RayC

I was living in Belgium at the time of the Brexit referendum. I was denied a vote about something that had a profound effect on my life, whereas (some of) those living in Thailand had a voice about something which, at best, had a superficial effect upon them. I am - and will remain (pun intended) - bitter about that fact and will - almost certainly - continue to whine about it: I make no apologies for doing so. The vast majority of Brits - Brexiter or Remainer - do not believe that Brexit has, to date, delivered the promised benefits. There are four possible reasons for this: 1) These benefits do not exist and people were sold a pup 2) The benefits are slow to emerge but will be seen given time 3) There are benefits but the UK negotiated the wrong deal 4) It's the right deal and the benefits should now be visible, but things have been badly implemented. I am firmly in the first camp for reasons which I have outlined on many occasions. Wrt 2), it is, of course, possible that the benefits will emerge in time. However, imo hanging on to this hope requires 'blind faith'. There is little evidence to support this contention. Was it the wrong deal? Imo almost certainly. However, the only better deal would have involved remaining in the Single Market and/or Customs Union. A watered-down Brexit deal would not have satisfied the ERG or Farage and would been seen as 'selling out'. These groups would have supported a harder 'no deal', but that would have been inflationary and led to the UK being even more isolated than it is currently. Why such a scenario would be considered beneficial is beyond me. So, we left with the idea that the current deal is, in fact, a good deal which has been badly implemented. This is a position taken by many Brexiters which begs the simple question, 'What should/ can the UK have done differently?' I have posed this question many times but have not, as yet, received an answer.

That may be true of the article and video but, sadly, that's not the case on this forum. It appears that many posters here can casually overlook Nazism.

You're right but that works both ways. You do not engage in such hyperbole yourself but there are many on this forum who ape Farage and Braverman's rhetoric, sneeringly labelling anyone who does not support their anti-immigrant, anti-European viewpoint as "woke", "Islington elite", members of the anti-democratic establishment, etc, and dismissing evidence presented against their premises as the work of "so-called" experts.

Imo it's fortunate that your views are not shared by many UK politicians or the majority of the UK public.

Unfortunately the article is behind a paywall, but I'd like to know the assumptions and margin of error associated with an economic prediction spanning 15 years.

Oh dear. I can only conclude that you are back on the drugs again. I don't usually proffer advice, but exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures: Please seek professional help before it's too late.

Wrong. Nowhere have I said that "immigration into the UK is all fine and dandy". Moreover, imo immigration is an important subject which needs to be discussed. Wrong again. I believe that the same rights should apply equally to all, regardless of whether they are native-born or an immigrant At least you got right (probably more by luck than judgement). I lived in Thailand in the '90s and do visit there regularly. I currently live in the UK. There are laws in the UK which I wish were not there. There are laws in Thailand which I disagree with. There are probably laws in every country in the world with which I disagree. And .....? It is ridiculous to suggest that there is any hypocrisy. Why should I address it? I am not a Muslim, so have no reason to defend it. What about this one? "The slave who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows" (Luke 12:47). By your logic, we can conclude that Christians support slavery and cruelty. Imo organised religion has caused more problems than it has solved. You don't have to look hard to find instances of violence and contradiction in the Bible or Koran. Imo anyone who takes either book at face value needs their brains dusted. What absolute rubbish. Whether you are referencing the National Front in the UK or France (Front National), you clearly know nothing about the politics of either country if you think that either party was anything other than a bunch of extreme right-wing thugs.

What on earth are you drivelling on about? You are spouting gibberish. Your post is simply a set of words arranged in a series of mainly incoherent sentences. When you've finished smoking/ drinking/ injecting yourself with whatever drug you need in order to concoct your ridiculous conspiracy theories (" .. sinister goals that I will not go into ..."🤦) and have returned to Planet Earth, then maybe you'll be in a fit enough state to have a rational discussion.

Or maybe we can conclude that you haven't integrated into Thai culture and society. Somewhat ironic given that you often accuse immigrants to the UK of exactly the same charge. Of course the UK hasn't had left-wing policies; at least, not for the last 14 years: Economic austerity measures, cuts to public services, an isolationist foreign policy. All symbolic of a right-of-centre government. Whether the Conservative Party ceases to exist or falls victim to a reverse take-over from Farage/ Reform remains to be seen, although I agree that it is a possibility. If the polls are correct, then Labour will probably be governing for, at least, two terms although, of course, once again time will tell. Along with most of the electorate, I don't have much idea what are Labour's economic policies. They have been careful not to spell them out. However, it is difficult to believe that they will enact a more painful act of economic masochism than Johnson's Brexit deal. Macron may have campaigned in 2017 on a centre-left platform, but his time in office has been noticeable for his autocratic and right-wing policies such as his attempts to rewrite the constitution to give himself more power; labour market reforms; raising of the pension age, etc. As for the EU. On the one hand, you criticise the EU's freedom of movement (of resources) - surely fundamental to a capitalist system? - while at the same time saying that the EU is over zealous in its' regulation (which is one of the hallmarks of a command economy). You seem confused about what system you do want.

It's pretty unlikely that Jesus made it to Europe. Moreover, a similar line of argument could be applied to Christianity. The Church(es) didn't exactly hold back when it came to forceable conversion.

That'll be the NF in France, Fidesz in Hungary, Vlaams Belang in Belgium, AfD in Germany amongst others.

You managed to blame immigrants, liberals and the EU all in the same post; impressive. However, unfortunately your post is devoid of fact. The idea that Europe was some idyllic wonderland 20, 30 or 40 years ago is a fallacy; it had most of the same problems that, unfortunately, persist today. If anything, the problems were more marked. In the UK, there were full-on riots in Brixton, Liverpool and other places and the NF and other far-right groups were more openly racist and hostile in their actions. The UK has had relatively liberal immigration policies since, at least, WW2 as immigrants are needed for the labour market. As for the dilution of culture. I still go to church, have a Sunday roast, have a beer before going to the football, etc. (ok, I don't go to church but I could if I were that way inclined). I don't know where you get the idea from that left-wing progressive policies have been implemented over the past 20 years? The UK and the vast majority of EU states have had centre-right or right-wing governments throughout the majority of this period.

It's a matter of opinion whether De Croo was a good PM, but I'm unaware that he committed any crimes while in office.

An interesting, well written piece. I don't share many of Farage's views, but it would be churlish not to acknowledge that he had been a very important and successful voice on the right for 20 years. However, he does have one major advantage compared to the likes of Starmer and Sunak: It is extremely unlikely that he will be held accountable for his words and actions, as he will probably never be in government.

Which is why I wrote: "It's not unreasonable to think about how the UK's cultural landscape may change, but the chances of the UK becoming a Muslim nation any time soon is not large.". So I don't understand your point unless you think that 2180 is "soon".

It's not unreasonable to think about how the UK's cultural landscape may change, but the chances of the UK becoming a Muslim nation any time soon is not large. According to the 2021 census, 57% of the population identify as Christian and only 6% as Muslim. Biggest growing group is 'No religion', 25%.

Right. Just because I might not know any UK overstayers personally that means that they don't exist. Nb. I know an Aussie who has 'overstayed' in Thailand since COVID extensions ended. Does he count?

You do realise that the migrants who cross the channel aren't fleeing France, don't you? Many are fleeing war and persecution in N.Africa/the Middle East and they arrive in Italy, Greece or Turkey. What would you have the UK government do? Say to those countries - and countries such as Germany and France which they traverse - "Your problem?". In that case, why expect those countries to do anything to prevent refugees who want to get to the UK from doing so? It's a Europe-wide problem which needs a Europe-wide solution. As for UK overstayers in Thailand. Are we meant to have sympathy for their 'plight'?

Plenty of illegal Brits (overstayers) in Thailand. More to the point, Brits in Thailand aren't fleeing war zones and persecution.

It is written into the Treaty of Rome that the EC/EEC/EU should seek "ever closer union". What form, and to what extent, that union is forged is obviously open to debate. However, why should it be a surprise that the 'European entity' has evolved? In 1975, the EEC consisted of 9 countries. By 2013, the EU had grown to 28 members. The scope and rules governing the EEC in 1975 would not be fit for purpose for the EU in 2013 (2024).

Whatever the reasons, a significant number of Muslims fought and died for the Allies during WW2 (also in WW1) as did significant numbers of other non-Caucasians of various colours and/or faiths. Today, individuals of all faiths serve in the UK's armed forces. I realise that these facts don't sit easily with the notion that all the UK's problems are due to immigration.

I (largely) agree, although I would point out that Brussels didn't tell us who we could let in, just who we couldn't exclude. When we were an EU member, the UK could have denied entry to all non-EU immigrants if it had wished. The evidence to date suggests that the UK's new found total independence wrt immigration policy has been an abject failure. The contrast between the UK government's approach to immigration since Brexit with the free movement of labour within the EU Single Market is stark. The former depends on a 'planned' approach, whereby numbers of immigrants are set - seemingly arbitrarily - in advance and is, paradoxically, reactive and always trying to play 'catch-up' with the demands of the economy. In contrast, the free movement of labour afforded by EU Single Market rules is dynamic and is able to adjust to the market's demands much more quickly.

It hasn't gone away. Euros start next week. Then a month's break from actual matches but we'll have blanket coverage of the transfer window gossip and wheelings and dealings to ease the pain. Anyway, what's wrong with watching the cricket?

Spot on but you also have to wonder about his advisors. Is there no one close to Sunak pointing out the possible negatives in his actions prior to him taking them?

Successive Tory governments have shown themselves unable to run the country. Unfortunately, the Labour leadership's handling of various internal incidents, such as this, don't inspire confidence that it will do any better in government.