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UK Prime Minister Theresa May has given a major speech calling for a clean break from the EU:
Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". But the prime minister promised to push for the "greatest possible" access to the single market following Brexit. In a long-awaited speech, she also announced Parliament would get a vote on the final deal agreed between the UK and the European Union. And Mrs May promised an end to "vast contributions" to the European Union.
Previously: Brexit: The Focus is on the EU Single Market
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PM Theresa May: UK Must Leave the EU Single Market
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If all the world's economists were laid end to end, we wouldn't reach a
conclusion.
-- William Baumol
(Score: 1) by Kawumpa on Tuesday January 17 2017, @02:24PM
I am still waiting for someone to outline tangible benefits of leaving the EU and how to realistically achieve them.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by isostatic on Tuesday January 17 2017, @02:32PM
There are all sorts of benefits. Some for the start: The US will be able to get a much more beneficial trade deal with the UK rather than with the EU as a whole -- exporting food that would be deemed unsafe in the EU for example. People like Murdoch will have more power to pass his laws, when he talks to Brussels they laugh, when he talks to Downing Street they listen (ala Blair), or they get booted out (ala Major). Frankfurt has a great opportunity to take some of the financial industry out of London.
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Wednesday January 18 2017, @11:53AM
Don't forget the bonfire of worker's rights. Businesses have already been drawing up their wishlist of rights to dispose of, the top one being holiday entitlement for overtime.
We also get to devalue our currency quite significantly, making us more competitive on wages with India and China. Countries are lining up to do trade deals with us too, because they know we are up a certain creek without a paddle and will be willing to accept whatever outrageous terms they dictate. We have taken back control and are now free to give it away to other countries, rather than being limited to just EU rules which we mostly wrote.
Oh, and one day we might be able to get rid of all the dirty immigrants, that's the most important bit. Who needs doctors and farm staff and a diverse culture when we can Make Britain Racially Pure Again.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 2, Disagree) by FunkyLich on Tuesday January 17 2017, @02:42PM
I don't mean to rain on your parade but I think you'd have to brace yourself for some long waiting time.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 17 2017, @02:53PM
I hear she's going to make Britain great again.
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Wednesday January 18 2017, @11:58AM
The "great" in Great Britain refers to the greater British Isles, i.e. the bit containing England, Scotland and Wales. Technically it doesn't include Northern Ireland, or most of our other various territories.
So given that Scotland is quite likely to have another independence referendum, and somewhat likely to leave the United Kingdom, it won't really be Great Britain any more.
Gibraltar is completely fucked too, not that anyone seems to care or bother to mention.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 17 2017, @02:53PM
By cutting off Europe's main financial center from the EU, the financial sector might just shrink to reasonable size relative to the rest of the economy, therefore restoring sanity.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by aim on Tuesday January 17 2017, @03:00PM
How about the independence of Scotland, soon following Brexit? Disbandment of the scottish naval base for the Tridents subs?
Maybe even Northern Ireland quitting the UK, possibly uniting with Ireland?
(Score: 3, Funny) by theluggage on Tuesday January 17 2017, @03:27PM
I am still waiting for someone to outline tangible benefits of leaving the EU and how to realistically achieve them.
...we may see an end to 40 years of endless arguments about whether we should be in the EU. Maybe. Oh, and the government will need a new excuse for imposing bureaucracy and superfluous legislation.
Then in 10 years time we'll join the USA in return for help in airlifting the royal family out of various palaces in the newly-declared Independent European States of Central London and Scotland. By then, though, USA will mean a hard choice between the Coastal Federation of Democratic-with-a-big-D States (aka Disneyland) or the Central Republic of the American People (aka. Trumpton) - although if we go with Trumpton they'll also have the skills to help us re-build Hadrian's wall and fortify the M25 central reservation to keep out EU migrants.
(Score: 1) by Kawumpa on Tuesday January 17 2017, @04:39PM
...we may see an end to 40 years of endless arguments about whether we should be in the EU. Maybe. Oh, and the government will need a new excuse for imposing bureaucracy and superfluous legislation.
I doubt that. In the medium term, the EU will still be the scapegoat for every piece of legislation and of course for every bad economic event, because they forced it on the UK or because they are punishing the UK for leaving. Nothing is ever Westminster's fault. Maybe the UK, or parts of it..., desperately need one big delusion. It used to be the world beating, title contending English national football team, but that myth seems to have been busted. Now it appears to be suffering from the delusion that it can achieve international economic and political influence on the same level the EU, China or the US can on its own. No European country can do that.
Maybe you're right and after Scotland, NI and Wales (once they realised that they shot themselves in both feet) have seceded, England will join Trumpistan. Interesting times...
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Tuesday January 17 2017, @11:58PM
> [...] England will join Trumpistan.
Scotland, it appears, is welcome to join:
Just arrived in Scotland. Place is going wild over the vote. They took their country back, just like we will take America back. No games!
-- https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/746272130992644096 [twitter.com]
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Wednesday January 18 2017, @12:01PM
They keep kicking the immigration can down the road. They could stop more than half of it tomorrow if they wanted to, as it is non-EU immigration, and put severe limits on EU migration in place too. But they don't. They keep avoiding doing anything, because they need those immigrants (fee paying students, skilled workers, farm staff).
Once they can no longer blame it on the EU they will have a real problem. Economic suicide or unpopular immigration.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday January 17 2017, @06:10PM
> have the skills to help us re-build Hadrian's wall
Well, as soon as Scotland declares it wants a two-state solution, the English can both rebuild the wall and start settlements in the middle of the North Bank, declaring the Lochs and the sub base to be an essential strategic asset that they will never part with.
Should buy them at least 60 years...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 17 2017, @06:48PM
Benefits? Surely you can pull out the Brexit "messanging" from 6 months ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC8qO1nyYoM [youtube.com]
Take Control.
Save Money.
Save the NHS.
Invest in Science.
Get change.
The safer choice.
I think we'll get plenty of No. 1 on the list and not much of anything else.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 17 2017, @06:31PM
Benefits: we can gaze into our own navel without interruption for at least 20 years patting ourselves on the back occasionally for have a large empire once.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 17 2017, @08:47PM
Empires are a lot of work, mate. Wouldn't you rather smoke a bowl instead?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by TheRaven on Tuesday January 17 2017, @06:32PM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday January 18 2017, @10:19AM
The irony bein g that while Westminster rarely spends outside of the south east, the EU did. The most deprived areas of the uk had the most eu funding. The poorest people in the uk had the most eu protection. Those deprived areas voted out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 17 2017, @09:33PM
The EU can become a real country. The UK can remain with the Pound, in 5-eyes, and a commonwealth nation.