Cont: Brexit XII

[The Don]

Exports decreased by 27% but imports decreased by 32%. So you are saying our trade balance with the EU has improved.

I think I'm going to cry.

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. The other way is to say that those imports had a role in the UK economy as goods for sale, as components in a value added process in the UK economy, as components in goods for export and so on. The UK economy is damaged as a result of those goods no longer coming in even if they are replaced by locally manufactured alternatives because the local alternatives will be higher cost and/or lower quality otherwise they would always have been used.

 

[jeremyp]

I suppose that's one way of looking at it. The other way is to say that those imports had a role in the UK economy as goods for sale, as components in a value added process in the UK economy, as components in goods for export and so on. The UK economy is damaged as a result of those goods no longer coming in even if they are replaced by locally manufactured alternatives because the local alternatives will be higher cost and/or lower quality otherwise they would always have been used.

Yes I know. My reply was a slightly tongue in cheek reimagining of how the Brexiteers might spin it.

The reality, of course, is it is a total disaster.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Yes I know. My reply was a slightly tongue in cheek reimagining of how the Brexiteers might spin it.

The reality, of course, is it is a total disaster.

I'm reminded of a guy I was working for in the immediate post Brexit vote period (he owned a wine supply company) who told me he voted Leave because "We spend more with Europe than anyone else", I asked him if he was also planning to drop his main wine supplier for the same reason.

 

[novaphile]

I'm reminded of a guy I was working for in the immediate post Brexit vote period (he owned a wine supply company) who told me he voted Leave because "We spend more with Europe than anyone else", I asked him if he was also planning to drop his main wine supplier for the same reason.

Once again I'm reminded of the store staff, who didn't restock top selling goods, because: "They sell too fast".

 

[ponderingturtle]

I'm reminded of a guy I was working for in the immediate post Brexit vote period (he owned a wine supply company) who told me he voted Leave because "We spend more with Europe than anyone else", I asked him if he was also planning to drop his main wine supplier for the same reason.

Clearly he wants to stick to selling only british wine.

 

[The Don]

Clearly he wants to stick to selling only british wine.

So much better than that foreign muck.

Best of all is "British Table Wine" which was a staple of the lower end of the market 40 years or so ago - wine made in the UK from imported grape concentrate - yum !

 

[SteveAitch]

There is a difference between British wine, generally made from grape juice concentrate and not great, and English wine made from English grown grapes and pretty good. Several have won prizes in fact.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Some English white sparkling wines are rated with the best Champagne.

There's a very good winery in North Yorkshire just over the moors from us.

 

[The Don]

I'm well aware that Britain makes some excellent wines.

However, the reds are at best OK and compare very poorly to the best from Europe IMO.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

The biggest problem with British wine is that there just isn't enough of it, total production with no exports would satisfy less than 10 days of the UK 's annual demand.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Some English white sparkling wines are rated with the best Champagne.

There's a very good winery in North Yorkshire just over the moors from us.

Sparkling wine is interesting in that the qualities that make it really good actually make really poor non sparkling wines, grapes from cooler regions that would make sour still wine are exciting and refreshing with the addition of a bit of carbon dioxide.

 

[Wudang]

Laurel Vines do a lovely Madeleine Angevine.

 

[dudalb]

Once again, I am amazed that so many in the UK don't want to admit they are part of Europe.

 

[gypsyjackson]

There’s been a month since anyone has posted, unless the forum has gone weird. What are you referring to?

 

[Mojo]

Another Brexit bonus:

‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down

Exclusive: EU countries will share laboratory capacity but UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad

www.theguardian.com

 

[Andy_Ross]

I was just going to post about that

 

[The Don]

Another Brexit bonus:

‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down

Exclusive: EU countries will share laboratory capacity but UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad

www.theguardian.com

Safe drinking water is overrated. The sunlit uplands will provide plenty of UV light to render polluted drinking water safe to use.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Safe drinking water is overrated. The sunlit uplands will provide plenty of UV light to render polluted drinking water safe to use.

◊◊◊◊ in our drinking water is a small price to pay for the twin glories of Brexit & Privatisation! To anyone that complains I say "Let them drink Evian!"

 

[Andy_Ross]

It's nothing new.

Ian Dury sang about pollution in the water years ago

I took a sudden notion
To go down to the ocean
I'd got my sun-tan lotion
My flippers and my mask

In proper distribution
Of fully-formed ablutions
Formed an ocean of pollution
In which I daredn't bask

Some turds were teeny-tiny
And some were big and shiny
But they all ◊◊◊◊◊◊ up the briney
In which I dipped my toe

If you go swimming in the ◊◊◊◊◊-us
You'll get worse than dermititis
From the sea of grey detritus
Where the sewage ebbs and flows

There's no respite
From the cess-pit
No shelter from the pong
The poor old ocean
Is full of motions
Where the hell did we go wrong?

Like a lamb off to the slaughter
Poured myself a glass of water
I failed to spot I'd caught a
Little creature in my cup

I was well and truly bolleaux-ed
From the fires of hell that followed
T'was the cup of life I'd swallowed
And it almost did me up

Something coming
Through the plumbing
That should not be there at all
The glass is brimming
And things are swimming
And quite frankly, I'm appalled

I was a very hungry fella
I defrosted my paella
Came down with Salmonella
Three weeks intensive care

They failed to send technicians in
To check the air-conditioning
Which was unfortunately transmissioning
A case of Legionnaires
There's a malaise
In the mayonnaise
There's a poo-poo in the prawn
Where we missed them
In the system
Little germs are being born
There's no respite
From the cess-pit
There's no shelter from the pong
Where the hell did we go wrong?

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Allow me a laugh or two!

Majority of Brexit voters ‘would accept free movement’ to access single market

Europe-wide polling finds UK and EU leaders now out of step with public opinion and pursue ‘ambitious reset’

www.theguardian.com

Among all UK voters, 68% of respondents would now back free movement in exchange for single market access, with 19% opposed and majority support among supporters of every party apart from Reform UK (44% of whose voters also backed the idea).

 

[Klimax]

◊◊◊◊ in our drinking water is a small price to pay for the twin glories of Brexit & Privatisation! To anyone that complains I say "Let them drink Evian!"

Wonder what you!re doing wrong, because in Czech republic we have plenty of private companies running public water and there are no issues.

 

[GlennB]

Wonder what you!re doing wrong, because in Czech republic we have plenty of private companies running public water and there are no issues.

I've heard that it's cheaper for them to pay the fines than sort out the infrastructure.

Also, the overseeing authority - the Environment Agency - is understaffed and underfunded, so when there's a pollution report that the EA can't check then the water company gives its own assessment, which 'won't necessarily be totally honest'

The whole system is broken.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

Allow me a laugh or two!

Majority of Brexit voters ‘would accept free movement’ to access single market

Europe-wide polling finds UK and EU leaders now out of step with public opinion and pursue ‘ambitious reset’

www.theguardian.com

Somebody shoud tell them what they have to do is apply to rejoin.

 

[The Don]

I've heard that it's cheaper for them to pay the fines than sort out the infrastructure.

Also, the overseeing authority - the Environment Agency - is understaffed and underfunded, so when there's a pollution report that the EA can't check then the water company gives its own assessment, which 'won't necessarily be totally honest'

The whole system is broken.

When I was in the industry, the regulator was also pretty toothless

 

[Darat]

Those remainers screwing us up again:

European Commission suing UK over post-Brexit freedom of movement ‘shortcomings’

Britain had failed to comply with EU law on the free movement of European citizens, the commission said.

www.standard.co.uk

 

[wobs]

How Brexit is succeeding:

Why Brexit is working - and how that has profound implications for democratic politics

Brexit was, above all, a project of political disruption. And it's succeeding.

neilschofieldhughes.substack.com

...in spreading political disruption. A good read of the politics making it hard to address the issues. How/why Labour struggle to be a strong party.

 

[Norman Alexander]

How Brexit is succeeding:

Why Brexit is working - and how that has profound implications for democratic politics

Brexit was, above all, a project of political disruption. And it's succeeding.

neilschofieldhughes.substack.com

...in spreading political disruption. A good read of the politics making it hard to address the issues. How/why Labour struggle to be a strong party.

Rather than the tried-and-tested conventional method of redecorating by putting up new wallpaper every few years, Brexit succeeded in throwing a Faragist grenade in the room instead. When the smoke finally cleared, more tatty Tory wallpaper was hardly going to help, especially dealing with the EU neighbours right next door who sort of heard the bang and moved away. The only real solution is the whole room needs to be cleaned out, repaired properly, new roof put on, repainted, and relationships with the neighbours restored. The problem today is Labour is reluctant to start that process, and Farage keeps jumping up on the rubble unhindered shouting "I did this!"

 

[dudalb]

Rumors that Trump is going to try to dispute Uk Politics the same way he is trying to disrupt Canadian politics.

 

[Norman Alexander]

Rumors that Trump is going to try to dispute Uk Politics the same way he is trying to disrupt Canadian politics.

That is, not at all.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

That is, not at all.

Getting ready for war!

Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.

www.ctvnews.ca

I just gotta see the invasion of Greenland!

And:

The Panama Canal moves roughly $270 billion worth of cargo annually–it's the trade route taken by 40% of all U.S. container traffic alone and handles about 5% of all global maritime trade.

.Let's just close that down for a week or two of "special military action".

 

[Norman Alexander]

Getting ready for war!

Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.

www.ctvnews.ca

I just gotta see the invasion of Greenland!

And:

.Let's just close that down for a week or two of "special military action".

Then let's have the Canuk Invasion through NY state...

 

[The Don]

Rumors that Trump is going to try to dispute Uk Politics the same way he is trying to disrupt Canadian politics.

He and Musk are already doing this by claiming that the government should release extreme right wing activist "Tommy Robinson" and stand down because they're not doing enough about Muslim grooming gangs despite:

• Prosecutions having gone ahead. "Tommy Robinson" is currently in jail because of inflammatory comments he made outside court which jeopardised that prosecution
• The previous government having 14 years to do something about it
• The current government having a public enquiry which isn't good enough for the right wingers because *reasons*

The right wing media have decided that this is the big cause that's going to damage Labour and are constantly promoting the controversy. Cabinet members are being threatened which is par for the course for the right wing.

Trump wants client administrations in all countries.

Though I'm not sure how this necessarily relates to Brexit EXCEPT that whilst Denmark will have the EU's support in the event that Trump launches a trade war against it in order to obtain Greenland, the UK won't have allies if he decides to do the same against the UK to destabilise the Starmer government.

 

[Norman Alexander]

Britain can definitely be for sale to Trump. But the price will be far beyond what the US or Musk could afford. So he can't claim it isn't available for him to wreck. Just that he's too awful of a businessman to afford it.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

He and Musk are already doing this by claiming that the government should release extreme right wing activist "Tommy Robinson" and stand down because they're not doing enough about Muslim grooming gangs despite:

• Prosecutions having gone ahead. "Tommy Robinson" is currently in jail because of inflammatory comments he made outside court which jeopardised that prosecution
• The previous government having 14 years to do something about it
• The current government having a public enquiry which isn't good enough for the right wingers because *reasons*

The right wing media have decided that this is the big cause that's going to damage Labour and are constantly promoting the controversy. Cabinet members are being threatened which is par for the course for the right wing.

Trump wants client administrations in all countries.

Though I'm not sure how this necessarily relates to Brexit EXCEPT that whilst Denmark will have the EU's support in the event that Trump launches a trade war against it in order to obtain Greenland, the UK won't have allies if he decides to do the same against the UK to destabilise the Starmer government.

Yaxley-Lennon's supporters are so stupid that he can tell them that he's reporting from outside the court where grooming gang members are being prosecuted at that very moment to tell them that the police won't prosecute grooming gang members (send me money).

 

[zooterkin]

This thread is about Brexit. There are plenty of other threads to discuss what the incoming POTUS is up to; unless what he's doing is directly connected to Brexit, please take that discussion to a more appropriate place.

Please keep on topic, thank you.

Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: zooterkin

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

OK then.

Brexit unwinding?

Starmer set for 11th hour Brexit reset talks with Macron and Ursula von der Leyen

The prime minister will meet the European Commission and French presidents on the fringes of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Albania with the Brexit reset talks heating up

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

OK then.

Brexit unwinding?

Starmer set for 11th hour Brexit reset talks with Macron and Ursula von der Leyen

The prime minister will meet the European Commission and French presidents on the fringes of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Albania with the Brexit reset talks heating up

www.independent.co.uk

“
We think that because of the trust we built, we can get a better deal. The European Union have understood from the beginning those red lines,” Ms Reeves told The Guardian.

What...I don't even...lol...wtf? Hahahahaahaaaaa!!!! That's so funny!

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

“
We think that because of the trust we built, we can get a better deal. The European Union have understood from the beginning those red lines,” Ms Reeves told The Guardian.

What...I don't even...lol...wtf? Hahahahaahaaaaa!!!! That's so funny!

Is she a native English speaker? "European Union" is singular. Should it not be 'has" not "have"?

 

[gypsyjackson]

Is she a native English speaker? "European Union" is singular. Should it not be 'has" not "have"?

It’s pretty much standard English in the UK. I think it’s called a ‘team plural’ by some linguists. I’m not keen on it, but it’s been around a while.

 

[Norman Alexander]

So it will be a friction-free trade and movement agreement that looks, walks, smells and quacks like EU membership. But it won't actually be EU membership.

Got it.