The UK is sooooo doomed

[woohoo]

Please describe the "mess" 40 years of EC/EU membership got us into

Well we have Italy that is a mess, Spain that is in a mess, France is suffering riots. We have the EU bureaucracy making laws that we implement with little accountability. All time high youth unemployment in the EU. We have an EU effectively governed by Germany and to a much lesser extent France. To get anything done smaller countries club together and make pacts to counter the large countries.

We have Greece, which is a mess. The Euro is a prison for many economies that now effectively have to implement wages/pension cuts and reduce worker rights to remain competitive.

The EU is not competitive and is being left behind. There is also a push for an EU army, which is great because they do so well at that.

The UK is not investing in R&D and is relying on cheap labour with all the issues that come with that.

[Eirikur]

Well we have Italy that is a mess, Spain that is in a mess, France is suffering riots. We have the EU bureaucracy making laws that we implement with little accountability. All time high youth unemployment in the EU. We have an EU effectively governed by Germany and to a much lesser extent France. To get anything done smaller countries club together and make pacts to counter the large countries.

We have Greece, which is a mess. The Euro is a prison for many economies that now effectively have to implement wages/pension cuts and reduce worker rights to remain competitive.

The EU is not competitive and is being left behind. There is also a push for an EU army, which is great because they do so well at that.

The UK is not investing in R&D and is relying on cheap labour with all the issues that come with that.

So you are describing other countries, which in your opinion are in a mess (which they are actually not, except for Greece which was in a mess) but not how the UK is in a mess because of the EU.
And how would leaving the EU help stopping cheap labour from Asia?

[meridian]

[James Adams]

I see potential

Just saying.

Reading the papers this side of the channel there's complete befuddlement over what the UK is trying to accomplish. It is clear the damage, whatever the outcome of the process, has now been done. It'll take years for the UK to recover.

I disagree, for me Brexit is a good investment opportunity, I don`t think the British economy is doomed, because it has excellent banking system and many other advantages that will help it overcome Brexit in several years.

[woohoo]

So you are describing other countries, which in your opinion are in a mess (which they are actually not, except for Greece which was in a mess) but not how the UK is in a mess because of the EU.
And how would leaving the EU help stopping cheap labour from Asia?

Well actually they are in a mess and they are part of the EU. We are still part of the EU.

Re: cheap labour from Asia. Cheap labour is subsidised in this country by paying the low paid benefits. We can't deny an EU citizen the same benefits as a UK citizen. Therefore, it's quite easy to move here with the offer of a low paid job and have your housing etc subsidised. It's different rules from outside of the EU.

[scooterscot]

" It'll take years for the UK to recover"
it took 40+ years to get us into this mess now!

It will take some time for us to return to the situation where most of the consumer goods we buy and the food we eat, are made in the UK.

You flatter yourself.. I reckon it'll take 5-10 days when imports cease. Absorb that shock.

[scooterscot]

I disagree, for me Brexit is a good investment opportunity, I don`t think the British economy is doomed, because it has excellent banking system and many other advantages that will help it overcome Brexit in several years.

A good bank system? The tax payer just bailed it out. What part of that is good?

[Old Greg]

I

A good bank system? The tax payer just bailed it out. What part of that is good?

The tax payer will always bail it out. Are you thick?

[BlasterBates]

Well actually they are in a mess and they are part of the EU. We are still part of the EU.

Re: cheap labour from Asia. Cheap labour is subsidised in this country by paying the low paid benefits. We can't deny an EU citizen the same benefits as a UK citizen. Therefore, it's quite easy to move here with the offer of a low paid job and have your housing etc subsidised. It's different rules from outside of the EU.

No it's not, that is a myth.

Migrants aren’t taking our benefits - InFacts

If EU migrants stop coming everyone will have to pay more tax.

EU migrant workers contribute GBP2,300 more per year to UK than average British citizen, study reveals | The Independent

[Lance]

It will take some time for us to return to the situation where most of the consumer goods we buy and the food we eat, are made in the UK.

Like in WWII when we had rationing?


We've not been self-sufficient since before we had an empire you berk.

Could we be self-sufficient? Perhaps but why would we? I like tomatoes and orange juice, and wine, and fresh herbs all year round. I like potatoes and turnips but by May, when that's all you've eaten and they're going a bit 'fresh' I reckon it would wear.
So yes we'll continue to import, but it'll be bloody expensive. And as our farms will close down due to lack of subsidies we'll have little choice.
But but but no tariffs you say, WTO rules you say. Here's a list of countries that trade on WTO rules alone

Holy See
Mauritania
Monaco
Montenegro
Palau
Timor-Leste
Sao Tome and Principe
Serbia
Somalia
South Sudan
Sudan
Western Sahara

spot a pattern? Yes, they're tiny or tulip-holes.