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BREXIT? Am I just plain stupid?

(419 Posts)
Bluegal Wed 15-Nov-17 16:15:10

I am 64 years old, voted to stay in EU but we were outvoted.

I have no IDEA what all the talks on Brexit actually mean? OK...readily admit I am not the brightest (political) spark in the box but when I hear discussions, I have absolutely no idea what they are going on about? Do I just tune out somehow? Could I make any sense if I paid more attention?

What the heck does it all mean?

Any pointers would be most and truly appreciated. Help this old foggie understand what is going on Aaaarahhhhh

Dogsjj Thu 16-Nov-17 17:06:59

Am I the only person on Gransnet who voted to leave. Never mind the whole of Cornwall did. I do not want to be governed by unelected officials from a country who does not understand the UK. I want Parliament to make our laws and my elected MP to vote for them. I do not want a European army, etc, etc.

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 17:04:39

most I don’t know - dj can you enlighten us?

Everyone seems to be a remainer in Brighton though.

We are special of course so that is probably all you need to know?

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 17:04:27

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42014209

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 17:03:37

Head of Goldman Sachs calling for second referendum.

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 16:59:23

I think even Farage is recognising that we will need to pay about 60bn. If we don’t the rest of the world will look very poorly on us for not respecting contracts etc.

The EU has Brexit totally mapped out line by line - the next activity will be to begin to look at trade. This is planned for two weeks time, which is why they are pressurising Davis to move his ass.

Contrary to what Brexiters are saying on here, the EUs primary concern are the people and the consequences.

But in my view the most intractable problem is Northern Ireland.

mostlyharmless Thu 16-Nov-17 16:57:02

I have every sympathy for places like Grimsby, Cornwall, Tyneside and Wales. They will lose out badly post Brexit. Why wasn't this made clear to them before the Referendum?
Not sure about Brighton's claims though ww?

varian Thu 16-Nov-17 16:54:40

The BBC's Brexit bias was obvious from the moment David Dimbleby announced "we're out". We're not out. I conceed that the pressures exerted on our politicians by the leave lobby are so strong that we are likely to end up going out, but it should not be taken as a fait-a-complis.

Even before the vote the BBC insisted on giving equal time to sensible informed comments from the remain side and lies from the leavers.

If the BBC ever decides to discuss the shape of the earth, no doubt the flat-earthers will be given equal billing with those experts who can tell us the earth is spherical.

mostlyharmless Thu 16-Nov-17 16:53:33

Fake news/facts everywhere. Even in Parliament - Theresa May in just about every PMQ.

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 16:52:15

I like Infacts, mostly harmless. It isn't unbiased, but then it doesn't pretend to be.
Anyone who can refute their arguments is welcome to try.

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 16:50:18

"Callanan, a pro-Brexit peer who this year attacked the “ayatollahs” in the EU, only came into his Dexeu post on October 27, after Joyce Anelay became the third minister to leave the department in four months. His primary role is shepherding Brexit legislation through the House of Lords, an unenviable task made more challenging by his apparent failure to get on top of the facts.

The government refuses to release legal advice on whether Article 50 can be revoked. But Callanan’s retraction, and the government’s failure to rebut Kerr’s opinion, speaks volumes. It is not too late to change our minds."

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 16:47:39

infacts.org/minister-forced-correct-claim-article-50-reversibility/

Lord Callanan telling porkies now. He retracted it when made to three days later.

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 16:46:53

mostly that’s why it is so important to have political threads that can be informative and tested/questioned. This makes for a much more knowledgable gran population.

BRedhead59 Thu 16-Nov-17 16:46:23

I can think of numerous reasons to stay in the EU and none to leave - can Lemon or anyone else add to that?

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 16:44:49

Re sentient beings - tell that to my dog. He’s full of himself have just come back from a hair cut.

mostlyharmless Thu 16-Nov-17 16:43:45

Interesting dj your "infacts" article about Dyson when interviewed on Andrew Marr last Sunday. I was sure Dyson was talking nonsense but did Marr pull him up? No.
In the past I've used the BBC as a reliable source of unbiased news. But no longer is it unbiased. The Today programme also seems to be staffed by Tories and Brexiters.
The Government has made sure that the BBC is only impartial as long as it fits in with the Government line.

Bluegal is right. There is no impartial source of Brexit news now.

Direne3 Thu 16-Nov-17 16:32:53

OK, so it seems that by consensus it been agreed to use the letter C on GN for the upcoming celebrations. Now, how about the current subject being referred to as B for the purposes of future postings on GN. Just a suggestion, what do you think folks? The B letter seems so appropriate for what is swiftly becoming such a really over discussed subject on which few of us are likely to change our view. (Hard hat on and ducking down to avoid flack). grin

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 16:25:15

Seems a bit rich to expect them to pay for all the new infrastructure needed, when they didnt want it in the first place. I assume some of that will be taken into account in the divorce bill?

Nemoiudex Thu 16-Nov-17 16:23:38

Bizarrely, the areas of Britain that voted in favour of Brexit seem to be most likely to suffer a downturn as a result. They were miserable already, they clutched at the straw of a Brexit and now they'll be even more miserable. See:
www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/brexit-heartlands-want-someone-else-to-pay-pthzgl35g

quote
Take Grimsby. It’s one of the most deprived areas of Britain; it hasn’t flourished in the decades since we joined the EU and it voted by 70 per cent to 30 per cent for Leave. Two weeks ago the anxious representatives of one of the town’s biggest remaining industries, seafood processing, went to Westminster to petition MPs to grant Grimsby the exceptional status of a free trade port when we leave.

Grimsby is desperate to avoid the imposition of post-Brexit tariff barriers, delays and customs checks on its fish business, because it imports 90 per cent of its fish fresh from Europe. It is also worried about losing the 20 per cent of its workforce that comes from abroad. If Brexit goes ahead without any special concessions to Grimsby then an industry that includes Young’s and The Saucy Fish Co, and that employs 5,000 people, fears it will lose its competitive edge to rival centres in Germany and France.

In South Tyneside, which backed Leave by 62 per cent to 38 per cent, the local council is also seeking protection from the results of Brexit. Last week the think tank IPPR North revealed that leaving will hit the north much harder than London; in an area that’s already substantially poorer than the south, more than 10 per cent of the region’s goods and services are dependent on EU trade, compared with 7 per cent in London.

It’s the same pattern in care homes or hospitals, where the elderly who voted 64 per cent to 36 per cent to leave are going to be worst affected by the fact that the flow of EU nurses has fallen by 90 per cent in 12 months. Before the vote they made up a third of new nurse registrations.

Or take the waste-management firm in the Midlands, located in a sea of Leavers, that now can’t get European firms to renew their five-year deals on taking unrecyclable waste to use as fuel, because nobody knows what the post-Brexit trade terms will be.

end quote

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 16:22:06

infacts.org/theresa-may-heading-dreadful-deal/

The logical conclusion is that we should have no Brexit.

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 16:18:29

We're all special in our own special ways, whitewave. Maybe we can convince the EU of that, and all have special agreements with the EU!

I feel sorry for the Netherlands.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/16/brexit-netherlands-told-to-prepare-for-a-no-deal-chaos-scenario

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 16:06:56

That’s ‘cause we’re special ??

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 16:05:21

More incometence - Kuenssberg has tweeted that May is looking for a way out of the date debacle. Dear oh dear.

durhamjen Thu 16-Nov-17 16:04:02

City of London are being offered special status, so why not Grimsby?
Brighton and Hove are after it as well.

Tiggersuki Thu 16-Nov-17 16:00:41

Very interesting comments here. The awful thing was the terrible lies that encouraged people to vote to leave. The Brexiteers still do not know what outcome we will have which amazes me as a Remainer! Why on earth did people vote for it, and now we are stuck in something that is costing all of us a fortune. Prices of food are going up and will continue to do so. Yesterday was the amazing turnaround for Grimsby who mostly voted to leave and now want special status to trade in the EU. European countries think we are mad, quite rightly. You don't have to put up with it. Talk to people, contact your MP and local paper, this is NOT inevitable . The government can stop this huge waste of time and money and disrespect to others whenever they want.

whitewave Thu 16-Nov-17 15:58:25

I can’t ever remember a period where the government was so moribund. Brexit has it caught like a rabbit in headlights with about as much idea as to what to do.

We have the budget next week, but so much money will be taken up with paying for Brexit. Customs alone will cost a mind boggling amount. That money could easily have gone into the health service.