European Union Referendum

[johnnytodd]

The Bilderbergs will decide the deal, it's very simple.

 

[Ian_Wrexham]

I hate you.

*Scenes of Union Jack hatted old ladies putting votes into ballot boxes*
*film trailer guy voice*
"They thought they were voting to 'Take Back Control'"
*archive footage of referendum night*
"They thought they were voting to leave the EU"
"But in their pride and hubris..."
*terrified civilians run down the street*
they inadvertently awakened an ancient evil that had lain dormant for ten years"
* cut to the letters BREXIT on a black screen *
* screen flickers, new letters appear BLAIREXISTS *
"coming summer 2018"

 

[Captain Scumbag]

I know, I know… The idea that one should avoid radical change because it has always has tragic unforeseen consequences is central to my worldview. By voting Leave I ignored this time-honoured wisdom, and no doubt Lady Fortuna, a cruel bitch at the best of times, will punish me accordingly. A Scotland-less UK presided over by President Blair and Deputy President Clegg sounds about right. I’ve been plagued by such forebodings ever since 24 June 2016.

Couldn’t you have given me this one day, though? It seems very unsporting and Welsh of you to ruin Brexit Day in this way.

 

[smat]

Interesting Yougov poll showing that many Leave voters are, in fact, yer da:

 

[Ian_Wrexham]

Amazed there's so little support for a repeal of the smoking ban. 9% isn't even a majority of smokers.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Amazed there's so little support for a repeal of the smoking ban. 9% isn't even a majority of smokers.

That shocked me too, I wouldn't mind it being repealed, but I do understand that as a smoker I'm in the minority, plus I really don't mind sitting outside for a cigarette any way.

I've always been up for the thing where you could have a separate, sealed off room for smokers if you so wished as a landlord/business in charge of a pub, I do, however, realise the logistics of this could, and would be awkward. Not to mention the fact that most would still be against it.

 

[Jockney]

Because nipping out for a fag lets you escape really boring/awkward social situations and smoking areas are where it's at when the weather is nice.

 

[Gashead]

Amazed there's so little support for a repeal of the smoking ban. 9% isn't even a majority of smokers.

The smoking ban % does surprise me, although its plausible smokers recognise the effect of secondary smoke on kids etc. and probably think its worth stepping outside. The social argument given at the time is slightly less relevant now too, given people socialise in the areas anyway.

The % supporting the reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools however..

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Because nipping out for a fag lets you escape really boring/awkward social situations and smoking areas are where it's at when the weather is nice.

Also true.

 

[Alty]

Pre-decimal currency?? Surely people were just taking the piss?

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Pre-decimal currency?? Surely people were just taking the piss?

Dunno, some old people (for example, my grandmother), feel that the switch to decimal was a 'rip off' as they lost 40p to the pound. Telling her that, as a result of this, the pound became more valuable is a lost cause. Perhaps that 7 percent fall into that category? I've no doubt some will have been taking the piss too.

 

[Laker]

I love the concept of going back to shillings, crowns and hapennies.

Going to need some careful balancing and pushing/holding back at the right times in negotiations. Frankly, whichever side you sit on this it's going to be an interesting two years. Big change and hopefully politically engaging.

 

[silkyman]

Well, it's started well.

UK: We'd like to negotiate trade at the same time as 'divorce'. We want this so badly that we have alluded to it four times in the Article 50 letter. We seriously can't overestimate how important we feel this is, because otherwise it wouldn't be the absolute first starting point.

EU: No.

UK: ....

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

I just want to know how soon it will be until this brexit makes me £100 better off per month? I don't really give a sh*t about much else and i don't think many others do in reality.

 

[Gladders]

Thank fuck its finally happened, the next two years can't come quick enough

 

[Red]

Thank fuck its finally happened, the next two years can't come quick enough

Still under the illusion May will come out with a good deal? She's starting with the premise that no deal is better than a bad deal. No deal IS a bad deal.

 

[merseyboyred]

Interesting Yougov poll showing that many Leave voters are, in fact, yer da:

Corporal punishment was banned in state schools the year before I was born. The metric system makes sense. The first burgundy passport in the UK came into use when I was 1 year old. As a 30 year old, I'd suggest this gives an idea of the respective age profiles of the two groups...

 

[Gladders]

Still under the illusion May will come out with a good deal? She's starting with the premise that no deal is better than a bad deal. No deal IS a bad deal.

Either way we will be out the EU

 

[smat]

Already getting the sense that our negotiating position is not very strong. The 'no deal' option is so bad it's not actually believable that we would walk away, is it? And actually threatening to stop co-operating in terms of security is absolutely desperate (Rudd's comments, in particular, were almost literally "we will take our ball home with us").

Is it clear yet whether we can negotiate the terms of a new relationship alongside the terms of divorce? Seemed up in the air yesterday.

 

[Pilgrim Meister]

I am sure the EU won't set up a trade agreement with us until after the divorce settlement. So it will be WTO rules in 2 years time, then a trade agreement from there is likely to take many years. The point will be to put others off from leaving and to move the financial sectors from London to Germany and/or France.

That's what I think will happen

 

[Benji]

My local university has celebrated our new and unlimited freedoms by announcing 139 redundancies necessitated by an expected reduction in international students following Brexit. Taking back control.

 

[smat]

Is it clear yet whether we can negotiate the terms of a new relationship alongside the terms of divorce? Seemed up in the air yesterday.

The EU's negotiating guidelines say not, sort of.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

My local university has celebrated our new and unlimited freedoms by announcing 139 redundancies necessitated by an expected reduction in international students following Brexit. Taking back control.

I know my local uni gets a lot of international students and they're important, raising a lot of income through paying far higher fees. But the vast majority are from outside the EU, typically Asia. All the same the uni made little secret that it preferred to Remain. Does yours attract a different mix perhaps?

 

[Renegade]

I know my local uni gets a lot of international students and they're important, raising a lot of income through paying far higher fees. But the vast majority are from outside the EU, typically Asia. All the same the uni made little secret that it preferred to Remain. Does yours attract a different mix perhaps?

Can you tell that based on facts or simply by observing the mix of people at the University? It's just that Europeans are pretty difficult to differentiate from UK students. If the former, then fair enough.

 

[Abertawe]

Can you tell that based on facts or simply by observing the mix of people at the University? It's just that Europeans are pretty difficult to differentiate from UK students. If the former, then fair enough.

No they're not. If you can't tell a Brit from a European you have very poor observational skills.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Can you tell that based on facts or simply by observing the mix of people at the University? It's just that Europeans are pretty difficult to differentiate from UK students. If the former, then fair enough.

A mixture of both tbh. Yes some of that is based on looking around when I'm around the campuses.

The uni has a fairly large international department aimed at teaching English, either as a standalone course or as a precursor to starting a degree in one of the core schools there (or even elsewhere). That is what brings in the majority of international students that go there. European students won't have as much need for that as those from further afield. It claims to have students from 120-125 countries so of course some will be European, but many from elsewhere. I know they put a lot of resource into recruitment from east Asia, China most specifically. Massively more resource than they put into European recruitment.

That's partly because the more academically renowned 'red brick' unis tend to attract and recruit Europeans looking to study in England, and they tend to the unis most worried about Brexit.

 

[Red]

Either way we will be out the EU

So if we end up being worse off you'll still be happy because we're not in the EU?

 

[Renegade]

No they're not. If you can't tell a Brit from a European you have very poor observational skills.

When I'm walking past groups of Caucasian people I don't typically notice any difference, because I am a Caucasian in an overwhelmingly Caucasian nation. My brain isn't looking out for differences. When we walk past an Asian person, we automatically notice (whether we like it or not) that the person is Asian, because they're different than what we're used to seeing in the area. Same is true in reverse for Asian people noticing Caucasians in predominantly Asian countries.

I could generally tell the differences between British people and continental Europeans if I was really looking out for it. The point being, there's a pretty clear reason that someone would notice more Asian students at a University campus than European students, it's because the Europeans don't stand out from the British for the most part.

-----

And fair enough Mark, seems a reasonable observation. I have encountered a lot of Eramus students in Belfast, I do have concerns about the impact it will have on our Universities and the ability to retain skilled International graduates in the area.

 

[Gladders]

So if we end up being worse off you'll still be happy because we're not in the EU?

Yep, because then we can make our own decisions and eventually become better off.

One country making its own decisions for itself is better than 27 countries trying to make decisions together when ultimately they only care about themselves.

 

[Ian_Wrexham]

When I'm walking past groups of Caucasian people I don't typically notice any difference, because I am a Caucasian in an overwhelmingly Caucasian nation.

Just a heads up - Caucasian is a term from race science and should probably be avoided (unless you're referring to people from the actual Caucasus). Better to just say "white" - or "people racialised as white" if you want to be both factually precise and politically correct.