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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » ‘Bluntly, older, mainly Leave, voters are dying—and younger, m

SystemSystem Posts: 11,008
edited May 2018 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » ‘Bluntly, older, mainly Leave, voters are dying—and younger, mainly Remain, voters are joining the electorate.’

There’s some analysis by Peter Kellner on a second referendum.

Read the full story here


«13

Comments

  • Options
    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,579
    First! Like Leave....
  • Options
    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,579
    I’m not sure I buy into this demographic changes analysis, back in the late nineties and early noughties I regularly read analysis, such as The strange death of Tory England, that similar demographic changes would mean the Tories would never win a majority let alone most seats for the foreseeable future.

    It goes back further than that.....and is based on the curious notion that as people get older they don't change their minds. Some don't. Some do, but frankly its bordering on fatuous.
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    brendan16brendan16 Posts: 2,315
    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,930
    I don’t think the problem with the dementia tax was that it would mean higher taxation; it was the way is was sprung on the electorate.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029

    I’m not sure I buy into this demographic changes analysis, back in the late nineties and early noughties I regularly read analysis, such as The strange death of Tory England, that similar demographic changes would mean the Tories would never win a majority let alone most seats for the foreseeable future.

    It goes back further than that.....and is based on the curious notion that as people get older they don't change their minds. Some don't. Some do, but frankly its bordering on fatuous.

    Demographics are the least of the Brexiteers' worries. Despite the Godwin/Goodhart school of thought, Brexit support is fragile, and as the idea that leaving the EU will do any of the things it said on the tin is proven to be false, that support will evaporate at very the moment its proponents are most politically exposed.
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    surbysurby Posts: 1,227
    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    Not always true. In the 80's there was a 25-44 cohorts known as Thatcher's children. They were right of centre and still are.
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,579

    I don’t think the problem with the dementia tax was that it would mean higher taxation; it was the way is was sprung on the electorate.

    Yes, if anything required careful rolling the pitch beforehand it was that.....something designed to cheese off elderly voters AND their adult children who hoped to inherit one day - however 'fair' it might be from society and the tax payers' point of view - required very very careful handling - not just revealed in a manifesto when the party presenting it looked like it was heading for a landslide.....

  • Options
    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,579

    I’m not sure I buy into this demographic changes analysis, back in the late nineties and early noughties I regularly read analysis, such as The strange death of Tory England, that similar demographic changes would mean the Tories would never win a majority let alone most seats for the foreseeable future.

    It goes back further than that.....and is based on the curious notion that as people get older they don't change their minds. Some don't. Some do, but frankly its bordering on fatuous.

    Brexit support is fragile
    Citation required.
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    DeClareDeClare Posts: 483
    Of course older people are dying more so that younger people as should always be the case and people who were legally children will mostly live to be adults.
    But don't forget that everyone who is alive is getting older and replacing the dead older people with new older people.
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    rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    edited May 2018
    FPT:



    I understand where you are coming, and have sympathy with it, but sadly all too frequently that's not what occurs.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-jewish-orthodox-councils-institutionalising-marital-captivity-and-upholding-discriminatory-a6803256.html
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scandal-of-women-trapped-in-marriages-by-jewish-courts-1765888.html
    http://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/17/fighting-be-free-lengths-orthodox-jewish-women-will-go-get-320536.html

    + more.

    These are the issues that face the Beth Din, and Islamic Sharia courts will have more given the generally lower levels of integration in the community.

    The issues with the Beth Din have been talked about for years, and the leaders have shown a certain contempt for the complaints. Given this, we should be tightening down on them, not opening up the concept, because it is simply not working.

    Having two separate legal systems like this will always lead to abuses.

    Yes, here in NYC there have been cases of Orthodox Jews being convicted of assaulting other such men to force them to grant their wives religious divorces.

    But what can be done? The women are perfectly free to get civil divorces and remarry in a civil ceremony. The religious law appears (I am not Jewish myself) to be clear though that they can't get a religious divorce and remarry religiously without their ex-husbands' consent. What is the state supposed to do? Intervene and overrule a religious doctrine? I think most people would be uncomfortable with that, even if they disagree with the doctrine.

    Ultimately the people involved chose to be bound by their religious law and its courts. They could chose not to be but don't because their faith is more important to them.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,970
    edited May 2018
    FPT: Mr. eek, I thought the engine situation for Red Bull was, as yet, unclear? Some murmuring of Aston Martin doing it.

    Edited extra bit: further in the future, I meant.

    Also, the removal of the MGU-H may disproportionately help Honda. That said, a good point I'd forgotten about.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Leavers have given Remain supporters absolutely no reason to change their minds. Perhaps they might consider starting on that now-difficult endeavour.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,970
    Mr. Meeks, did you mean that the other way around?
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    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,947
    rpjs said:

    FPT:



    I understand where you are coming, and have sympathy with it, but sadly all too frequently that's not what occurs.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-jewish-orthodox-councils-institutionalising-marital-captivity-and-upholding-discriminatory-a6803256.html
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scandal-of-women-trapped-in-marriages-by-jewish-courts-1765888.html
    http://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/17/fighting-be-free-lengths-orthodox-jewish-women-will-go-get-320536.html

    + more.

    These are the issues that face the Beth Din, and Islamic Sharia courts will have more given the generally lower levels of integration in the community.

    The issues with the Beth Din have been talked about for years, and the leaders have shown a certain contempt for the complaints. Given this, we should be tightening down on them, not opening up the concept, because it is simply not working.

    Having two separate legal systems like this will always lead to abuses.

    Yes, here in NYC there have been cases of Orthodox Jews being convicted of assaulting other such men to force them to grant their wives religious divorces.

    But what can be done? The women are perfectly free to get civil divorces and remarry in a civil ceremony. The religious law appears (I am not Jewish myself) to be clear though that they can't get a religious divorce and remarry religiously without their ex-husbands' consent. What is the state supposed to do? Intervene and overrule a religious doctrine? I think most people would be uncomfortable with that, even if they disagree with the doctrine.

    Ultimately the people involved chose to be bound by their religious law and its courts. They could chose not to be but don't because their faith is more important to them.
    The State intervenes to overrule religious doctrine all the time. And quite right too.
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    kle4kle4 Posts: 91,664
    As we saw with the dementia tax people might tell pollsters they like a particular policy, such as higher taxes to pay for health and social care. When the reality of that policy is about to be enacted and they are about to be made poorer support for that policy will collapse.

    No kidding. We get what we deserve.
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    eekeek Posts: 24,932

    I don’t think the problem with the dementia tax was that it would mean higher taxation; it was the way is was sprung on the electorate.

    +1 - I can't think of a worse possible way to announce that sort of policy. Given six months of drip fed news people would have been happy with it but to spring it from nowhere....
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    Mr. Meeks, did you mean that the other way around?

    No. See the thread header. Leavers cannot rely on their narrow majority enduring. They need to make converts.

    I suggest, though I'm not an expert in these matters, that calling them traitors, saboteurs and enemies of the people is not the best of starts.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,390

    FPT: Mr. eek, I thought the engine situation for Red Bull was, as yet, unclear? Some murmuring of Aston Martin doing it.

    Edited extra bit: further in the future, I meant.

    Also, the removal of the MGU-H may disproportionately help Honda. That said, a good point I'd forgotten about.

    Red Bull are biding their time to see what the next Honda upgrade looks like. Renault are a bit miffed by the delay.

    Similarly, Mercedes are giving Bottas a bit longer before they decide who to sign for next year....
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138
    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,970
    I see things are calming down in Italy:
    https://twitter.com/antoguerrera/status/1001116369151283202
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    SandpitSandpit Posts: 49,855
    edited May 2018

    FPT: Mr. eek, I thought the engine situation for Red Bull was, as yet, unclear? Some murmuring of Aston Martin doing it.

    Edited extra bit: further in the future, I meant.

    Also, the removal of the MGU-H may disproportionately help Honda. That said, a good point I'd forgotten about.

    The new engine rules are for 2021, RB are evaluating Honda in the STRs this season, with a view to using them in the senior team next year and in 2020. That’s more likely to happen than not, as they feel they’ll never be able to get the service they need from Renault when the French are running their own factory team.

    The 2021 thinking is of a collaboration between a number of British engineering manufacturers to produce the core of an engine, that could be rebadged as appropriate for a number of independent teams. Red Bull will call theirs an Aston Martin, McLaren might put their own badge on it, Williams or Force India might call it a Prodrive or a Cosworth but they’ll all be basically the same.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,799
    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    Not just probably, we know that they did, from polling. 18-29 year olds voted 61% Remain in 1975.

    I'd recommend Sean Trende's article, The God That Failed, to anyone who thinks that demographic change will bring them victory.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138
    It really is the political story of the moment but betting angles have so far been pretty limited.
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    Indigo1Indigo1 Posts: 47

    Mr. Meeks, did you mean that the other way around?

    No. See the thread header. Leavers cannot rely on their narrow majority enduring. They need to make converts.

    I suggest, though I'm not an expert in these matters, that calling them traitors, saboteurs and enemies of the people is not the best of starts.
    Most remainers are not quite as, how shall we put this politely, 'committed' as you, and even if they think Leave was a bad choice, many now want to see it taking place. I believe a recent poll had 'think that leave should happen' number somewhere in the mid 70's percentile.

    I am similarly not an expert, but I feel that calling leavers bigots, xenophobes and racists may also have slightly soured the relationship between the two camps.
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    TheWhiteRabbitTheWhiteRabbit Posts: 12,387
    DavidL said:

    It really is the political story of the moment but betting angles have so far been pretty limited.
    Only because the BF rules are unclear as to a PM nominated/waved through by the President but then loses a vote of confidence
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    EssexitEssexit Posts: 1,956

    Mr. Meeks, did you mean that the other way around?

    No. See the thread header. Leavers cannot rely on their narrow majority enduring. They need to make converts.

    I suggest, though I'm not an expert in these matters, that calling them traitors, saboteurs and enemies of the people is not the best of starts.
    Those insults (the last in particular) may have been seriously ill-judged, but they were never directed at 16.1 million Remain voters, only at a hardcore minority actively trying to reverse Brexit.

    Insults and jibes like xenophobe / uneducated / duped by a bus / nostalgic for white faces / carrot crunchers were and are directed at all 17.4 million Leave voters.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,970
    Mr. Sandpit, cheers for that info.

    Mr. L, indeed. Fresh elections would provide said opportunity, though.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    edited May 2018
    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
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    DeClareDeClare Posts: 483
    eek said:

    I don’t think the problem with the dementia tax was that it would mean higher taxation; it was the way is was sprung on the electorate.

    +1 - I can't think of a worse possible way to announce that sort of policy. Given six months of drip fed news people would have been happy with it but to spring it from nowhere....
    The Conservative campaign of 2017 was the worst since Labour's 1983 one. All they had to do is say that they would try to keep taxes as low as possible and they have to make cuts, but no cuts would apply to health and social care.

    No other party was advocating spending less on this area and in the first budget after the election, taxes could be raised to pay for 'Increased health and social care needs'.

    No need to mention dementia and no need to take people's homes off of them, after the election, put the costs on inheritance tax, stamp duties, income tax and VAT.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    DavidL said:

    At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again?

    That's easy. At the moment when the negative consequences of leaving become unambiguously clear. That moment will come before we actually leave. At the moment this is not yet well enough understood, in particular by Remain voters who currently favour 'getting on with it'.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
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    OllyTOllyT Posts: 4,913
    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    A counter argument would of course be that most commentators attribute the overwhelming yes votes in the Irish Same-sex marriage and abortion referendums to the replacement of older voters with younger ones over the last decade.

    You might be right that young remain voters might become pro Brexit in ten years time but I think I would bet on the opposite. I guess it will come down to whether the under 30's grow up blaming Brexit for all their problems in the same way as some people blamed all their problems on the EU. I'd be happy to place a sizeable bet on the UK having decided to rejoin the EU within 10 years but I'm not sure if such long-term bets exist!
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    rural_voterrural_voter Posts: 2,038
    dixiedean said:

    rpjs said:

    FPT:



    I understand where you are coming, and have sympathy with it, but sadly all too frequently that's not what occurs.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-jewish-orthodox-councils-institutionalising-marital-captivity-and-upholding-discriminatory-a6803256.html
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scandal-of-women-trapped-in-marriages-by-jewish-courts-1765888.html
    http://www.newsweek.com/2015/04/17/fighting-be-free-lengths-orthodox-jewish-women-will-go-get-320536.html

    + more.

    These are the issues that face the Beth Din, and Islamic Sharia courts will have more given the generally lower levels of integration in the community.

    The issues with the Beth Din have been talked about for years, and the leaders have shown a certain contempt for the complaints. Given this, we should be tightening down on them, not opening up the concept, because it is simply not working.

    Having two separate legal systems like this will always lead to abuses.

    Yes, here in NYC there have been cases of Orthodox Jews being convicted of assaulting other such men to force them to grant their wives religious divorces.

    But what can be done? The women are perfectly free to get civil divorces and remarry in a civil ceremony. The religious law appears (I am not Jewish myself) to be clear though that they can't get a religious divorce and remarry religiously without their ex-husbands' consent. What is the state supposed to do? Intervene and overrule a religious doctrine? I think most people would be uncomfortable with that, even if they disagree with the doctrine.

    Ultimately the people involved chose to be bound by their religious law and its courts. They could chose not to be but don't because their faith is more important to them.
    The State intervenes to overrule religious doctrine all the time. And quite right too.
    Indeed. During the periodic discussion of FGM, it always occurs to me that western, liberal, democratic countries should intervene to prevent male genital mutilation. Iceland is trying but of course faces religious reactionaries who want the assault to continue

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/18/iceland-ban-male-circumcision-first-european-country
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,579
    edited May 2018
    DavidL said:

    It really is the political story of the moment but betting angles have so far been pretty limited.
    Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse....

    https://twitter.com/leonardocarella/status/1001126240387059712
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    It really is the political story of the moment but betting angles have so far been pretty limited.
    Only because the BF rules are unclear as to a PM nominated/waved through by the President but then loses a vote of confidence
    I know very little about the Italian constitution but if the PM nominated by the President is immediately rejected by Parliament that looks seriously like a vote of no confidence in him, not just his nominee.
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    viewcodeviewcode Posts: 18,635
    Essexit said:

    ...Those insults (the last in particular) may have been seriously ill-judged, but they were never directed at 16.1 million Remain voters, only at a hardcore minority actively trying to reverse Brexit...

    You'll forgive me if I decline to believe that. You are only in control of the words you say, but you cannot draw conclusions about to whom other people meant to direct their remarks unless they tell you at the time. Given the contexts of the many remarks (particularly at the beginning, and definitely immediately after the referendum), your interpretation is not tenable. Even now some Leavers cannot use the word "Remainer" without spelling it "Remoaner", so I don't think your observation reflects reality.

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    Wulfrun_PhilWulfrun_Phil Posts: 4,597
    This part of the piece also takes something for granted:

    “Thirteen of 14 polls this year show slightly more people saying ‘wrong’ than ‘right’,” he said.
    “This indicates a small but consistent net move away from Brexit.”

    It could only be taken as indicating a net move away from Brexit if the polls before the referendum had proved capable of accurately predicting the result. Since the polls before the referendum were in fact also predicting a narrow win for Remain, consistently enough that the commentariat was basically taking that outcome for granted, they are in my book telling us that opinion is unchanged on Brexit, at least in terms of their capacity to measure it.
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    OllyT said:

    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    A counter argument would of course be that most commentators attribute the overwhelming yes votes in the Irish Same-sex marriage and abortion referendums to the replacement of older voters with younger ones over the last decade.

    You might be right that young remain voters might become pro Brexit in ten years time but I think I would bet on the opposite. I guess it will come down to whether the under 30's grow up blaming Brexit for all their problems in the same way as some people blamed all their problems on the EU. I'd be happy to place a sizeable bet on the UK having decided to rejoin the EU within 10 years but I'm not sure if such long-term bets exist!
    If you're in Northern Ireland, I'd suggest that such sentiment would tend towards creating a political consensus for unification so it's unlikely that *the UK* will rejoin, ever, if we leave.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    It really is the political story of the moment but betting angles have so far been pretty limited.
    Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse....

    https://twitter.com/leonardocarella/status/1001126240387059712
    I think his time has gone. If there is another election in September, which seems likely at the moment, I think his Forza Italia party will take a serious beating, possibly a UUP style meltdown. Their deal with the Lega was a deal with the devil from their perspective. How do they say that they cannot be trusted with government now?
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    EssexitEssexit Posts: 1,956
    viewcode said:

    Essexit said:

    ...Those insults (the last in particular) may have been seriously ill-judged, but they were never directed at 16.1 million Remain voters, only at a hardcore minority actively trying to reverse Brexit...

    You'll forgive me if I decline to believe that. You are only in control of the words you say, but you cannot draw conclusions about to whom other people meant to direct their remarks unless they tell you at the time. Given the contexts of the many remarks (particularly at the beginning, and definitely immediately after the referendum), your interpretation is not tenable. Even now some Leavers cannot use the word "Remainer" without spelling it "Remoaner", so I don't think your observation reflects reality.

    That's why I said 'directed', and also that they were ill-judged - all Remainers weren't the intended target but I appreciate some felt otherwise. The Remainer/Remoaner thing is the same - the latter doesn't include all Remain voters.
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    Indigo1Indigo1 Posts: 47

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Person C has been telling the voters that the EU can be meaningfully reformed from the inside with a straight face for most of the last 40 years, credibility problems all around it seems.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    Indigo1 said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Person C has been telling the voters that the EU can be meaningfully reformed from the inside with a straight face for most of the last 40 years, credibility problems all around it seems.
    Person D has been saying that staying out of the Euro would lead to progressive marginalisation and put us on a path to the exit that would be very damaging.

    Person D will be vindicated.
  • Options
    Indigo1Indigo1 Posts: 47

    Indigo1 said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Person C has been telling the voters that the EU can be meaningfully reformed from the inside with a straight face for most of the last 40 years, credibility problems all around it seems.
    Person D has been saying that staying out of the Euro would lead to progressive marginalisation and put us on a path to the exit that would be very damaging.

    Person D will be vindicated.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTv7UoK8oJY

    ;)
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    Indigo1 said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Person C has been telling the voters that the EU can be meaningfully reformed from the inside with a straight face for most of the last 40 years, credibility problems all around it seems.
    Person D has been saying that staying out of the Euro would lead to progressive marginalisation and put us on a path to the exit that would be very damaging.

    Person D will be vindicated.
    Yeah but nobody likes a smartarse so he still loses.
  • Options
    RogerRoger Posts: 18,891

    If 1.3 million Leavers die every two years in 26 years there wont be any left.

    Hartlepool will be a ghost town
  • Options
    viewcodeviewcode Posts: 18,635
    Essexit said:

    ...The Remainer/Remoaner thing is the same - the latter doesn't include all Remain voters...

    The same point applies. Making subdivisions in your head and stating that the slur doesn't apply to all is not enough.



  • Options
    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    Is this the same DavidL who yesterday was arguing that Leavers could endlessly renegotiate the final Brexit settlement? Because this one seems to be directly contradicting him.
  • Options
    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,579
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    Is this the same DavidL who yesterday was arguing that Leavers could endlessly renegotiate the final Brexit settlement? Because this one seems to be directly contradicting him.
    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.
  • Options
    Salivating over the death of over 17 million of your fellow countrymen is a great way to build bridges.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,799
    edited May 2018
    OllyT said:

    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    A counter argument would of course be that most commentators attribute the overwhelming yes votes in the Irish Same-sex marriage and abortion referendums to the replacement of older voters with younger ones over the last decade.

    You might be right that young remain voters might become pro Brexit in ten years time but I think I would bet on the opposite. I guess it will come down to whether the under 30's grow up blaming Brexit for all their problems in the same way as some people blamed all their problems on the EU. I'd be happy to place a sizeable bet on the UK having decided to rejoin the EU within 10 years but I'm not sure if such long-term bets exist!
    In 1972, US voters aged 18-29 supported McGovern by a margin of 2%, when everyone else voted for Nixon by a huge margin. 44 years later, the same cohort supported Trump by a huge margin.

    In 1974, the Conservatives finished 3rd among voters aged 18-34. 43 years on, 60% of that cohort voted Conservative.

    In 1975, 61% of 18-29 year olds supported Remain. 41years later, the same cohort voted heavily Leave.

    In 1997, Labour led by 21% among voters aged 18-34. Last year, the two parties were level -pegging among the same cohort.

    It's lazy thinking to assume that your opponents will just die off.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    DavidL said:

    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.

    Post Brexit scenario:

    - There's a border poll in Northern Ireland
    - People vote by 50-60% for reunification
    - Unionists demand assurances regarding the future relationship between GB and Ireland

    In this instance an application for EU accession from the UK's successor state Great Britain would make sense, and there would be a political imperative for the EU27 to look kindly upon it.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,799

    DavidL said:

    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.

    Post Brexit scenario:

    - There's a border poll in Northern Ireland
    - People vote by 50-60% for reunification
    - Unionists demand assurances regarding the future relationship between GB and Ireland

    In this instance an application for EU accession from the UK's successor state Great Britain would make sense, and there would be a political imperative for the EU27 to look kindly upon it.
    More likely, people vote to Remain part of the UK.
  • Options
    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:


    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.

    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    Is this the same DavidL who yesterday was arguing that Leavers could endlessly renegotiate the final Brexit settlement? Because this one seems to be directly contradicting him.
    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.
    I see. So the public will tolerate endless focus on relations with the EU, but only to precisely the level you desire.

    You can put me down as a sceptic. Sooner rather than later voters will conclude decisively that Leavers who disown the final Brexit settlement are either mad obsessives or clueless or both. If Leavers aren't prepared to defend the Brexit settlement, Britain will rejoin the EU in some form.
  • Options
    AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,754
    Sean_F said:

    OllyT said:

    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    A counter argument would of course be that most commentators attribute the overwhelming yes votes in the Irish Same-sex marriage and abortion referendums to the replacement of older voters with younger ones over the last decade.

    You might be right that young remain voters might become pro Brexit in ten years time but I think I would bet on the opposite. I guess it will come down to whether the under 30's grow up blaming Brexit for all their problems in the same way as some people blamed all their problems on the EU. I'd be happy to place a sizeable bet on the UK having decided to rejoin the EU within 10 years but I'm not sure if such long-term bets exist!
    In 1972, US voters aged 18-29 supported McGovern by a margin of 2%, when everyone else voted for Nixon by a huge margin. 44 years later, the same cohort supported Trump by a huge margin.

    In 1974, the Conservatives finished 3rd among voters aged 18-34. 43 years on, 60% of that cohort voted Conservative.

    In 1975, 61% of 18-29 year olds supported Remain. 41years later, the same cohort voted heavily Leave.

    In 1997, Labour led by 21% among voters aged 18-34. Last year, the two parties were level -pegging among the same cohort.

    It's lazy thinking to assume that your opponents will just die off.
    they were outwitted by a bus, why argue ?
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.

    Post Brexit scenario:

    - There's a border poll in Northern Ireland
    - People vote by 50-60% for reunification
    - Unionists demand assurances regarding the future relationship between GB and Ireland

    In this instance an application for EU accession from the UK's successor state Great Britain would make sense, and there would be a political imperative for the EU27 to look kindly upon it.
    "The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1.9

    Until now. Apparently.
  • Options
    EssexitEssexit Posts: 1,956
    viewcode said:

    Essexit said:

    ...The Remainer/Remoaner thing is the same - the latter doesn't include all Remain voters...

    The same point applies. Making subdivisions in your head and stating that the slur doesn't apply to all is not enough.



    It's important to draw the distinction though, and I thought it was clear. That said I tend to use 'Continuity Remainers' now as it's less ambiguous.
  • Options
    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,970
    Mr. Glenn, why would the UK want to join the euro?
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    Sean_F said:

    DavidL said:

    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.

    Post Brexit scenario:

    - There's a border poll in Northern Ireland
    - People vote by 50-60% for reunification
    - Unionists demand assurances regarding the future relationship between GB and Ireland

    In this instance an application for EU accession from the UK's successor state Great Britain would make sense, and there would be a political imperative for the EU27 to look kindly upon it.
    More likely, people vote to Remain part of the UK.
    The think the fashion for the status quo will return?
  • Options
    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,973
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    If you say so.

    I make the average of seven 2018 indy polls as

    Yes 47
    No 53

    Perhaps you have different polls.
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,799

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:


    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.

    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    Is this the same DavidL who yesterday was arguing that Leavers could endlessly renegotiate the final Brexit settlement? Because this one seems to be directly contradicting him.
    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.
    I see. So the public will tolerate endless focus on relations with the EU, but only to precisely the level you desire.

    You can put me down as a sceptic. Sooner rather than later voters will conclude decisively that Leavers who disown the final Brexit settlement are either mad obsessives or clueless or both. If Leavers aren't prepared to defend the Brexit settlement, Britain will rejoin the EU in some form.
    Political separation, like political integration, tends to continue on the same path, for a long time.
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,694
    Roger said:


    If 1.3 million Leavers die every two years in 26 years there wont be any left.

    Hartlepool will be a ghost town

    No. Hartlepool becomes a town of Remainers. Out goes the mushy peas. In comes the guacamole.
  • Options
    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820
    edited May 2018
    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence, and ate too much pasta. The Italians seem to be getting on remarkably well for a country which can't work out how to form a government.

    Sort-of on topic, I was sent a link to this blog by Sir Ivan Rogers. I think it is, by a country mile, the best explanation of the Brexit background, and the best analysis of the negotiation issues, that I have seen:

    https://policyscotland.gla.ac.uk/blog-sir-ivan-rogers-speech-text-in-full/

    Apologies if it's already been discussed.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    Sean_F said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:


    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.

    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    Is this the same DavidL who yesterday was arguing that Leavers could endlessly renegotiate the final Brexit settlement? Because this one seems to be directly contradicting him.
    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.
    I see. So the public will tolerate endless focus on relations with the EU, but only to precisely the level you desire.

    You can put me down as a sceptic. Sooner rather than later voters will conclude decisively that Leavers who disown the final Brexit settlement are either mad obsessives or clueless or both. If Leavers aren't prepared to defend the Brexit settlement, Britain will rejoin the EU in some form.
    Political separation, like political integration, tends to continue on the same path, for a long time.
    The problem for Brexit is that the revolutionary moment of 2016 fizzled out pretty quickly.

    We do not have a separation. All we have is an increasingly pathetic display as the UK government seeks to reaffix itself in a new formation to the EU and to avoid the consequences of a rupture.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138
    edited May 2018

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    If you say so.

    I make the average of seven 2018 indy polls as

    Yes 47
    No 53

    Perhaps you have different polls.
    There was quite a big one on 8th June 2017. The SNP got 36.9% despite the Greens standing aside for them.

    Edit, I am not sure where you are getting your polling from either: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_on_Scottish_independence
  • Options
    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,799

    Sean_F said:

    DavidL said:

    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.

    Post Brexit scenario:

    - There's a border poll in Northern Ireland
    - People vote by 50-60% for reunification
    - Unionists demand assurances regarding the future relationship between GB and Ireland

    In this instance an application for EU accession from the UK's successor state Great Britain would make sense, and there would be a political imperative for the EU27 to look kindly upon it.
    More likely, people vote to Remain part of the UK.
    The think the fashion for the status quo will return?
    I don't see any evidence that most of Northern Ireland's inhabitants wish to secede, however much you may wish it.
  • Options
    rural_voterrural_voter Posts: 2,038

    Sean_F said:

    OllyT said:

    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    A counter argument would of course be that most commentators attribute the overwhelming yes votes in the Irish Same-sex marriage and abortion referendums to the replacement of older voters with younger ones over the last decade.

    You might be right that young remain voters might become pro Brexit in ten years time but I think I would bet on the opposite. I guess it will come down to whether the under 30's grow up blaming Brexit for all their problems in the same way as some people blamed all their problems on the EU. I'd be happy to place a sizeable bet on the UK having decided to rejoin the EU within 10 years but I'm not sure if such long-term bets exist!
    In 1972, US voters aged 18-29 supported McGovern by a margin of 2%, when everyone else voted for Nixon by a huge margin. 44 years later, the same cohort supported Trump by a huge margin.

    In 1974, the Conservatives finished 3rd among voters aged 18-34. 43 years on, 60% of that cohort voted Conservative.

    In 1975, 61% of 18-29 year olds supported Remain. 41years later, the same cohort voted heavily Leave.

    In 1997, Labour led by 21% among voters aged 18-34. Last year, the two parties were level -pegging among the same cohort.

    It's lazy thinking to assume that your opponents will just die off.
    they were outwitted by a bus, why argue ?
    If 'only' 61% of the young voted Remain in 1975, then the young were more Eurosceptic than older age groups. The winning margin was 67/33%, not 61/39%.

    That does leave open the possibility that the group who are now aged 61-77 may be less Europhilic than older or in due course younger generations. Has anyone checked this?
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,694
    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If the UK does become a member of the EU again, it will be with the perception that outside hasn't worked and therefore we don't have a real choice. The terms of re entry probably won't be deal breakers. Although rejoining is unlikely at this stage, the possibility has to be there simply because membership of the EU is by FAR the better option for the UK at the practical level
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,029
    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    DavidL said:

    Christ, you want me to be consistent now? Actually yes, I don't see the contradiction. We may choose (EU permitting) to get really cosy with them again, we may choose to get more distant but will we choose to rejoin? That's a much bigger step.

    Post Brexit scenario:

    - There's a border poll in Northern Ireland
    - People vote by 50-60% for reunification
    - Unionists demand assurances regarding the future relationship between GB and Ireland

    In this instance an application for EU accession from the UK's successor state Great Britain would make sense, and there would be a political imperative for the EU27 to look kindly upon it.
    More likely, people vote to Remain part of the UK.
    The think the fashion for the status quo will return?
    I don't see any evidence that most of Northern Ireland's inhabitants wish to secede, however much you may wish it.
    There's clearly a cultural shift happening which the DUP are on the wrong side of.

    (My previous post should obviously have said *you think*...)
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,973
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    If you say so.

    I make the average of seven 2018 indy polls as

    Yes 47
    No 53

    Perhaps you have different polls.
    There was quite a big one on 8th June 2017. The SNP got 36.9% despite the Greens standing aside for them.
    Ah right. Unaccountably they seemed to have left out the indy question on my ballot paper.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138
    FF43 said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If the UK does become a member of the EU again, it will be with the perception that outside hasn't worked and therefore we don't have a real choice. The terms of re entry probably won't be deal breakers. Although rejoining is unlikely at this stage, the possibility has to be there simply because membership of the EU is by FAR the better option for the UK at the practical level
    I'm not saying its impossible. Just unlikely. As we are in the process of discovering leaving or joining the EU is a far, far bigger enterprise than we were ever led to believe.
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,158
    dixiedean said:

    rpjs said:

    FPT:



    Given this, we should be tightening down on them, not opening up the concept, because it is simply not working.

    Having two separate legal systems like this will always lead to abuses.

    Yes, here in NYC there have been cases of Orthodox Jews being convicted of assaulting other such men to force them to grant their wives religious divorces.

    But what can be done? The women are perfectly free to get civil divorces and remarry in a civil ceremony. The religious law appears (I am not Jewish myself) to be clear though that they can't get a religious divorce and remarry religiously without their ex-husbands' consent. What is the state supposed to do? Intervene and overrule a religious doctrine? I think most people would be uncomfortable with that, even if they disagree with the doctrine.

    Ultimately the people involved chose to be bound by their religious law and its courts. They could chose not to be but don't because their faith is more important to them.
    The State intervenes to overrule religious doctrine all the time. And quite right too.

    Where religious requirements add something i.e. allowing someone to have a marriage that is valid in both civil and religious law then I don't see an issue. But where religious law takes away from a person's rights under the law then I do have a big issue. Bluntly, I don't think we should permit religious law to take away someone's rights.

    Someone on the previous thread argued that it would be ok provided someone had consented to this. I think this is naive. How freely was that consent given? Was there pressure? Etc etc. Usually there are very strong community and family pressures so that it is not at all clear that consent can be said to have been free. And the person concerned may not know or fully understand the rights that are being given up nor what the consequences are. The other issue I have is that often the rights of children are impacted when women give up their rights and children cannot freely consent. So I'm afraid that I'm of the view that if there is religious law which takes away from the rights granted by the law of the land, then it should not be allowed to do so. If people want to live in a theocracy they are free to move. They are free to follow their religion but where that religion conflicts with our law in ways which denies people their rights under the law, then it needs to give way.
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,694

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence, and ate too much pasta. The Italians seem to be getting on remarkably well for a country which can't work out how to form a government.

    Sort-of on topic, I was sent a link to this blog by Sir Ivan Rogers. I think it is, by a country mile, the best explanation of the Brexit background, and the best analysis of the negotiation issues, that I have seen:

    https://policyscotland.gla.ac.uk/blog-sir-ivan-rogers-speech-text-in-full/

    Apologies if it's already been discussed.

    I agree with Ivan Rodgers' analysis, although I am much less eurosceptic than he is. Like him, I reckon CU+ full regulatory conformance + ECJ oversight + payments (client state) in exchange for limited restrictions on FOM is as good as Brexit is likely to get.
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    If you say so.

    I make the average of seven 2018 indy polls as

    Yes 47
    No 53

    Perhaps you have different polls.
    There was quite a big one on 8th June 2017. The SNP got 36.9% despite the Greens standing aside for them.
    Ah right. Unaccountably they seemed to have left out the indy question on my ballot paper.
    Well, there are these parties who are called Unionist parties. One of them who did rather well even has it in the name. And then there are 2 parties who support independence. One of whom won more seats than any other single party. But they won 36.9% of the vote.

    I take it that you have different polling from that on Wiki?
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    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,158
    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    It will also depend on what the EU will look like when an application to rejoin is made.

    There will be some who wished to Remain in the EU on the basis available in 2016 but who might not want to rejoin a changed EU at some point in the future. Equally, there might be some who might think that the government is making such a hash of leaving it might be best not to leave at all while there is still the chance of staying.

    Either way, there has to be some attempt to heal the divide. But there is little sign of that. Sadly. It does not bode well.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138
    Cyclefree said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    It will also depend on what the EU will look like when an application to rejoin is made.

    There will be some who wished to Remain in the EU on the basis available in 2016 but who might not want to rejoin a changed EU at some point in the future. Equally, there might be some who might think that the government is making such a hash of leaving it might be best not to leave at all while there is still the chance of staying.

    Either way, there has to be some attempt to heal the divide. But there is little sign of that. Sadly. It does not bode well.
    Agreed. It is unfortunate that such a big decision is being made on such small margins. I think, as I have said before, that without us holding things up the EU may integrate more much more quickly than we currently expect. I really struggle to see how they cope with Italy and other problems without much bigger fiscal transfers and a more integrated budget.
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,158

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.

    One of the concerns I have is that if Britain rejoins because Brexit turns out to be a car crash then it will be doing so in the wrong frame of mind i.e. not because it positively wants to be in the EU for all sorts of wonderful reasons but because the alternative was worse. That would be a mirror of the reason why it joined in the 1970's - it was the sick man of Europe and thought joining the EU was the way to cure that. I think that approach in many ways led to the somewhat grudging strategy Britain has had which has, coupled with other factors, not helped make EU membership loved by enough.

    So there needs, I think, to be something more than rejoining because there's no food on the shelves or whatever.

    I suspect that may well take longer than just simply regretting Leaving.

  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,924
    Hi all,

    Can I just thank everyone for the comments on my video.

    Summarising the feedback:

    - try and get the camera up, so it's in my eyeline
    - avoid having the autocue (iPad) above the camera
    - minimise my hand movements
    - keep in natural

    Did I miss anything?

    For those who haven't seen my piece on the causes of trade deficits, it's here.

    And remember all, please hit the 'Subscribe' button :)
  • Options
    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,158
    edited May 2018

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.
    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Isn't that exactly what Wilson did in 1975? Anti-Common Marketeers (Person A) said that joining was wrong. The Labour leader - Person B - tells you that the terms of joining, painstaking negotiated over a decade, were rubbish but that membership can be made to work with a renegotiation.

    He may have a credibility problem but he also won a referendum with a handsome majority.

    IMO no-one in this sorry tale has much credibility. I really wish EU representatives had been allowed to campaign and give us their view rather than this debate - back I 2016 and now - being only amongst ourselves. We might have avoided a lot of grief, whatever the result turned out to be.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138
    Cyclefree said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If a clear majority conclude that leaving the EU was a mistake, Britain will return to it in one form or another. Since Leavers are shaping up to disown the ultimate settlement, the chances of that must now be high, never mind demographic considerations.

    One of the concerns I have is that if Britain rejoins because Brexit turns out to be a car crash then it will be doing so in the wrong frame of mind i.e. not because it positively wants to be in the EU for all sorts of wonderful reasons but because the alternative was worse. That would be a mirror of the reason why it joined in the 1970's - it was the sick man of Europe and thought joining the EU was the way to cure that. I think that approach in many ways led to the somewhat grudging strategy Britain has had which has, coupled with other factors, not helped make EU membership loved by enough.

    So there needs, I think, to be something more than rejoining because there's no food on the shelves or whatever.

    I suspect that may well take longer than just simply regretting Leaving.

    I think that is very astute. It will also depend on how the EU treats its less well performing members in the interim. I think they just about got away with Greece because the Greek position was ultimately absurd. But there are going to be challenges in Hungary, Poland, Italy and no doubt other unexpected places. Their disregard for elections and elected politicians is not making them look any more inviting.
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    BromptonautBromptonaut Posts: 1,113
    DavidL said:

    FF43 said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If the UK does become a member of the EU again, it will be with the perception that outside hasn't worked and therefore we don't have a real choice. The terms of re entry probably won't be deal breakers. Although rejoining is unlikely at this stage, the possibility has to be there simply because membership of the EU is by FAR the better option for the UK at the practical level
    I'm not saying its impossible. Just unlikely. As we are in the process of discovering leaving or joining the EU is a far, far bigger enterprise than we were ever led to believe.
    You’re discovering it. Those of us with any sense knew this would be the case well before the referendum.
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    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,921
    FF43 said:

    Roger said:


    If 1.3 million Leavers die every two years in 26 years there wont be any left.

    Hartlepool will be a ghost town

    No. Hartlepool becomes a town of Remainers. Out goes the mushy peas. In comes the guacamole.
    And with global warming, Hartlepool will become the new Côte d'Azur! Sunderland the new Monaco! What's not to like? ;)
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    DavidL said:

    FF43 said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If the UK does become a member of the EU again, it will be with the perception that outside hasn't worked and therefore we don't have a real choice. The terms of re entry probably won't be deal breakers. Although rejoining is unlikely at this stage, the possibility has to be there simply because membership of the EU is by FAR the better option for the UK at the practical level
    I'm not saying its impossible. Just unlikely. As we are in the process of discovering leaving or joining the EU is a far, far bigger enterprise than we were ever led to believe.
    You’re discovering it. Those of us with any sense knew this would be the case well before the referendum.
    Well, when I said "we" I meant the country. As a lawyer I was fully aware how deep the links and overlaps were with EU law and how difficult it was going to be to unravel.
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,581

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
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    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,138

    FF43 said:

    Roger said:


    If 1.3 million Leavers die every two years in 26 years there wont be any left.

    Hartlepool will be a ghost town

    No. Hartlepool becomes a town of Remainers. Out goes the mushy peas. In comes the guacamole.
    And with global warming, Hartlepool will become the new Côte d'Azur! Sunderland the new Monaco! What's not to like? ;)
    As long as they don't have a really, really boring F1 procession around their streets.
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    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
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    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,917

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence, and ate too much pasta. The Italians seem to be getting on remarkably well for a country which can't work out how to form a government.

    Sort-of on topic, I was sent a link to this blog by Sir Ivan Rogers. I think it is, by a country mile, the best explanation of the Brexit background, and the best analysis of the negotiation issues, that I have seen:

    https://policyscotland.gla.ac.uk/blog-sir-ivan-rogers-speech-text-in-full/

    Apologies if it's already been discussed.

    Very good indeed.

    Delighted to be in the business I am in!!



  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,957
    The idea that Brexit was won solely by pensioners is a myth, according to Ashcroft's EU referendum exit poll 56% of 45-54 year olds and 57% of 55-64 year olds voted Leave as well as 60% of over 65s.
    http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/how-the-united-kingdom-voted-and-why/

    Of course given Remain was ahead in YouGov's final EU referendum poll and has a narrow lead again means little. I doubt we will ever again vote to be members of the full EU but it is possible in a decade or so someone like Chuka Umunna could be elected PM and take us back into the single market and customs union either as leader of the Labour Party or a new centrist 'En Marche' style party

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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,957

    I don’t think the problem with the dementia tax was that it would mean higher taxation; it was the way is was sprung on the electorate.

    Oh the problem was it was a complete reversal of Osborne's IHT cut if you needed at home personal social care.

    There is polling evidence voters will reluctantly accept higher national insurance or income tax to pay for the NHS or social care but touch their housing wealth and their childrens' inheritance and there will be hell to pay!
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,581

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
    Is that because they have an integrated national network, operated for the public good?
  • Options
    BromptonautBromptonaut Posts: 1,113
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    FF43 said:

    DavidL said:

    In my experience and daily life a lot of people who voted Remain now believe that we have to leave, even if they still have reservations about the wisdom of it. I think on his calmer days even @AlastairMeeks has expressed that view.

    The question is therefore really the wrong way around. We are leaving. At what point will those who want to be a part of the EU have a sufficient majority and political support to persuade us all to look at this again? I don't say it can never happen but it won't be quick. And by that time there will indeed be a different electorate who can make their own choice. I think it's called democracy.

    Of course the EU would also have a say in this. I very much doubt that they would consider having the UK back on a narrow win for rejoining. No one would want to go through this again.

    If the UK does become a member of the EU again, it will be with the perception that outside hasn't worked and therefore we don't have a real choice. The terms of re entry probably won't be deal breakers. Although rejoining is unlikely at this stage, the possibility has to be there simply because membership of the EU is by FAR the better option for the UK at the practical level
    I'm not saying its impossible. Just unlikely. As we are in the process of discovering leaving or joining the EU is a far, far bigger enterprise than we were ever led to believe.
    You’re discovering it. Those of us with any sense knew this would be the case well before the referendum.
    Well, when I said "we" I meant the country. As a lawyer I was fully aware how deep the links and overlaps were with EU law and how difficult it was going to be to unravel.
    About half the country.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,957
    edited May 2018
    surby said:

    brendan16 said:

    What a charming piece. Don't worry young remainers - just wait for your grandparents to die so we can vote to rejoin the EU.

    Of course if voters had the same opinions at 20 as they do at 65 we wouldn't have had Tory governments for the majority of the last century. Most of the over 65s probably voted to stay in the Common market in 1975.

    Not always true. In the 80's there was a 25-44 cohorts known as Thatcher's children. They were right of centre and still are.
    Thatcher in 1983 was I believe the last Tory leader to win 18-24s and then only because she won a landslide majority of over 100 in each of those general elections. Similarly Blair in 1997 was the last Labour leader to win over 65s and then again only because he won a landslide majority of over 150
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    Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,820

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
    Is that because they have an integrated national network, operated for the public good?
    Perhaps it's because Trenitalia has genuine competition from NTV:

    https://www.citymetric.com/transport/continent-s-approach-rail-liberalisation-holds-lessons-britain-3727
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,581

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
    Is that because they have an integrated national network, operated for the public good?
    Perhaps it's because Trenitalia has genuine competition from NTV:

    https://www.citymetric.com/transport/continent-s-approach-rail-liberalisation-holds-lessons-britain-3727
    Thanks for the link.

    So a private outfit is cherry-picking some of the lucrative routes (50 services per day) while the publicly owned national operator provides an integrated service for everyone.

    And NTV only entice passengers away from airlines thanks to the publicly owned express passenger lines they operate on.

    So I think Italy operates a rail system much closer to Labour's vision than to the current fragmented shambles so loved by the Conservatives.

    P.S. Good to hear you had a good holiday!
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    TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,973
    edited May 2018
    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    DavidL said:

    If.

    But, less laconically, we may well want to join what exists now but it may not exist then because the nature of the EU will change. Whether we want to join what exists then and whether they are minded to let us is a question that contains too many hypotheticals to answer with any confidence. It's not impossible but I really don't see it happening within 20 years.
    Person A tells you Brexit was a mistake. Person B tells you that the settlement Britain got, painstakingly negotiated over a decade, was rubbish but Brexit can be made to work with a renegotiation. I suggest Person B has a credibility problem.
    Persons C - Z really can't tell if being out the EU is the source of all our woes or not but really can't bear thinking about it again. We have seen some of this in Scotland, hence the gradual fall in support for Independence or Indyref2.
    If you say so.

    I make the average of seven 2018 indy polls as

    Yes 47
    No 53

    Perhaps you have different polls.
    There was quite a big one on 8th June 2017. The SNP got 36.9% despite the Greens standing aside for them.
    Ah right. Unaccountably they seemed to have left out the indy question on my ballot paper.
    Well, there are these parties who are called Unionist parties. One of them who did rather well even has it in the name. And then there are 2 parties who support independence. One of whom won more seats than any other single party. But they won 36.9% of the vote.

    I take it that you have different polling from that on Wiki?
    Ha, apologies, like any god fearing soul I was looking at Sir John's What Scotland Thinks. Annoyingly you have to scroll horizontally to the end of their table and I was looking at the start of 2017 rather than 2018. I make it Yes 45 No 55, so I'll give you support for independence has gone down on 2017 by 2 points.

    Perhaps on that basis Unionists can break out of their paradoxical dimension of loudly declaiming that the Nats can't possibly win another indy referendum while saying that they should never be allowed one. Shot at an open goal surely?
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    felixfelix Posts: 15,124

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
    Is that because they have an integrated national network, operated for the public good?
    Nah it's a legacy of former great leader :)
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    Sean_FSean_F Posts: 35,799

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
    Is that because they have an integrated national network, operated for the public good?
    Perhaps it's because Trenitalia has genuine competition from NTV:

    https://www.citymetric.com/transport/continent-s-approach-rail-liberalisation-holds-lessons-britain-3727
    What an unfortunate name.
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    SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,581
    felix said:

    Afternoon all. I'm just back from Italy where I walked from Bologna to Florence.....

    Rail strike?
    LOL, no the trains seem to work very well.
    Is that because they have an integrated national network, operated for the public good?
    Nah it's a legacy of former great leader :)
    Julius Caesar built the railways?

    Well the Romans did establish 4' 8.5" as standard gauge (or is that a myth?)
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