Brexit

[LunarOrbit]

I'm sorry to hear it went this way. Just like when Quebec voted on whether to leave Canada, or when Scotland voted on whether to leave the UK, I thought people would realize you're stronger together than you are on your own.

The UK is going to have a hard time in the world economy when everyone else is forming trade pacts and they're going it alone.

And really, what have they gained? If they want to trade with the rest of Europe they will still have to abide by the same rules they would have if they stayed in the European Union.

[BertieSlack]

I feel embarrassed and ashamed to be British today.

Just think - when you pass a random person in the street there's a 52% chance that they're an uninformed idiot. Well, it won't be long before they start to realise that their perceived problems have absolutely nothing to do with immigration or the EU.

[gwiz]

I'm sorry to hear it went this way. Just like when Quebec voted on whether to leave Canada...

I've heard that just holding a referendum damaged Quebec's economy and it has yet to fully recover.  Is that true?

[gwiz]

Just think - when you pass a random person in the street there's a 52% chance that they're an uninformed idiot. Well, it won't be long before they start to realise that their perceived problems have absolutely nothing to do with immigration or the EU.

Well, they can still blame immigration as leaving the EU wont stop it, just means that the immigrants will come from elsewhere.  Heard an interviewee today saying that a lot of the Muslim community voted for Brexit because it would mean a better chance of their relatives back in Pakistan getting to the UK.  Is this something that the average UKIP supporter would want?

[LunarOrbit]

I'm sorry to hear it went this way. Just like when Quebec voted on whether to leave Canada...

I've heard that just holding a referendum damaged Quebec's economy and it has yet to fully recover.  Is that true?

I'm not really that familiar with Quebec's economy, but I don't think they're doing too bad (I'm sure the Ontario Premiere wishes they had Quebec's economy right now).

I would imagine that having the constant threat of separation hanging over their economy isn't helping them any though.

[Lenticular Cloud]

Well roger me sideways and call me Mary, I did not expect that. Having spent the last sixteen hours watching all hell break loose, I find myself feeling more depressed today than for a long time. IMO, a country full of old people have just snatched the future away from the young. I have a great deal of uncertainty about the well-being of this country in a few years time.

[gillianren]

According to the statistics I read (the validity of which I am unsure), it looks like that's exactly what happened--the older the person was, the more likely they were to vote Leave.

[Luke Pemberton]

According to the statistics I read (the validity of which I am unsure), it looks like that's exactly what happened--the older the person was, the more likely they were to vote Leave.

It was in the Labour heartlands, aligned along the old mining and steel producing areas, where a large proportion of the battle was won. So there will be a correlation with age given these communities have become increasingly economically marginalised over many years with the decline of heavy industry.

Commentators have suggested that this section of society perceive those at the front of EU and UK politics as being a privileged elite that do not address their needs. It's not that simplistic, there were many factors at play. I was reading an article that large numbers of campaigners for both sides reported that the issue of immigration was raised with the working class rather than in traditional Conservative areas. In fact, some commentators have suggested that the 'uneducated working class' (not my description) contributed to the leave vote over the 'educated middle class.'

Wales, which is traditionally a Labour heartland voted leave, yet Wales gain from huge amounts of EU investment. The leader of the Welsh Assembly spoke in worried tones this morning, and want reassurances from Westminster that Wales will be compensated with a greater budget for investment.

There's also some of my father's generation that believe we won WW2 so should not be run by the Germans of French.

I would not be surprised with the validity of your statement.

[Luke Pemberton]

Well roger me sideways and call me Mary, I did not expect that. Having spent the last sixteen hours watching all hell break loose, I find myself feeling more depressed today than for a long time. IMO, a country full of old people have just snatched the future away from the young. I have a great deal of uncertainty about the well-being of this country in a few years time.

Agree. Restriction on freedom of movement is a real blow for opportunity and intellectucal development. My concern is that fees in UK univeristies will increase as EU citizens find it harder to obtain visas to study, so UK students will have to take out greater loans. Intellectual exchange will be stifled, which is tragic given how we have many great EU post-grads contributing to research. This vote will really close down exchange and co-operation.

Agree. One benefit of being in the EU was to jointly fund science, sharing costs, exploitation and ideas in the process. Restriction on freedom of movement is a real blow for opportunity and intellectual development. My concern is that fees in UK universities will increase as EU citizens find it harder to obtain visas to study, so UK students will have to take out greater loans. Intellectual exchange will be stifled, which is tragic given how we have many great EU post-grads contributing to research. This vote will really close down exchange and co-operation.

[bknight]

I wonder if ESA will be adversely effected by this vote.

[Lenticular Cloud]

I would think there is every chance that it will. Most of these European agencies are funded directly by the EU, so buying in as a non-EU country is not going to be the simplest of things. So it will certainly impact the UK participation in such ventures, because I don't see a UK government stumping up directly for such "waste" as I am sure they would regard it.

[darren r]

I've been listening to radio vox pops and phone in's all day and it's been depressing to say the least. Most people have been citing 'immigrants' as the reason they voted to leave. I heard an elderly woman attempting to console a young mother concerned for her child's future by saying that she should tell him that he will be able to have a British passport. There was an old man sobbing over the 'soldiers, sailors and airmen' who had died in WW2, apparently believing that this vote meant we were finally free of the Nazi yoke.

Too often I heard people say that 'I've got my country back', without apparently understanding that if it wasn't their country before, it sure as hell won't be now. The whole thing is being sold as the triumph of the working class over the 'elites', when it's obvious that this will only make things worse for them. Any EU laws guaranteeing maternity leave, sick pay, health and safety and limiting working hours can now be swept away as 'restrictive red tape'.

Oddly, there have been a lot of stories of people who voted 'Leave' as a joke or a protest being astonished that they got what they voted for and instantly regretting it. Too late now, bozos.

[Luke Pemberton]

I would think there is every chance that it will. Most of these European agencies are funded directly by the EU, so buying in as a non-EU country is not going to be the simplest of things. So it will certainly impact the UK participation in such ventures, because I don't see a UK government stumping up directly for such "waste" as I am sure they would regard it.

ESA is European in make up, not EU. Switzerland and Norway contribute to ESA and they are not in the EU. The UK could opt out tomorrow (in theory), even as an EU member (at least for a year or two).

[Luke Pemberton]

I've been listening to radio vox pops and phone in's all day and it's been depressing to say the least. Most people have been citing 'immigrants' as the reason they voted to leave. I heard an elderly woman attempting to console a young mother concerned for her child's future by saying that she should tell him that he will be able to have a British passport. There was an old man sobbing over the 'soldiers, sailors and airmen' who had died in WW2, apparently believing that this vote meant we were finally free of the Nazi yoke.

Too often I heard people that 'I've got my country back', without apparently understanding that if it wasn't their country before, it sure as hell won't be now. The whole thing is being sold as the triumph of the working class over the 'elites', when it's obvious that this will only make things worse for them. Any EU laws guaranteeing maternity leave, sick pay, health and safety and limiting working hours can now be swept away as 'restrictive red tape'.

Oddly, there have been a lot of stories of people who voted 'Leave' as a joke or a protest being astonished that they got what they voted for and instantly regretting it, Too late now, bozos.

So eloquently written and chimes with my experiences and thoughts.

[Glom]

The problem with the slogan "we want our country back" is that it omits to specify in how many pieces.

Sturgeon is on the warpath again and so too is Sinn Fein and they have a really decent case if this starts throwing up a noticeable border on Ireland.

There is no a good chance that the country we just got back is really just England and Wales as Scottish Independence and Irish reunification come about.

So for the flag, I recommend a counterposing of the crosses of St George and St David.