EU accepts inevitable informal negotiations before Article 50

[CretinWatcher]

Why not voting rights? All sorts of non-UK nationals got to vote in the referendum, and EU citizens normally get to vote in UK elections. If you're a permanent resident and you pay taxes here surely you have a right to have a say.

3 months doesn't seem long to look for work. If there's no access to benefits why not allow an indefinite stay? If a billionaire wants to move to London with no intention of working are we going to stop them?

It's a good point. As I've mnetioned in another thread - had there been an election for the Tory party leadership, foreign members of the Tory party would have been eligible to vote for the leader of the country

[original PM]

Why not voting rights? All sorts of non-UK nationals got to vote in the referendum, and EU citizens normally get to vote in UK elections. If you're a permanent resident and you pay taxes here surely you have a right to have a say.

3 months doesn't seem long to look for work. If there's no access to benefits why not allow an indefinite stay? If a billionaire wants to move to London with no intention of working are we going to stop them?

I kind of agree with this - if someone wants to live in the UK and is self sufficient then go for it.

In much the same way if I want to retire to Spain and live off my pension then should not be a problem.

The issue is not the person but the footprint they have in terms of impact on services.

[kolata]

Your attitude stinks. It's essentially racist.

Why?

[DodgyAgent]

The elephant in the room here is that we could stop all migration tomorrow, and the 50% of the population with an IQ below 100 (by definition) would still not be able to fill the vacancies in the knowledge economy. No amount of education and training is going to convert someone with an IQ of 90 into a tulip hot developer, analyst, scientist, or doctor.

All that would happen is that companies would move elsewhere where they can get skilled and educated workers.

I'm a Tory voter but even I can see this was the strategic flaw in Thatcher's push for the "service" economy and destruction of factory jobs.

That's why this revolt by the stupid is ultimately doomed - they are not going to get what they hoped for because it is impossible.

Very few migrants from the EU have "stem" skills. Most are either low skill or they are graduates competing for jobs in retail outlets that really should be being filled by UK non graduates. The UK is a source of jobs for out of work Europeans it is not hiring the skills it really needs. essentially the UK is simply assimilating a bigger economy and population rather than supplementing its work force. If anyone was to check the job boards of EU countries very few UK employers bother to try and hire. What they do want though is cheap Asian IT workers. Even though they complain about Brexit none of them actually hire from the EU unless EU workers arrive on the doorstep.

[BlasterBates]

Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said Britain will be diminished by the vote.

"I think probably there will be a 'Brexit-light', so Scotland will not leave (the EU), probably Northern Ireland will stay in the union, and probably Great Britain becomes Little Britain," he said.

[original PM]

WTF has it got to do with that chunt?

He can piss off and sort his own country out rather than sticking his oar into our affairs...

one of the reasons we want to leave

[Mordac]

WTF has it got to do with that chunt?

He can piss off and sort his own country out rather than sticking his oar into our affairs...

one of the reasons we want to leave

And didn't we recently hear the distant mutterings of some Austrians wanting a similar referendum?

[original PM]

And didn't we recently hear the distant mutterings of some Austrians wanting a similar referendum?

A number of EU countries seem to be in that space apparently.

Probably a combination of problems with the Euro and also the recent immigration crisis not being handled overly well by the EU in general making people have a think about what is best for their country - cannot really blame them mind you.

[sirja]

It depends on whether the intent of "Free movement" can be redefined from "From movement of people" to "Free movement of labour that meets a certain threshold".

So for example if you are an EU citizen who can get a job paying £x a month then you'd be welcome into the UK. If you have no job then you wouldn't and you wouldn't have any claim on UK state benefits. It's not that difficult a problem to fix and it doesn't really impact anyone's human rights.

All though there is a lot of noise and bluster it's in everyone's interest to resolve the situation and define a new EU/UK relationship that can continue for another 50 years.

At the moment there is a lot to lose on both sides. But nothing has been lost yet.

I think that sounds like a sensible compromise, but I doubt many in this country will accept it. I feel a lot of those who voted Leave, especially in the working class areas up north, expect a complete end to European immigration. They will be quite disappointed if that's not the case, and that may see the resurgence of UKIP

[darmstadt]

And didn't we recently hear the distant mutterings of some Austrians wanting a similar referendum?

As I've mentioned before, since Brexit, the popularity of the EU seems to be increasing in Europe:

Austria’s Hofer Says EU Exit Referendum Only Last Resort - WSJ

Austrian far-right leader Hofer against leaving EU - BBC News

Possibly you were thinking of this one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austri...ferendum,_1938