EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

"Ursula von der Leyen is a trained Gynecologist.
I'm confident she will recognise Boris for what he really is."

This is quite the take;

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/if-boris-doesn-t-blink-over-brexit-keir-starmer-becomes-unelectable

Internally, they probably are.

Some EU countries are happy to route tax via evasion routes (like The Netherlands / Ireland Luxembourgh) which might not work if you set up shop in the EU to process EU banking work there, rather than in the UK.

The city of london/offshore UK tax havens are really something else though.

But the CoL may still contribute more in UK tax income than all the other banking work that is now being moved abroad with profits being generated/taxed there?

Patrick O'Flynn is the thickest of all the many idiots.

"...voters will see that Johnson did his best to reach a deal but had the bottle to walk away when the EU was only prepared to offer terms that would have humiliated Britain"

Jesus Fucking Christ. I know to expect the "it's the EU's fault we've made our quality of life objectively worse" line of thinking but it's already happening.

I think the problem is that our politicians genuinely don't seem to get that we are no longer a partner of the EU's, we're a third country trying to strike a trade deal. The EU no longer owes us friendship. We want access to their market and they will not grant it unless its in their interests.

The fact that we keep framing it as 'bullying' is symptomatic of this failure to recognise our status as a supplicant.

I think the Brexiters are belatedly realising that we really can't have our cake and eat it. Better late than never eh lads.

"...voters will see that Johnson did his best to reach a deal but had the bottle to walk away when the EU was only prepared to offer terms that would have humiliated Britain"

...what happened to they need use, more then we need them.

I think the problem is that our politicians genuinely don't seem to get that we are no longer a partner of the EU's, we're a third country trying to strike a trade deal.

I don't know if it's even that. I think that the stain of British Exceptionalism runs deep in them, they probably think that we're better (and always have been, even when a member).
I doubt they thought of the rest of the EU as partners, and certainly not as equals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6BW-mvkRjE

Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister - fiction imitating fact or the reverse? Best non-sweary political programme ever.

Shows how low the PM's advisors need to go to reach our leader's intellect.
The clip with Johnson's Twins analogy looked not only embarassing but he looked uneasy and clearly knew that a deal was now beyond his control. I don't think he has got any doubts that the People cannot forgive him because Jan-Feb are going to be horrible.

It can only be said so many times but I can't believe people voted for these fucking shitbirds. Worst Christmas since... the last one

He has no consistency or vision he just wants to be popular. He says what he thinks gets him attention, which is completely unsuitable to such an important role in politics.

YET the Cons let him undermine May at any turn rather than knowing this could lead to him as PM. Lots of enablers there and I've no time for them either or their fake tears. EDIT bar the people he kicked out for speaking up...

They thought they could control the beast I guess, problem is once you let a narrative get out of hand (their narrative...C****ings/Oven Ready Deal...) you can no longer control it.

Stupid stupid people. Or not. Perhaps he's just ready to be used by them to get Brexit out, then Sunak or somebody else takes his place.

They had no loyalty either to Thatcher.

Look maybe I'm blinkered and totally wrong, but I just cannot see the demise of London as one of the top two global financial centres because of Brexit.

It depends on the ancillary stuff to a degree. I heard loads of people saying that they were going to leave if nondom fees came in. Surprise, surprise when it came to it the prospect of moving their families away from UK private schools and London life suddenly didn't seem all that appealing. But a general feeling that you're not welcome anymore coupled with shitloads of life Admin might play out differently for some people than simply coughing up some money.

Imo the greater worry is that with advances in technology, Brexit is a great motivator for many larger institutions and employers to restructure how they operate and reduce staff. In that event it is all well and good having billions flowing through financial services, but if they're hardly employing anyone a huge amount of tax revenue and economic stimulus disappears. It is also the perfect time for lots of smaller services to move to places like Malta.

This won't happen to a great extent. London has been a global financial centre for eons and that will continue to be the case post-Brexit. Some revenue will leave but the vast majority of the financial services sector and it's ancillary structures (accounting, law, consulting, etc) will continue to be, for better or worse, a large part of the UK economy. You're just not going to see investment banks, hedge funds, investment management firms, etc. up sticks and move their entire operation to mainland Europe en-masse. Some smaller firms will do so but they will be the exception rather than the norm.

It's a great example of the cognitive dissonance in the Conservative party that the same party who are now reassuring us that financial institutions won't move abroad due to Brexit is the same party who have told us for years that we have to have low taxes and light regulations for financial institutions because these 'wealth creators' are highly mobile and will move abroad at the drop of a hat if taxes go up or regulations become stricter.

Well I'm not going to reward this idiocy by paying money for our new massive surplus of fish. Although maybe I won't have a choice if the turnip factories can't cope with demand.

I'm sure the rat farms will be able to take up the slack.

I don't know if it's even that. I think that the stain of British Exceptionalism runs deep in them, they probably think that we're better (and always have been, even when a member).

I doubt they thought of the rest of the EU as partners, and certainly not as equals.

That's a better way of phrasing it actually. It could actually be either. The UK government expects either deference (if they're motivated by English Exceptionalism) or loyalty (if they see them as partners) from the EU.

But either way the EU owes us neither. We are a third country seeking a trade agreement and no deal will hurt us much more than it will hurt them. We know the EU are ruthless in their protection of the single market - it's one of the reasons I think we're better off in than out - so why would we expect them to make exceptions for us? The only explanation is some kind of disconnect from reality.

Similarly I know someone who is blasé about the problems that Brexit will cause, but is deeply concerned about the cost of attempting to reach carbon-zero.

rat farm

That's not a nice way of talking about Eton.

Looks like we’re going to war over the fishes:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/11/four-navy-ships-to-help-protect-uk-waters-in-case-of-no-deal-brexit

Designed by an Austrian. Could also be the Swiss version...

But yes, xenophobic and a moron. "I'm unemployed but at least..."

I wish these people would all fuck off and die.

With the "special" American chicken and delays to medical imports this will likely happen... to everyone. :S

The UK lost a previous altercation over fishing, in the '70s, the 'Cod War' to Iceland!
I doubt the 2 on 2 off Royal Navy vessels will do much to prevent incursions into our claimed territorial waters.

I very much hope they'll work hard to prevent the fish from leaving or entering UK territorial waters, too. It's not proper sovereignty with freedom of movement.

This is what the rest of the world is seeing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XeDvKqI4E