Morris Minor Owners Club

amgrave wrote:Nah, being surrounded by sea we can swim

Yep, and we should also be able to more intelligently manage that same swimming area for the remaining fish surrounding 'our' island, instead of this daft present EU 'fishing quota' system involving chucking back tons of perfectly good but by then dead fish even after the greedy 'free for all' of fishing from all and sundry from other EU fishing vessels.
Hugh Fearnley 'wots his name' a year or so ago had already suggested some very practical ideas to suggest as a basis to design a 'sustainable' home British fishing policy. If the politician given responsibility for fisheries and food then would kindly have the courtesy to look again at these ideas in readiness for when we regain control of our own fishing grounds from beuaracrats who have been sittiing stubbornly on this daft wasteful policy in Brussels for so long.

Winston Churchill had many famous sayings one of which was, if you forgive my Translation from the German that I know

,"Ask the common man on the street of his opinion and you know straight away what is wrong with Democracy".

Anyway, getting away from the Emotion, the other member states are on the whole dismayed that such a prominent member wishes to leave but at the same time not totally sorry. Whenever reforms or combined policies were to be agreed it was nearly always the UK blocking it. Now it seems Poland has taken over this role

But it would seem that the powers attributed to the Brussels decisions are over exemplified. There are so so many things which individual member states do over which Brussels has no control and no desire to control. Unless you study that sort of Thing you would not be Aware of Events unfolding in Spain or Slovakia or that the German government wish to intruduce tolls on the Autobahnen for private cars which the EU has opposed. Nearly all directives are endorsed by individual governments as the laws of individual countries demand, which in any case on important matters at least are AGREED by heads of state in advance.

Important though it is, Europe is much much more than a customs free trading Zone. Cultural exchanges, Student movements, University Research, ..the list is endless.

I am resigned to the fact that my previous Close ties to GB/UK will be lessened in the future. But I am not taken in by the democratic Argument which made it so. There are undoubtably powerful People in the UK that rejoice on the Brexit vote because their powers were most definately being eroded by Brussels. The government were not obliged to accept the result but it did because obviously it percieved a great advantage to be had. The popular rhetoric of having regained control over ones own affairs sounds quite convincing, if you want to be convinced, but is not real Politik any more. Governments have just as much control over their affairs as they ever did, the only difference being that they do so within agreed Parameters.

I do not believe the British have been stupid. I do not believe that the UK will either be better off outside of the EU nor vastly impoverished because of it. I do think however that the Referendum was a mistake in the first place and a lesson to other states to be more careful in such matters. Indeed., the result had the immediate effect on other countries voting where the right wing nationalists were gaining popularity. In Austria, Netherlands and France they were all defeated, and quite convincingly too.

So although the UK is leaving the EU, and we are all getting used to it now, its significance has not diminished and this may be the biggest British export of all.

I know we're a prominent member but Europe will adapt and as you mention they won't have the headache of us refusing to roll over on some things but I'm sure we will still be available to offer a hand if need be, especially in intelligence matters.

".........there are extremes on both sides of the fence, maybe people in this country were just as repulsed by the other."
Now THAT is almost certainly true. When people have things inflicted upon them which they don't like or agree with, they will react, and if they are not listened to, they are forced to 'up the anti' in some way or another. And, in some ways, I believe a number of people who voted Brexit were protesting against an arrogant elite that had failed to command their respect by inflicting massive and unwanted change on our traditional communities and values, rather than the general concept of the EU.

protesting against an arrogant elite that had failed to command their respect

An arrogant elite indeed, who fully expected to dupe us into continuing to follow the ever shrinking EU carrot and in doing so win the referendum by a comfortable margin.
They didn't believe they could ever loose and still can't believe they did in some ways, however they should realise by now that however much they carry on (Re)moaning, we are leaving.
So as I said the best thing for them to do, as their bitterness is doing no-one, especially not them, any good, is to pack their bags and go and live 'inside' their precious EU.
There they can preach to their hearts content.......
We still won't be listening........................

I find it disappointing but I suppose it's not surprising that the demographics on here and those of the most excitable Brexiters has a significant crossover. Us young(er) folk will live with this decision for longer. Everything I earn and own is now worth less and redundancies are now rife in my sector that, surprise, works with many European partners and is a worldwide exporter.

Manufacturing of the type that those speak of with such nostalgia is never coming back. That wasn't the EU though, it was technological advancement and the rise of international supply chains.

I think I may export myself and my skills this year. But as above, they're not listening.