[pdk42]

And that 17m had to make a decision based on scanty data, a good proportion of which was either lies, or else very wishful thinking.

Liam Fox's words: "The Brexit deal will be the 'easiest thing in human history".

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices...-a7851656.html

[Herr Dreier]

Originally Posted by pdk42

The French have been courting all the car manufacturers in the UK to move. If you were making cars in the UK today, you'd be crazy not to seriously consider it. Multiply that by all the other industries in the same situation - pharmaceuticals, aviation, financial services etc. It's clear what the result will be.

Any business moving to France needs their head examined. Have you seen their employment laws?

[antjos1]

Originally Posted by pdk42

And that 17m had to make a decision based on scanty data, a good proportion of which was either lies, or else very wishful thinking.

Liam Fox's words: "The Brexit deal will be the 'easiest thing in human history".

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices...-a7851656.html

Probably would be the easiest thing in history if the EU didn't want everything and give us nothing. Also the remainers wanting another referendum doesn't make things any easier.

[Bibbles]

Originally Posted by Herr Dreier

Any business moving to France needs their head examined. Have you seen their employment laws?

Yeah you'd have to be completely mental to move any labour intensive business to France.

[Harryg]

Quite frankly its took 18 month to achieve nothing so if you think this is going to be done and dusted by next March I would thin again.

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by Bibbles

Yeah you'd have to be completely mental to move any labour intensive business to France.

Yup, have lived and worked in France so can second that. Explains why there are 350,000 French in the UK.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by antjos1

Probably would be the easiest thing in history if the EU didn't want everything and give us nothing. Also the remainers wanting another referendum doesn't make things any easier.

If we depend on the EU to buy 44% of our exports and they depend on us to buy 8% of their exports, it's pretty clear where the balance of power lies. That was always going to be our problem- of course we would blink first.

It was staggeringly naive to enter these negotiations at a time when the EU have the upper hand in this way. If you want to negotiate an exit from a much larger partner, you need to do it at a time of weakness for them. If say three major countries had joined together to leave, that would be a different matter.

If Scotland were to vote for independence from the UK, they would face a very similar problem negotiating with a dominant partner.

[pdk42]

Originally Posted by JD6

If we depend on the EU to buy 44% of our exports and they depend on us to buy 8% of their exports, it's pretty clear where the balance of power lies. That was always going to be our problem- of course we would blink first.

It was staggeringly naive to enter these negotiations at a time when the EU have the upper hand in this way. If you want to negotiate an exit from a much larger partner, you need to do it at a time of weakness for them. If say three major countries had joined together to leave, that would be a different matter.

If Scotland were to vote for independence from the UK, they would face a very similar problem negotiating with a dominant partner.

Totally agree. Although I expect that the PR the EU would get from snagging Scotland would probably mean they'd give them an easy ride.

[pdk42]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Yup, have lived and worked in France so can second that. Explains why there are 350,000 French in the UK.

To a degree I agree. But the car industry in France has managed to work around all this by three cunning strategies:

- They have the government in their pockets. Rules can be waived.

- They use a labyrinth of temporary contract terms (so-called CDD (contrats a durée déterminée) to avoid getting into the full implications of employment laws.

- The are very capital intensive - high levels of automation to keep need for workers to a minimum.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by pdk42

Totally agree. Although I expect that the PR the EU would get from snagging Scotland would probably mean they'd give them an easy ride.

Fortunately countries like Spain which have regions wanting to break away would block this, as it would set an uncomfortable precedent.

Of course it would be an absurd choice from a trading perspective for Scotland to vote for independence. Their trade with the UK is four times the size of their trade with the rest of the EU, so they would open up a small market at the expense of tariffs with a much larger one!

[pdk42]

Originally Posted by JD6

Fortunately countries like Spain which have regions wanting to break away would block this, as it would set an uncomfortable precedent.

Of course it would be an absurd choice from a trading perspective for Scotland to vote for independence. Their trade with the UK is four times the size of their trade with the rest of the EU, so they would open up a small market at the expense of tariffs with a much larger one!

Well, that's sort of what England voted for in the Brexit vote!

"Of course it would be an absurd choice from a trading perspective for the UK to vote for independence. Their trade with the EU is four times the size of their trade with the rest of the world, so they would open up a small market at the expense of tariffs with a much larger one!"

[AndrewP_UK]

Originally Posted by antjos1

Probably would be the easiest thing in history if the EU didn't want everything and give us nothing. Also the remainers wanting another referendum doesn't make things any easier.

This might be even funnier if it wasn't so true:
http://newsthump.com/2018/10/03/brex...for-26-months/


The stories are already building - Brexit being an inevitable shitshow is being portrayed as not the fault of the people who caused it or those tasked with delivering it. It'll all be the fault of remainers and the EU, who haven't changed their position since day one.

[Harryg]

Free trade agreements that change tariffs between countries from the WTO default don’t necessarily affect all goods and services. While 57% of the UK’s exports go to the EU or other countries with which we have some kind of trade agreement, that doesn’t mean that a “no deal” situation would mean new tariffs on 57% of our exports.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by pdk42

Well, that's sort of what England voted for in the Brexit vote!

"Of course it would be an absurd choice from a trading perspective for the UK to vote for independence. Their trade with the EU is four times the size of their trade with the rest of the world, so they would open up a small market at the expense of tariffs with a much larger one!"

Very true, but I would hope that having witnessed what a steaming heap of shite our Brexit negotiations have been, that might put them off going through Sexit!

[sahajesh]

Another Brexit thread : Please let's stop this before LobB wades in with more shit.

[pdk42]

Originally Posted by sahajesh

Another Brexit thread : Please let's stop this before LobB wades in with more shit.

Dunno who LobB is, but it looks like the warning worked!

[Cleybrooke]

Brexit is deeply, deeply unpatriotic.