Current Events > 50% of British people now want to rejoin the EU

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://i.imgur.com/iLsV1Zp.jpeg

taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_on_the_United_Kingdom_rejoining_the_European_Union_%282020%E2%80%93present%29?wprov=sfla1

when i was in london a few weeks ago i was shocked and disgusted to see paper straws. like what was the point of brexit

They had a somewhat privileged EU position pre-Brexit. If rejoin happens, Brussels probably won't offer what Britain what they had before. Still better than going it alone in a global economy, but that's the price of fucking up.

brestugo posted...

They had a somewhat privileged EU position pre-Brexit. If rejoin happens, Brussels probably won't offer what Britain what they had before. Still better than going it alone in a global economy, but that's the price of fucking up.

Maybe we can make leavers have the new position and us remainers have what we used to?

UK here.

I don't like the current narrative that some people are pushing that any sort of negotiating on the current deal we have with the EU is some sort of treasonous viewpoint. The current deal was pushed through and I think most reasonable people, on both sides (leave \ remain) appreciated that it was only ever going to be a stop gap measure until we could negotiate something more permanent but there are some people who seem to think any sort of ongoing relationship with the EU goes against Brexit!

We've left the EU to be able to have more control over our country and trade deals. This includes trade deals with the EU!

brestugo posted...

They had a somewhat privileged EU position pre-Brexit. If rejoin happens, Brussels probably won't offer what Britain what they had before. Still better than going it alone in a global economy, but that's the price of fucking up.

Oh definitely. Don't get me wrong - I voted remain but fully appreciated that there were some shortcomings to the relationship we had but we had a much better deal than most other members.

I'm going to reword the below because it looks like my memory isn't as great as I thought!

There were some ongoing meetings to discuss current concerns. Looks like we actually got a lot of what we wanted but not everything. I think they tried to call our bluff on the other items and hoping the concessions we got were enough. I don't think the were expecting us to go ahead with leaving the EU but the Tories put party unity over what was best for the country and here we are.

Edit: Here you go. We did agree a deal but it wasn't everything we wanted but I feel had it been given more air time it would have convinced enough leavers that staying would be the better option.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%932016_United_Kingdom_renegotiation_of_European_Union_membership

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35622105

SHRlKE posted...

UK here.

I don't like the current narrative that some people are pushing that any sort of negotiating on the current deal we have with the EU is some sort of treasonous viewpoint. The current deal was pushed through and I think most reasonable people, on both sides (leave \ remain) appreciated that it was only ever going to be a stop gap measure until we could negotiate something more permanent but there are some people who seem to think any sort of ongoing relationship with the EU goes against Brexit!

We've left the EU to be able to have more control over our country and trade deals. This includes trade deals with the EU!

This is a good point. Cant help but feel the EU will want to make an example out of us if we do go crawling back to them though. Happy to be wrong.

Will rejoining the EU magically solve inflation and high costs etc.? I dont know, Im no expert, but whether we are an EU member or not, it wont be the end of the world.

Hopefully the positivity of this poster proves to be correct.

desert_santa posted...

This is a good point. Cant help but feel the EU will want to make an example out of us if we do go crawling back to them though. Happy to be wrong.

Tbh, I don't think they care about us enough for this.

They are unlikely to give us numerous privileges, but I doubt we'd see much heavy handedness outside of perhaps Spain, with Gibraltar for example.

But saying otherwise feeds into the narrative of 'British exceptionalism' and 'nasty EU' some like to fool the public with.

Its not like Brexit won by some huge margin.

Maybe if Rejoin reaches 60% itll be worth to start considering.

As a citizen of Portugal, while I dont want the UK to be made an example of, I also dont think that if they ever rejoin the UK should get all of its benefits back.

They should join on the same terms as the rest of us.

Brexit was a grotesque act of self-harm, brought on by gaslighting.

The sooner it can be remedied, the better.

SHRlKE posted...

We've left the EU to be able to have more control over our country and trade deals. This includes trade deals with the EU!

Was part of that control getting rid of foreigners? Or is that still the quiet part nobody wants to acknowledge?

you shouldn't be able to resign and rejoin an organization the size of the EU willy-nilly without consequences. either pay for your fuck up with lopsided trade deals outside the union or by rejoining it with less than favorable terms

or i guess they could ask biden if he'd let them become the 51st state

loafy013 posted...

Was part of that control getting rid of foreigners? Or is that still the quiet part nobody wants to acknowledge?

As Frankie Boyle once said, people voted to leave Europe because they didn't like people from Pakistan moving here.

Good luck trying to convince people that we'd have to give up the pound and join Schengen if we wanted to rejoin.

Kaiganeer posted...

you shouldn't be able to resign and rejoin an organization the size of the EU willy-nilly without consequences. either pay for your fuck up with lopsided trade deals outside the union or by rejoining it with less than favorable terms

or i guess they could ask biden if he'd let them become the 51st state

That would be perfect, we would surround Canada on three sides.

We could work on absorbing it and then control all of North America as god intended!

loafy013 posted...

Was part of that control getting rid of foreigners? Or is that still the quiet part nobody wants to acknowledge?

It's a stupid argument from the leavers because we had mechanisms before to curb immigration that we never used.

"take back control" while an effective slogan isn't very truthful because we didn't even utilise the powers we had before!

Immigration is a constant talking point for the main parties. They will never fix it because of two reasons...

1) If they ever solved the issue then they wouldn't be able to use it to worry the population about the "evil immigrants".

2) The dirty secret is we need immigration. We don't have a great birth rate at the moment and we also have a need for people to do not only the crappy jobs no one wants to do but also the more skilled jobs where we've had braindrain in the UK due to outsourcing.

What is ironic is that the fear of "250 million people could walk into the UK tomorrow from the EU!" is obviously bullshit because we're due to sign a trade deal with India which is going to open us up to a population of almost a billion people!

It also doesn't take into account the difference between the freedom of movement in the EU and non EU immigrants and refugees. I kid you not I heard an argument that someone voted for Brexit because they wanted less middle eastern people coming over. Absolutely stupid.

ai123 posted...

As Frankie Boyle once said, people voted to leave Europe because they didn't like people from Pakistan moving here.

haha exactly my point I just made. I wish it was just a joke...

loafy013 posted...

Was part of that control getting rid of foreigners? Or is that still the quiet part nobody wants to acknowledge?

And the best part is that immigration has gone up since brexit as we now have less control of who comes in.

They want their tea AND crumpets? Bastards had their chance.

SHRlKE posted...

UK here.

I don't like the current narrative that some people are pushing that any sort of negotiating on the current deal we have with the EU is some sort of treasonous viewpoint. The current deal was pushed through and I think most reasonable people, on both sides (leave \ remain) appreciated that it was only ever going to be a stop gap measure until we could negotiate something more permanent but there are some people who seem to think any sort of ongoing relationship with the EU goes against Brexit!

We've left the EU to be able to have more control over our country and trade deals. This includes trade deals with the EU!

To add on to this: Europe will always be an important region to the UK because of simple geography. You can literally just hop on a train from London, spend a day in multiple countries in west Europe and make it home for dinner. You can hop on a boat and have easy access to several European countries. If we want to sell stuff, there are hundreds of millions of people who are fairly economically well off. Even if we seek no special deals or anything (which would be a mistake) we will still be dealing with them the most.

Wasn't it always about 50/50? Just the Brexit side had slightly more

TroutPaste posted...

Wasn't it always about 50/50? Just the Brexit side had slightly more

Basically.

51 to 49 or something, I recall.

Funkydog posted...

Basically.

51 to 49 or something, I recall.

51.89% to 48.11%, to be precise. That's basically margin of error.

reincarnator07 posted...

51.89% to 48.11%, to be precise. That's basically margin of error.

Seems like something that important should require a 2/3 vote, not a simple majority.

brestugo posted...

Seems like something that important should require a 2/3 vote, not a simple majority.

That would not have been acceptable to the Eurosceptics that David Cameron was trying to placate with the referendum.

The entire reason we have Brexit is that splits in the Tory party were threatening to loosen their grip on power.

brestugo posted...

Seems like something that important should require a 2/3 vote, not a simple majority.

It wasnt even something they had to abide by, I recall.

But yeah, it should have had a sizeable majority given it wasnt a mandatory vote so like.. maybe 1/3 Of the population voted for it?

Trelve posted...

Good luck trying to convince people that we'd have to give up the pound and join Schengen if we wanted to rejoin.

wdym

Choco posted...

wdym

Countries that join the EU have to pledge to use the euro instead of their own currency and join the border free schengen zone. Even the most die hard europhile would struggle selling that to UK voters.

Leopards eating faces. Even if the EU did accept them back, they would get none of the special privileges they had before. Bye bye Pound, hello Euro.

The UK had their chance at a good time but chose to be stupid. Let them claw their way back in at the bottom and earn that trust back.

Same to anything the USA does if trumpers get into control.

You accept the grift, you get the ditch.

Trelve posted...

Countries that join the EU have to pledge to use the euro instead of their own currency and join the border free schengen zone.

really? since when?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I read this aloud to myself right now and oddly enough my accent, which is not a go-to by any means, was like Nigel from Family Guy, the dude who buys the Drunken Clam, turns it into a pub, and planned to burn it down for the insurance money. Also has Eliza x Stewie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UL84ztB028

Unfortunately the only clip I could find is him creepily flirting.

Alteres posted...

That would be perfect, we would surround Canada on three sides.

We could work on absorbing it and then control all of North America as god intended!

CA is still a British colony so we'd get ownership rights over it by default.

Currently, Britain seems to let most of their colonies self-govern, but we both know U.S. ain't gonna play that shit.

We'll drag those polite Canadians down to our level yet.

Choco posted...

really? since when?

It's true in principle, but in practice can be postponed indefinitely.

Adoption of the Euro isn't something countries have to do on admission (that wouldn't be good for anyone), but only when they meet certain convergence criteria. Countries can basically avoid meeting those criteria.

Schengen is something countries are obliged to join in the future. But there's no timetable.

Basically, if the UK wanted back in, and the EU wanted the UK back in, these would not be dealbreakers.

The EU is a pragmatic organization that will act in its best interests either way. It isnt going to disadvantage itself to punish the UK because they are all angry with the British for being stupid and right wing and think they should be humbled. If they want them back, they'll do a deal everyone can live with.

I do wonder if the EU would actually force adoption of the Euro given Britain (London) does play a role in the global market and the strength (lol) of the pound.

A much better argument for letting them keep it compared to many other European countries.

SHRlKE posted...

UK here.

I don't like the current narrative that some people are pushing that any sort of negotiating on the current deal we have with the EU is some sort of treasonous viewpoint. The current deal was pushed through and I think most reasonable people, on both sides (leave \ remain) appreciated that it was only ever going to be a stop gap measure until we could negotiate something more permanent but there are some people who seem to think any sort of ongoing relationship with the EU goes against Brexit!

We've left the EU to be able to have more control over our country and trade deals. This includes trade deals with the EU!

no you left due to lying BS from the government and their supporters

Funkydog posted...

I do wonder if the EU would actually force adoption of the Euro given Britain (London) does play a role in the global market and the strength (lol) of the pound.

A much better argument for letting them keep it compared to many other European countries.

For currencies to be adopted successfully, they have to fulfill certain criteria. Economies have to converge in terms of interest rates, debt, inflation, monetary policy.

If you just switch while ignoring those factors, you'll do a lot of damage to everyone's economy. It just won't work.

Several EU countries have opt outs of the Euro because the EU recognized that it was better to keep them in with an opt out than to force them into a position where they would want to leave. They may feel its better to have the UK in the EU, even if it means letting them keep the pound.

It's all about pragmatism: doing what is best for the economies of EU members.

Funkydog posted...

I do wonder if the EU would actually force adoption of the Euro given Britain (London) does play a role in the global market and the strength (lol) of the pound.

A much better argument for letting them keep it compared to many other European countries.

I agree with this.

Trelve posted...

Countries that join the EU have to pledge to use the euro instead of their own currency and join the border free schengen zone. Even the most die hard europhile would struggle selling that to UK voters.

There are differing levels of membership.

Switzerland doesnt have the Euro. We didnt when we were a member.

Neither do Poland. Denmark. Bulgaria. Sweden. There are a few others as well I cant remember off the top of my head.

SHRlKE posted...

Switzerland doesnt have the Euro. We didnt when we were a member.

switzerland used to be an eu member??

Choco posted...

switzerland used to be an eu member??

If I'd known that earlier, it would have made my family's attempted relocation to Switzerland so much easier!

SHRlKE posted...

There are differing levels of membership.

Switzerland doesnt have the Euro. We didnt when we were a member.

Neither do Poland. Denmark. Bulgaria. Sweden. There are a few others as well I cant remember off the top of my head.

Not sure about the others, but Sweden signed that they will switch to Euro "later" when they joined EU.

My only real point was that its not quite as clear cut as Trelve makes out.

Choco posted...

switzerland used to be an eu member??

I think most people wanting to rejoin in the UK would take a Swiss style deal with the EU.

Foppe posted...

Not sure about the others, but Sweden signed that they will switch to Euro "later" when they joined EU.

It's one of those 'when the time is right' things.

In other words, it's been booted into the long grass, where it will stay indefinitely. The EU will never force Sweden to join.

Switzerland has never been an EU member.

Though they do have a lot of bilateral agreements with the EU, making them the closest non-EU partner. For example, there is freedom of movement between the EU and Switzerland, they have access to the free market, and also support some of the EUs budget.

Funny enough, when the Euro was created some Swiss companies actually wanted Switzerland to adopt the Euro.

It's like they were sold a bad bill of goods by conservatives preying on people's fear and using bigotry and nationalism.

Good thing that shit doesn't happen in America... oh wait.

Fuck.

Torgo posted...

It's like they were sold a bad bill of goods by conservatives preying on people's fear and using bigotry and nationalism.

Good thing that shit doesn't happen in America... oh wait.

Fuck.

At least your bigots and nationalists are conservatives anyway.

We need the votes of bigots and nationalists to kick the Tories out.