I am 72, I supported joining the EEC as a student. I have voted Labour, then SDP because of Europe, and now LibDem, but I strongly approved of Ted Heath (whom I knew, slightly) and like Michael Heseltine, Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubry and other pro-EU Conservatives.
My local pro-EU group, Suffolk for Europe, is cross party.
What I do not quite understand, and you say that you don’t, either, is the failure of MPs to pick up the issue, and I think that the hidden thuggery of the Brexiters - the quiet threat of violence, the shameful treatment of Grieve and Soubry, the ghastly murder in the street of Joanne Cox, and more, lies behind this.
We are just not talking about it. It’s a bit like Trump keeping the Republicans in Congress on line by threatening to “primary” them. We don’t have primaries, but we have increasingly weak political parties at constituency level.
The worst of Brexit can be countered if we go into the Customs Union or a close version of it. Turkey's manufactured white goods and vehicles; often German branded; travel freely into the EU & EEA, plus EFTA countries.
We could add to that the young person travel agreement, another for performing artists, also a vets agreement for foodstuffs, agricultural and animal plant products / issues. Plus another for far better transportation access and potentially one for mobile telecoms. If these were to be negotiated, we would be into a soft brexit that would still be within the terms of the 2016 stupid vote and so long as EU standards were shadowed, we would be on the way towards likely joining the Single Market.
Of course we would need to end the preposterous trade agreement with AUS/NZ, which saw British farming due to get hammered and all the benefits to down under. The Pacific trade agreement ( TTIP ) is another gained purely for false Tory applause in the right wing media. Existing EU trade agreements would be more in the UK's favour and covering virtually the entire territories.
All that is stopping any of the above happening is that Starmer will have to face the electorate and say that without being in the Customs Union and arranging closer integration, the UK will likely not be growing more than at an extremely marginal level and will not be gaining the tax revenues needed to seriously improve the NHS, public services, infrastructure, training, Industrial development and to meet the latest threats from Russia.
My own interest in this is boosted by the needs of my own small firm, which exports niche electronics for musicians. The retail trade in Europe, one of the more profitable segments, was lost entirely overnight from Jan 2020.
Really interesting, thank you. Are you Canadian? I am, relocated to the UK aged 26 in 1987. Been seeing suggestions, including from Guy Verhofstadt, about Canada joining the EU. Guy thinks they would be welcomed? What do you reckon, Nick? I’d welcome that for sure!!
Nick appears to suggest that right wing monied interests, the right wing dominated press and opaquely funded think tanks might provide support if he switched to being pro brexit. All credit to him to not doing a Johnson ( or a Ledsome) and switching sides for career purposes.
How do you deal with a problem like Nigel Farage. Id support a closer relationship, but the liberals completely lost it lat time because of Farage charisma.
Yes, of course.
I am 72, I supported joining the EEC as a student. I have voted Labour, then SDP because of Europe, and now LibDem, but I strongly approved of Ted Heath (whom I knew, slightly) and like Michael Heseltine, Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubry and other pro-EU Conservatives.
My local pro-EU group, Suffolk for Europe, is cross party.
What I do not quite understand, and you say that you don’t, either, is the failure of MPs to pick up the issue, and I think that the hidden thuggery of the Brexiters - the quiet threat of violence, the shameful treatment of Grieve and Soubry, the ghastly murder in the street of Joanne Cox, and more, lies behind this.
We are just not talking about it. It’s a bit like Trump keeping the Republicans in Congress on line by threatening to “primary” them. We don’t have primaries, but we have increasingly weak political parties at constituency level.
What do you think?
The worst of Brexit can be countered if we go into the Customs Union or a close version of it. Turkey's manufactured white goods and vehicles; often German branded; travel freely into the EU & EEA, plus EFTA countries.
We could add to that the young person travel agreement, another for performing artists, also a vets agreement for foodstuffs, agricultural and animal plant products / issues. Plus another for far better transportation access and potentially one for mobile telecoms. If these were to be negotiated, we would be into a soft brexit that would still be within the terms of the 2016 stupid vote and so long as EU standards were shadowed, we would be on the way towards likely joining the Single Market.
Of course we would need to end the preposterous trade agreement with AUS/NZ, which saw British farming due to get hammered and all the benefits to down under. The Pacific trade agreement ( TTIP ) is another gained purely for false Tory applause in the right wing media. Existing EU trade agreements would be more in the UK's favour and covering virtually the entire territories.
All that is stopping any of the above happening is that Starmer will have to face the electorate and say that without being in the Customs Union and arranging closer integration, the UK will likely not be growing more than at an extremely marginal level and will not be gaining the tax revenues needed to seriously improve the NHS, public services, infrastructure, training, Industrial development and to meet the latest threats from Russia.
My own interest in this is boosted by the needs of my own small firm, which exports niche electronics for musicians. The retail trade in Europe, one of the more profitable segments, was lost entirely overnight from Jan 2020.
Really interesting, thank you. Are you Canadian? I am, relocated to the UK aged 26 in 1987. Been seeing suggestions, including from Guy Verhofstadt, about Canada joining the EU. Guy thinks they would be welcomed? What do you reckon, Nick? I’d welcome that for sure!!
In Sicily it's called omertà, when everybody knows but no one dares to speak. It's how the Mafia rules the island.
Nick appears to suggest that right wing monied interests, the right wing dominated press and opaquely funded think tanks might provide support if he switched to being pro brexit. All credit to him to not doing a Johnson ( or a Ledsome) and switching sides for career purposes.
How do you deal with a problem like Nigel Farage. Id support a closer relationship, but the liberals completely lost it lat time because of Farage charisma.
Farage is ageing and his tweed jacket and pint nonsense is not going to work on the under fifties.
Farage is such a phoney. Not only cosplaying at being a country type but away from cameras, he drinks wine rather than beer.