lifestyles depend on the exploitation of the lower classes.

In the same way that dead people don't know that they are dead and feel no pain, the ones close to them feel all the pain - so it is with stupid, brainwashed people!

Tom
I see tillson regards this as funny, but I remember Empire Days at school where a globe lavishly marked up in red displayed with pride where the Benefits of our Paternal rule were bringing poor savages to the light of reason, and if you questioned why they didn't object to us ruling them we were told to shut up we would understand these things when we grow up.
Strangely I'm still waiting for this "Great and obvious Truth" to sink in.
What we didn't understand was what good was this Empire to either them or us, when we were poor and everything on rations, and doubted that they were any better off.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: flecc and Croxden

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,909
6,512
the 3rd party providers that the dwp use get some of there funds from the European social fund and commit fraud on a mass scale to get there hands on it and tax payers money to boot.

say on mwa for a 6 month stint they pay the company double what you would get in a year on jsa and if you dont show up 1 day can sanction you to boot and get 3 in a row and thats a 3 year sanction yet the company still gets its fee for doing nothing at all other than make you homeless as well.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: oldgroaner

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,909
6,512
mandatory work activity tho they have stopped it now not that it was mandatory in the first place just all lies so providers get paid there fees.

the mwa was 30hrs a week for 4 weeks and the providers got paid 600-900 quid per person.

Community Work Placements was for 6 months 30hrs a week and providers could get fees over 6k for that or even more if you was disabled and found fit for work.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: trex

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
thanks SW. I see what you mean.
 

mike killay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 17, 2011
3,012
1,629
I see tillson regards this as funny, but I remember Empire Days at school where a globe lavishly marked up in red displayed with pride where the Benefits of our Paternal rule were bringing poor savages to the light of reason, and if you questioned why they didn't object to us ruling them we were told to shut up we would understand these things when we grow up.
Strangely I'm still waiting for this "Great and obvious Truth" to sink in.
What we didn't understand was what good was this Empire to either them or us, when we were poor and everything on rations, and doubted that they were any better off.
I remember that. We used to dress up. Never doubted that we were anything other than better off, perhaps your memory is playing tricks
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
No one can argue with those two cases, but we are all aware of abuse of the benefit system, aren't we?

Then there is health tourism.
You have been reading the tabloids again! You know it will make you blind...

I only have statistics for France where the majority of abuse is by French citizens. There have been a few cases of people with false ID but that means go directly to jail.

French health tourisme is rich people coming to France to be treated, the money they leave benefits us. Having used the NHS a couple of times in the 70's I can't imagine ever wanting to be sick in the UK ever... :eek:
 

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
Jonathan Pie knows who is to blame...

 
  • Agree
Reactions: LeighPing

Advertisers