BREXIT

Just heard that the CE mark is European,

Or in some cases just the trade logo of a Chinese purveyor of substandard kit.

so there will be another mark now for the UK,

Before the EU standards the common marking was BS – standards produced by BSI.
There’s many things the UK doesn’t quite get right but as a result of being at the forefront of the Industrial revolution we had the accidents before other nations and invented safety standards to deal with them¹.
Have a look at the logic of that famous three pin plug with longer earth pin (matches a shutter mechanism in the socket) and partial insulation up the live/neutral.

So, a wild guess is that if the idiots do carry on and take us out the BSI become more prominent.
I believe all the ISO standards have always had a matching BSI reference anyway.

¹ Of course having “been there, done that” there is a tendency to lecture others who aim to repeat the mistake.

The counter argument in terms of the CE mark is that standards are increasingly set at a World level rather than regionally. BREXIT would give the UK probably via the British Standards Institution a seat at the table when the standard are set rather than when they are transposed into EU law.
I’ve not looked into the details of this as frankly I’ve got better things to do but I do tend to think that this could be a small plus from the whole process.

BREXIT would give the UK probably via the British Standards Institution a seat

No offence, but smallest actors have – at best – a folding seat, not a seat.

That’s the idea behind EU: “we can’t make it alone any more”.
As a Commonwealth member, I hoped you would understand that better than anyone.

Small is perhaps beautiful, but not powerful.

probably via the British Standards Institution a seat at the table

I doubt that.
You might want to look up why Norway said it would veto the UK joining EFTA. That is what numerous other countries currently think of Britain. The only seat available will be one in the lobby…

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/07/norwegian-mp-britain-eea-norway-eu-brexiters

Just when you think there’s nothing but bad news where Brexit is concerned you find this article

Mind you, they aren’t a political group I’m inclined to show any favour anyway.

… and that article is followed by one about plans to evacuate the Queen should things turn ugly in London…

I’m still failing to see anything specifically good about Brexit that even remotely justifies the bad…?

I’m still failing to see anything specifically good about Brexit that even remotely justifies the bad…?

You’re preaching to the converted. I keep wondering whether there’s a remote island we could ship the Europhobes off to.

I’m still failing to see anything specifically good about Brexit that even remotely justifies the bad…?

I’m still failing to see anything good about Brexit.

At all.

At all.

True. I phrased it the way I did in case there was some actual useful benefit other than a money-printing exercise for certain Tories. I mean… there must be something other than lies and stupidity that caused ~17M voters to reject being a part of the world’s biggest¹ trading bloc?

¹ GDP and population both larger than the US according to the UN. Trump, of course, considers that the US isn’t #1 to be fake news…

I mean… there must be something other than lies and stupidity that caused ~17M voters to reject being a part of the world’s biggest1 trading bloc?

I’m sure that for some it will have been a genuine feeling that they simply wanted the UK to be in some way or other more ‘free’. I’m also sure that for some the bad aspects of the EU will have been what swayed them. e.g. the tendency for it to adopt a corporate, ‘neo liberal’approach tailored with ‘neo Keynesian’ economics. (N.B. as per usual these days ‘neo’ has its modern meaning of ‘not’. :-) ) Heaven knows, I’ve always been very critical of the failures of the EU. But feel it makes far more sense to stay ‘in’ and work to change it.

But in the main I think it was far simpler. People whose lives were sh1t and who felt abandoned or dispised by the ‘politicians’. Plus being fed, day after day after day, for decades aload of drivel about this all being because of the ‘EU’ and seeing ‘foreigners’ getting jobs or whatever and resenting it because they felt abandoned. Easy meat for the Daily Maul, Scum, and right-wing nasties.

Our failure (all of us) was to not make more of a fuss about those who felt let down, and push harder for governments in the UK who would have helped them, and not dumped ‘austerity’ on them in addition to their existing problems.

If for no other reason than that ‘austerity’ has solved nothing in economic terms. Another crash looms out of sight. One that it looks like we’ll have to face out of the EU.

The bald truth is that the same type of ‘neo’ people have been in UK Government almost all the time since Thatcher. Only slight exception was Brown – who got the blame for being in office when the music stopped – because Tory Plan B did nothing but follow the s same watered down ‘neo’ approach and worried what the Scum would say about him more than anything else.

Alas, even now, people just don’t want to hear this, and the press do their best to fill space with opinions, not facts.

There are reasons to leave the EU, and there is no reason why leaving can’t be done in sensible way. We had neither, just a campaign of lies with dodgy money that didn’t expect to win and no plan about what to do next.

40 years of government, backed by the media have blamed the failings of the UK government on the EU, which was also an issue for ‘remain’ – no party was going to stick its head out and say “we (Westminster) have totally screwed you all over for 40 years and blamed the EU for it all.”

The “too many foreigners” brigade will be in for a shock when the EU migrants are just replaced with ones from elsewhere – possibly the sub-continent so not only foreigners but brown foreigners too!

I am actually not sure I want the tories to get replaced, much as I despise them – if they are in power when the s**t hits the fan it will hopefully just destroy them, but then again the turkeys do seem to want to vote for christmas!

If I was younger I’d just leave this godforsaken dump of an island forever.

People whose lives were sh1t and who felt abandoned or dispised by the ‘politicians’.

Oh yes. I know that the recent Tory governments (and the likes of the Mail) have been extremely negative towards the unemployed, referring to them as basically little more than “scroungers”. So I can understand the sense of disillusionment.

However, the very people that voted to send a message to the politicians are seeing… guess what… the powerful are going to be okay and are making dubious decisions that will screw the little guy even harder. In other words, business as usual.

If for no other reason than that ‘austerity’ has solved nothing in economic terms.

Does it ever? I’ve commented on my blog in the past that governance needs to be a careful balance for austerity hinders growth, and too much growth splurges money that doesn’t exist. There needs to be careful budgeting but growth encouragement. Simple austerity is no solution.

and there is no reason why leaving can’t be done in sensible way.

How? The Ireland border issue has highlighted one of the big points that one can’t just draw a line on the ground and say “this is no longer part of Europe”. Pretty much the only way to “leave” is a hard Brexit. Everything else is just stupid as it leaves the UK in the position of a rule taker without a voice, and with that considered, it would be better to remain.
There are no quick and easy solutions, and it might have been useful if the cretins in Westminster considered this before invoking Article 50.

I’d just leave this godforsaken dump of an island forever.

Done that. ;-)

There was a time when I’d have thought of having a holiday in my old area (around Guildford). I hear that Woking town centre is… changing.

Following the referendum and all the crap of the past two years, I’m NEVER coming back.
I’m not sure what will happen if I no longer have the right to live/work here (two years later, that still hasn’t been settled – May makes assurances not backed up by any sort of legislation, and to be honest I don’t trust the current government not to start trying to deport people after separation), but returning to England is not an option.

I mean… there must be something other than lies and stupidity that caused ~17M voters to reject being a part of the world’s biggest1 trading bloc?

I’m coming to the conclusion that the vote to leave was largely the fault of our own political failings since Thatcher’s time onwards. Like virtually every other developed economy we have exported large tracts of our traditional heavy and extractive industries to parts of the world where labour and land is cheaper, but nothing was done to replace those industries: people were told to ‘get on their bike’, and no serious attempt was made to improve the educational or training facilities in those regions, or to encourage other industries to move in on a sufficient scale, and more important, stay there (generally the call centres etc buggered off when the grants ran out). The oil money was pissed up the wall; the ‘markets’ would solve everything: ‘you can’t buck the markets’. Should it be such a great surprise that people for whom ‘progress’ has meant the collapse of proud traditions, unemployment and lack of opportunity should want to try something different? The fact that an iPad or smartphone manufactured in the UK would probably cost several thousand quid is of course, and at the same time is not, the point. Meanwhile a metropolitan, largely southeastern, university educated europhile elite, of whom I am undoubtedly a member, rejoiced in the European ideal, the ease of travel and doing business: today Dusseldorf, next week Brussels or Verona, and everyone spoke English (often better than the natives)! We too easily assumed that what suited us and was good from our perspective, was good for all. Well, we know the truth now.

Everything else is just stupid as it leaves the UK in the position of a rule taker without a voice

Given the quality of what the UK voice says, that’s probably better all round.

So, wait, hang on…

The Brexiteers are voting against Brexit, the Remainers are voting against Remain, and May’s abysmal “deal” having suffered a historic defeat, and being defeated again after a three line whip (following a promise of a free vote, but knowing she’d lose) is apparently going to try again. Will she stop when she wins or is this a best of five fifty?

Seriously, what the hell is going on?

PS – if parliament can have “as many bloody votes as it takes to shove this crap through”, how come the people only get the one vote?

if parliament can have “as many bloody votes as it takes to shove this crap through”, how come the people only get the one vote?

Because politicians, once they get in, do what they bloody well like.

Seriously, what the hell is going on?

You may well ask. We have a dysfunctional government AND a dysfunctional opposition.

This shambles, and this shower in Westminster, are the best possible reasons NOT to take back “control” and “sovereignty”. Good grief.

Lying Nigel and Lying Boris have a lot to answer for.

I think the problem is she’s focused in too much on trying to do what she thinks is the best brexit for the UK whilst not compromising on the basics of what she things people who voted brexit wanted. As those who voted out were promised the impossible ‘Having their cake and eating it’ it is I think an impossible job.
I doubt there is a majority in parliament for any deal that the EU would ever agree to.
I admire her persistence and trying to do the right thing by the referendum result but she now needs to step back and look at other radical alternatives to get round the deadlock. Tinkering with the deal will not work.

This shambles, and this shower in Westminster, are the best possible reasons NOT to take back “control” and “sovereignty”. Good grief.

I guess you have never followed debates in EU parliament? Be very afraid if you don’t get out soon. Sometimes, I am really glad that the commission and the council of the EU are so intransparent that we don’t get to know the details. The closer you look, the more depressing it gets.

Nigel Farage is a bad person with bad morals. It’s clear to me that he doesn’t care about the daily lives and livelihoods of the people who voted for brexit, and he probably thinks of them as useful idiots. I’m also starting to wonder if he’s covertly working for Putin.

Of Farage;

I’m also starting to wonder if he’s covertly working for Putin.

That probably depends upon the check arriving at the agreed time.
Oh, sorry, that was the Tories but Nigel¹ may be on a similar payment scheme.

¹ I’d use the more regular “our Nigel” but for the fact that simple implication that he and I had any relationship that was eve vaguely non-homicidal might cause me to be homicidal and killing anyone of you guys seems a bit off.

In case this has not been noticed by those who would like to add their signatures:

“Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU”

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584

Any UK citizen can sign, even if not in the country.

3,360,250 and counting. ;-)

Worth noting that over 3.1 million of the votes are from within the UK though, and only 82 (last time I looked) from Russia. A few thousand each from Germany, France and Spain – as you’d expect. That includes my daughter’s for a start.