EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

@JWestland / @hippy - Yeah I think the EUSS letter. I'll pass on the info to them; cheers

My parents tend to do the ferry which usually has slightly more personal contact with the border people unfortunately. I do think there's an element of older people fussing about their stress though.

Another news from a small nation; China no longer have special tie with the UK.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/01/brexit-added-nearly-6bn-to-uk-food-bills-in-two-years-research-finds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Digging in...6% rise over two years. 1.1% extra cost of overall budget for lower incomes, government sees nothing back from all the paperwork costs.

Less competition for GB food producers but that doesn't help consumer prices.

Bremoanerz gonna moan.. This is nearly as good as Raf's heart attack story..

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/02/brexit-poor-people-paying-eat-debate-human

UK has fallen out of the top 10 list of trading partners with Germany, down from place 5 in 2016, overtaken by the Czech Republic, haha.

https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/brexit-grossbritannien-faellt-aus-top-ten-der-deutschen-handelspartner-a-cbe61fcb-6953-4d05-99ec-79b6f9a5e78d

Spoiler alert: it's in German.

Went for a walk in the countryside at the weekend - saw acre after acre of apple trees which haven't been harvested this year because they haven't had the labour. We filled our boots, pockets and bags - even in December, there were loads of lovely apples still on the trees for the picking. But thousands upon thousands on the floor, rotten and wasted. A real obvious illustration of the self-mutilation England brought on itself.

on the floor, rotten and wasted

Maybe a bumper year for wildlife?

https://belfastmedia.com/north-s-top-civil-servant-confirms-british-government-wont-match-eu-funding

Small local charities helping vulnerable people losing out as EU funding is not matched by the UK.

This whole project reality thing really isn't fun anymore...but I am not so sure Starmer and his "make Brexit work" will restore all funding to EU levels, I hope he will.

The project reality is askin to frog in boiling water, just very slow to realised.

I remember talking to a Brexit taxi driver, he voted for economic reasons (I know) he had nothing against immigrants and the EU.

I said to him I wasn't so sure Westminster would replace EU funding and here we are....it's just ugh and with cost of living charities are hit too :(

Debated whether to put this in the Starmer thread or here as its relevant to both. A particularly excellent piece from the always excellent Chris Grey blog proposing a new strategy for Labour on SM membership:

https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/theres-better-brexit-strategy-available.html

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-protocol-bill-shelved-until-new-year-to-allow-time-for-february-deal-with-eu-reports-42211278.html

Hmmm almost as if a trade war with the EU isn't such a hot idea. Sumak is publicly all for Brexit but he's clearly practical enough to know where to stop.

Interesting perhaps they have nothing to lose by pointing at the Tories blocking any realignment.

The EU offered a temporary realignment for food standards for NI and permanent plant standard alignment which are easy wins.

For SME though only full SM for goods / customs union alignment may be enough, not an easy win.

If labour can get GB into what NI has it will help, all the fantastic new tradedeals suck anyway.

Shame that I have to write on the outside of a Xmas gift exactly what it is when I send it to the EU.

Thanks for ruining CHRISTMAS Brexit.

What fucking ruins it is when you get a gift, with contents written on the outside which the postie doesn't let you see and you have to pay for it... and it's shit you don't want anyway. I'm not bitter.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/18/anger-brexit-tories-red-wall-conservatives-reform-uk-party-immigration?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

It's almost as of taking back control of EU immigration didn't appease the racists who just don't want refugees and UKiP never really went away.

If Farage comes back to lead "reform" UK then 🤢

https://twitter.com/MarieAnnUK/status/1605927959696740354

What were you voting for? "Do you know, I'm not really sure"

Good grief

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64083802

So early retirement is the main cause for the current labour shortage according to this BBC article. Hidden down the article is "changes to migration" but I feel another government spin on why we are struggling and it won't be Brexit.

I stopped work 2 years ago. I’m below retirement age. Is this whole economic collapse thing my fault? Sorry gize.

Yes, go back to work! :)

Hope you enjoy your early retirement. My parents are busy as ever volunteering rather than working.

I wait and see if this will end the low wage, "low skill" economy.

I loathe the way Brexit played people in the same economic status against each other just because of where they were born and if this was needed to improve wages it pisses me off, but at least it's something.

But as rent is still not well controlled, education at uni level is still expensive, some areas have permanent unemployment and low wage issues and care budgets for councils haven't gone up I'm not so sure it will work well without proper government intervention on those issues.

Long term illness may also play a role, covid worsened health issues and of course in poor areas that effect is stronger than in "I sold my house and can now retire screw work" areas.

Complex problems Vs simple solutions...

I don’t find the “early retirement” explanation very convincing. Not least because the way the UK economy is set up, no-one who does anything that actually matters could afford to retire early. Maybe some senior NHS docs caught in the weird LTA traps.

But the current combination of falling asset values and high inflation might solve this with some “unretirements” over the next few years anyway.