There was the general election needed to have the referendum, and then the two general elections that happened afterwards, either of which was a chance to change direction.
If more people had been willing to apply the kind of logic you apply to Brexit to the ratification of the Lisbon treaty - which genuinely had no democratic mandate whatsoever - we would not be in this mess. I think people unfamiliar with the landscape of euroscepticism in the UK underestimate how much of a tipping point that was, both in terms of turning moderate scepticis into hard-core anti-EU campaigners, providing the leavers with a stick to beat Cameron (The “Cast-Iron” guarantee) and making it electorally attractive to propose an in-out referendum in the first place (to such an extent that the oppurtunist and pro-EU LibDems were the first party to propose it seriously - at least in part to try and heal the rift within the party caused by Lisbon ratification). Also it completely vindicated those talking about the “ratchet” effect of being in the EU, whereby despite a solid majority against further integration it could still happen, and be irreversible short of leaving.
I think one of her biggest issues for Scotland is they don’t have a net zero budget and require funds from England to balance their budget. If they went independent they might have to make some serious budget cuts. But maybe the loss of trade right now is worse than if they stayed in Great Britain so it would balance out.
Leaving the EU was dumb. Dropping the Pound Sterling would be even dumber, unless accompanied by a common fiscal regime across the whole EU (which is never going to happen).
The UK had a great setup and it shot itself in the foot with that stoooopid referendum.
And even if you were to treat these general elections as purely about a single topic, the winning party in each of them won with a minority of the popular vote (37% - 44%). Most voters voted for parties who did indeed want to change direction on Brexit.
If making it clear you are the kind of cynical fuck who is willing to say “no vote is necessary for us to do what we want, but 1 referendum and 3 elections aren’t enough for you to do what you want” is whataboutism then it’s the kind of whataboutism I enjoy.
Ah, we’re doing the regularly scheduled QT3 Brexit piss and moan huh?
I reckon it’ll be decades before there is any political will to reopen the Europe question again. Do you think any current political party is gonna look back at the recent political turmoil and go, “yup, I reckon we could do with some more of that”. On the plus side, if you really want back in the EU then Nigel Farage has given you a pretty good blueprint on how to achieve it ;)
I mean… this is the Brexit thread, I’m not sure what you were expecting to find. Unless it was discussion about pizza or Pop Tarts, I could understand that.
Eh… I think we’ve seen this song and dance a couple of times now. BJ and cronies make a stink about how the EU is violating the UK’s sovereignty; EU negotiators furrow their brows and warn about consequences, much ink is spilled in newspapers all over Europe, and at the end of the day, BJ rolls over (because he has no other real option) and the EU gets it’s way.
So far it has impacted the lives of almost everyone in Great Britain in a negative way… except the rich. Asking this thread to put a happy spin on the disaster you live with now is kind of weird isn’t it?
If you don’t believe me, do this: List the positives for what Brexit has done for the country, and then list all the negatives. I mean, the right-wing rags complain constantly now about the troubles Brexit has caused. The most stalwart Brexit pushers in fishermen and shellfish industries are now admitting it was a huge mistake.
Investopedia leans a bit right but look at their winners and losers of Brexit. It’s almost all losers for Britain and the one good thing for Britain has turned into a loss since the article was written.
Except for making the richest people in Britain richer, and getting different colored passports, what major positives have come out of Brexit?
I really think you’re overlooking the importance of what color your passport is. Do you not understand the psychological impact of having the wrong color?
