Watching Brexit was one of the most bizarre world events I’ve seen in my life. Truly the slowest, clear-cut train crash in modern times. Literally everybody knew it was dumb, everybody knew what the result was going to be, and nothing really deviated from expectations.
Hell, when they were playing musical chairs with PMs over enacting the changes and kept blowing past all of the “absolute deadlines” I started to wonder if they were just going to pretend the vote never happened and just live their lives as usual. Frankly, they might’ve gotten away with it.
Bizarre indeed, but at the same time highly entertaining. Real life comedy at its best!
Depends if you are watching or in it
Well the people in it had a majority deciding in favor of it in a free election. And afterwards the people that voted against it had four years to adjust to it, for instance by migrating into an EU country.
Also it was perfectly possible to form a political stance to overthrow the non binding referendum but instead people voted Boris Johnson in a “landslide victory” to make sure Brexit gets done.
There were plenty turning points for society as a whole and individual possibility to leave the dumpsterfire behind. The people in the UK are getting exactly what they wanted.
As a person in the UK, I got the exact opposite of what I wanted. I was too young to vote at the time, so I, along with everyone else my age, had no say in our future, whereas my grandad voted for Brexit and died before it actually happened, so he won’t have to live with the consequences.
It’s also caused me a whole load of problems directly, since I’m a language student and I went to Germany for part of my year abroad. There’s so much more bureaucracy, as well as significant fees. So no, the people in the UK are not getting what they wanted at all. Maybe apart from those idiots who went on about “British sovereignty” and rubbish like that.
Germany is struggling with a lot of demographic change and desperately needs young people. If you like it here and feel welcome enough (something unfortunately many Germans dont show towards “brown” people) you could emigrate to Germany.
I really enjoyed living and studying in Germany, so it’s definitely something I’d consider doing!
(On a side note, the “Black” part of my username actually has nothing to do with skin colour, in the same way that Gandalf the Grey didn’t have grey skin! It’s just about the colour of the robes.)
I’m baffled by how you lump everyone into such a close vote as ‘getting what they wanted’, with an undertone suggesting you mean ‘getting what they deserved’.
Most people can’t just up and leave their country; to do so would mean causing more damage to their lives than just sitting in the shit sandwich they’ve been served by the useful idiots that made this mess.
Then there’s the whole issue with Russian interference that ‘probably happened’ according to MI5/6, but needed a full investigation which Alexander Boris de Pfelelfllellogram Johnson - likely being in Russian pockets already - obviously quashed.
Can’t upvote this enough. I was in London before the vote, there was obviously a ton of people against it. This should have required at least a 2/3 majority.
They should have required the non-binding referendum to actually be non-binding, especially considering how vague the question and answers were and how few people participated.
It’s a long string of Tory failures that they enacted pretty much only so they could keep their hands on power.
Cameron > made the referendum part of the 2015 manifesto to stop UKIP splitting the Tory vote.
May > enacted Article 50 to stop the totally-not-UKIP/disaster capitalists from paralysing the party
Johnson > made ‘oven ready shit
biscuitBrexit’ part of the 2019 manifesto so he could whip his party of YesMen into doing whatever the fuck he liked.Makes me so so angry.
2016 was a weird time and you could argue it was the point when western politics veered off in the direction of populism over policy.
As a British citizen (sorry subject), it was a horrifying moment to be woken up by my girlfriend to learn that we had voted to leave by the smallest of margins.
And later that year we watched America elect a bonafide psychopathic narcissist as the president of the United States.
Why the majority elect to be kept under the boot with aggressive fiscal policies which reward the wealthy is beyond me.
Brexit was sold on lies and false promises of the ‘benefits’ Britain would see when we become ‘independent’ again.
For a long time, I was convinced they would actually turn around and stop the whole endeavour, as it was clearly a giant, unforced blunder. But here we are…
The UK is a joke you can live in.
Yep. Lived there for nearly 30 years. Only gotten worse since I left
Please come back
Tell you what, I’ll hack the human like automatons they have in parliament so that they do things they normally wouldn’t, like actually try to fix the country’s problems and do fair bidding for government contracts
Yes please, but to be honest “Human like automaton” seems like the prevailing life form around here
We should really stop doing polls. People will answer depending on how something sounds on the surfcae with exactly no clue about details.
The same people in UK that want to rejoin the EU single market will also vote against most consequences of joining the single market.
Just like for example a majority of Europeans when asked wants to stop daylight saving time changes for permanent ‘summer time’ (because summer is a more positive connotation when that 1 hour shift from standard time is bad by any objective metric and actually bad for our health).
Just like a majority of Germans right now loudly agrees to more investments, to then turn around and answer in another poll how spending any money (even more when it’s financed by debt) should be avoided.
People are idiots and polls have lost most their meaning as I can get any answer I want just by who I ask and how I phrase the question.
I never understood the arguments people use surrounding daylight savings. The health risks, accident risks, any risks surround the actual switch, not really the what time is used. If the clocks were set forward for “summer time” then 3 months later Daylight savings was abolished and no one changes their clocks anymore (as you said, permanent summer time) there would be no ill effects from it cause everyone was already used to the time change.
I want to get rid of daylight savings. I don’t care whether it’s standard time that use used or daylight savings time that is used as long as the switchover stops happening.
With people mostly using clocks which don’t need adjusting, we could have the best of both worlds.
Currently, 12 o’clock is defined as the sun being at its highest point at a specific location (in winter, standard time)
Imagine you take the same reference location, and define sunrise as 7:00 (am). No health issues, no sudden changes, and probably best for the biorhythm.
If the clocks were set forward for “summer time” then 3 months later Daylight savings was abolished and no one changes their clocks anymore (as you said, permanent summer time) there would be no ill effects
Yes, there would be “ill effects”. Having more daylight later the day is a pure luxury/convenience (for the people not working at that time anymore…). Having to an hour more between waking up and the sun coming up however has adverse effects on your natural clock and health.
Agreed. Most American polls are still done by phone, so it only counts people who answer unknown calls, and then answer a series of questions about their beliefs. Which just gets more unbelievable every day.
And then there are online polls, that already cherry-pick the people by where they advertize. And that’s on top of the effect that people with a strong opinion and desire to voice it are overrepresented in such polls.
I prefer to stick with daylight savings over standard but that is because im a late person and hate 4pm sunset.
Yeah, plus during winter sun rises after I arrive at work anyway, why should I care about that being at 08:30 or 09:30? I want at least some sunlight when going home.
yeah I don’t see the advantages of standard time at all. The one guy talked about the sun being overhead at noon but who cares.
Just like for example a majority of Europeans when asked wants to stop daylight saving time changes for permanent ‘summer time’ (because summer is a more positive connotation when that 1 hour shift from standard time is bad by any objective metric and actually bad for our health).
This is total nonsense. Which time would make more sense to adopt permanently depends on several factors including the geographic location within the current very wide CET/CEST time zone (one makes more sense on the west end, the other on the east end) and when people start and end their days.
Personally I am in favour of just getting rid of the entire time zone system and just getting up at a time that makes sense for you locally without changing the entire clock to match. That would have the benefit that talking about time would become several orders of magnitude easier on a world-wide scale, the person-years required to develop anything related to calendars would be cut in half, most people could calculate travel times in their heads even across what is currently multiple time zones,… with the only major downside being that the date would change some time while we are awake and possibly working.
This is total nonsense.
It isn’t. It’s science. Increasing the time between us waking up and the sun naturally rising has adverse health effects. It also has the same effects on people more to the east of a time zone relatively. They are just in a slightly better position naturally.
You mean between the time the sun rises and the time we get up? Which is what east/west location determines and the other factor I mentioned.
Not to mention that it also has adverse health effects when it gets dark before most full time employees even finish their work day because some morning fetishists need extra daylight an hour before most people even get up.
Good luck on that.
The EU would make demands so steep, crawling on broken glass would be mild.
Brexit was a catastrophic diplomatic event, bridled with ridiculous underhanded manouvers from the UK to try and sneak away from demands.
I am not against the UK rejoining the EU but as a common member, with all the demands required to join like any other country.
I think it’s misleading to say that EU would make steep demands, because it gives the impression that EU would deliberately try to make UK joining difficult. UK shouldn’t get any special treatment (good or bad) and they should get the exact same standard joining procedure all other countries would get. The standard procedure is already going to have their panties twisted, no need to give them a legitimation reason to complain.
Let’s keep in mind the UK dove into directions so divergent from the EU, on such trivial matters, just to face those demands - so trivial it will feel as petty - will make the UK negotiators twist their hands in anger.
And to crown it all, just the demand to drop the pound would be nurderous to the british pride.
Absolutely. I think we’re on the same page that the process of joining is going to have the UK complain and whine at every step. My point was rather that saying EU would make demands so steep could be taken as EU wanting make an example out of UK. That’s not really what we should want because we know the UK is going to complain and treating them harsher than any other applicant would somewhat legitimize their grievances. I think a better wording for “EU would make demands so steep, crawling on…” would be “UK will think the demands are so steep, crawling on glass…” because then instead of seeming like EU is being unfair it’s going to seem like UK simply doesn’t want to play ball (which is how we have ended up in this situation in the first place).
nurderous
N-N-N-N-NERD RAGE!
Don’t care. It stays as a lasting testament of my sausage fingers.
But majority of EU citizens do not.
Are you sure? I don’t mind. Together we have a stronger economy. If they want to be subject of all EU market policy without having a voice in the decision process that’s their choice.
Don’t want these bitches back, they hurt our union like a cancer.
The back they want is the special treatment they got before, wich is a absolute no go.
Would love the UK back. Besides wanting it to be easier to travel there, I think it is also the best way to show how beneficial the EU is. If they already want back in after such a short period of time it sends a strong message to the many anti-EU people across the continent.
Nope, let them struggle more, they got what they wanted.
Half of us didn’t want it
In a few decades maybe. Or in a non-voting manner similar to norway, but with how they sabotaged the eu from the inside while they were in it and the very conservative politics over there I don’t think the UK rejoining as a full member would be beneficial to the EU at this point.
They are also very much against further integration on an EU wide level.
The absolute lack of sympathy in here for those of us that voted remain is disgusting.
The way a referendum works is that the side with more votes gets to do the thing, in this case brexit. How you voted does not matter as the majority of your countries population (who voted) voted to leave. You don’t get to “I voted for Kodos” this 7 years later.
How is that fair? If the vote had been to oppress an minority group you wouldn’t then go oh well it’s that population groups fault for being oppressed would you?
I’m not sure that the level of vitriol here is entirely justified. Wouldn’t the European Union be more economically sound if the UK rejoined. Wouldn’t a unified trade block be the best thing possible you should want the UK back in if the UK wants back in. I do not get this attitude of oh screw all the British people because well the vast majority of Scottish didn’t want it, most of the population of London didn’t want it. It was basically just a bunch of idiot yokels and old people who are now dead who wanted to leave the EU because they thought the EU was in some way this evil entity.
Not sure where you get vitriol and the idea anything is fair. I am also not extra happy Scotland did not leave the UK but as there was a vote (just 2 years too soon) and last time I checked things still work that way so I like most people have to live with it.
Hold a referendum on the issue then again (I am sure it will also be a mess). Its insane that people now think you can somehow ignore a majority vote because you don’t like the result. Was this a bad idea? yes. Is the UK filled with “a bunch of idiot yokels and old people”? also yes.
It was barely a majority vote and anyway it wasn’t legally binding so the government could have totally ignored it at the time and been fine the vote was utterly pointless.
The problem is the morons held the vote then decided to uphold the decision of the vote even though It was essentially only getting soundings.
It was a trade relationship why was it a matter of public consultation?
The people of the UK have been extremely hurt by this and it’s just irritating to see that apparently there would be resistance in the EU to fixing a mistake. Why is there resistance I don’t get it?
Why is there resistance I don’t get it?
The history of British whining and cherrypicking. They never behaved like regular members, but more like “special snowflakes”. I understand the fear that they might start this nonsense again, once back in the the union.
It was barely a majority vote and anyway it wasn’t legally binding so the government could have totally ignored it
The problem is the morons held the vote then decided to uphold the decision of the vote
Do you see the problem with this approach?
Its insane that people now think you can somehow ignore a majority vote because you don’t like the result.
Making a bad decision doesn’t mean you can never, ever rethink that decision and have to stick with it no matter what.
If the majority doesn’t like the result, then what’s the point of not reconsidering things?
Never said otherwise. But retroactively arguing the issue without a new referendum is an issue.
Ok I’m British, I live in a country that gave me permanent residency before this shit show. The remainers mismanaged the campaign by resorting to the arguments of “lol you’re so stupid” and “omg so racist”. They also completely and overwhelmingly underestimated the power of propaganda to influence public opinion. And didn’t realise that a generation of blaming the EU for Westminster’s shitty decision making might have consequences. The remainers are just as culpable as the people who voted to leave.
Yeah, I remember the people being interviewed on the street saying they where remainers and also they where not planing to vote. It was a silly time.
There is a lot of sympathy for those unlucky brits that voted remain. As a person who strongly identifies as european, I can barely imagine how it must have felt to leave our union. Made me heartbroken back then.
We just cannot give you a better treatment than those brits who voted to leave when it comes to rejoining. Unless you all move to Scotland and then leave the UK.
Ah so Brenter has begun
No shit! As a Brit living in another country I would like Britain to never have left. BUT, now that Britain has left, I’d like to punish those who allowed Brexit to happen by preventing them from rejoining. You’ve made your nasty scat bed, now fucking lie in it.
As EU citizen watching from the sidelines, I’m disappointed nobody is rallying for political reforms. The UK government has proven multiple times now it is incapable of governing and policing to adapt for changing realities. I don’t think the UK is ready for any future until painful structural reforms of their parliamentary system and executive. This mess was and is caused by UK politics and they deserve all the anger as fuel to fix their workplace. Until then, an effort to rejoin would occupy the executive for years and make UK life only worse because necessary local policy-making would’nd get the attention it deserves.
Ever since the French revolution, the establishment in Britain has been bending over backwards to ensure the status quo (as far as they’re concerned) remains. The British parliamentary system is doing exactly what it was designed to do. The sheep who live there are kept busy with xenophobia and infighting with the sole purpose of keeping them isolated from dangerous ideas.
Britain must rejoin! It is time to stop this undignified squabbling! It is time to quit fighting over petty whims! It is time to stand together, to unite and to face the great terrible evil in the very heart of europe: Belgium!
No, please no, stop UK from joining europe.
The UK is already a member of Europe you idiot it’s the EU the UK left
Oops a typo and i’m an idiot… Uk is a part of europe geographically. Culturaly speaking… Less and less.
That’s an incredibly isolationist attitude the UK isn’t part of a trade union that’s got nothing to do with culture
While I would love to have the UK rejoin it won’t happen in at least the next 5-8 years, probably not even 20 years. The problem isn’t just whether the EU would accept the UK it’s that the Brexit period was so politically toxic the two main parties won’t touch it.
The people can say they want it all they like but unless a governing party is willing to risk tearing itself apart over it then it won’t go anywhere.
Majority of Britons support rejoining the EU
single market - pollFin.
Insert J.J. Jameson laugh
Good. But priority for EU is integrate the West Balkans (waiting too long), Ukraine + Moldova.
In parallel reform processes:- abolish national vetos (aka consensus) so no Orban-types can take the ship hostage.
- strengthen the EU parliament, over the council and commission
- accept concept of multi-tier participation (it’s reality anyway)
We need more debating each issue on each merits, rather than horse-trade mega-packages of transactional deals. In that respect, if Britain rejoins one component at a time, it’s better for everybody’s understanding of benefits and challenges.
🖕