RayC

So you're attributing Germany's current economic problems to Brexit? Any evidence to support that claim? You know something like the German equivalent of the OBR report which estimated that Brexit cost the UK 4% of GDP in 2021? No? Thought not

Interesting article but it does not suggest the imminent disintegration of the EU. Nothing there about Brexit benefits for the UK but that is no surprise.

Language evolves. 'Whinging Pom' can be used in a playful manner but the origins of the phrase (probably) date to the early '60s when it was used in a derogatory manner to describe British immigrants (the £10 Poms?) who were constantly complaining and did not mix with the locals. So an example of a lack of integration and hardly "reaching". Common interests obviously aid integration. I'm no expert re Australian immigration requirements but I'd be very surprised if those applying for permanent residency in Australia (other than refugees) weren't required to be able to speak English. What events/ changes to visa requirements have caused Australia to lose control of their immigration system?

Given that the Aussies call us "Whinging Poms", it would appear that at least some Brits have problems integrating themselves into Australian society. British migrants to Australia will require housing, health provision, etc and their kids will need schooling so, as a group, they are just as much a drain on Australia's infrastructure as other immigrants. Wouldn't you agree? In any event, as the article states, from post-WW2 until COVID Australia was an almost continuous economic success story. Roughly 30% of Australian residents were born outside the country. Therefore, it seems reasonable to suggest that immigration has had a positive effect in Australia.

Maybe you have a point. It would be interesting to get a native-born Australian's perspective regarding any negative effects of British immigrants on Australian culture.

I hope no one brought shares in 'UK Brexit benefits' or 'Imminent EU demise' when you first suggested them as 'buys'. If they did they'd be looking at 99% losses currently with de-listings a near certainty.

If Assange was such a champion of morality in society, he would have returned to Sweden to face the allegations of sexual assault which he was charged with.

I've never understood why it is seen as some sort of a priori truth that China and/or Russia would welcome the failure of the US and/or EU economies. How would economic turmoil, widespread civil unrest and a breakdown of the respective political systems in these two regions benefit China or Russia? It's not as though either China or Russia is currently in a position to step into the breach, and act as the world's economic powerhouse and de facto policeman. In any event, China's holdings of US treasuries are broadly correlated with the state of their balance of payments (BOP): A decline in their BOP leads to the selling of overseas assets including US Treasury bonds. The chances of China liquidising all its' holdings by the end of this year is slim. If that happens then we can conclude that the Chinese economy is in freefall not that it is part of some grand master plan to undermine the US economy. Unless/ Until the BRICS are able to forge a common currency, the NDB poses no threat to the dominance of the dollar. Even then, there is no guarantee that the "BRIC" would become the world's reserve currency. The NDB is a work in progress and is likely to remain one for some time yet.

At some point in the future, there will almost certainly be a global recession. At some point there may well be a global depression, but why does the current hostility with Russia act as the catalyst for the destruction of the West's financial system?

Many of Russia's assets (in the EU) are Euro-denominated bonds issued by France and Germany. The underlying risk is that the Euro collapses. In that case, this proposed bond will suffer but that is no different to hundreds of similar bonds. I see no reason why the costs should be any more significant than for similar bonds. The significant risk for potential buyers of this bond is that they may leave themselves open to litigation from Russia when the war ends. If dirty money and unscrupulous investors are eliminated from European markets, it would be a positive development. Whether the funds are a loan or a debt to Ukraine is irrelevant in this context. As I mentioned above, the risk for potential investors is litigation and they are seeking guarantees from the EU to mitigate against this eventuality. If these assurances are not sufficient, then I doubt that the sale of the bond will go ahead. If the bond is release then I very much doubt that, " ... most seasoned investors and institutions will avoid (this bond(s)) like the plague .." as the bond will only likely be released if the EU is confident of success. Most of those assets are held by US, not EU, institutions. I very much that at the end of the war, Russia will be keen to become involved in a 'banking war' with the US. The fact remains that Russian assets in the West are greater than those Western assets of the West in Russia. There would be only one winner in a banking war. Perhaps but the bottom line is Ukraine would have to agree to any proposed negotiated settlement.

I can't make my mind up about Southgate. His supporters would point to his record (best since Ramsey). His detractors would argue that he has underachieved given the talent available to him. Then you are confusing me with someone else. My only posts about Biden have been to call you out re your labelling of him as 'Oirish' Joe, and lament the quality of the younger generation of US politicians if Biden and Trump are the best available candidates. Hardly the stuff of hero worship. Imo Sunak's only chance of remaining leader is if he wins the election, which is unlikely.

Yeah, I blame the 'woke' shirt for Saturday's defeat. Biden my hero? Not sure where you conjured that one up from?

"Qatar Airways - what happened to them?" (Partial) answer: Nothing happened to the airline directly but now that the World Athletic C'ships and the football WC have moved on, Qatar has no need to try and impress. Consequently, services on the State airline have deteriorated.

Really? Things in every member state of the EU are much worse than in the UK? How so? So the economies of all 27 EU member states are in crisis? Yes. Although unfortunately I can't see it happening in the near future. The OBR (a UK government department) estimated that the UK GDP was 4% (£32bn) less in 2021 than it would have been if we had remained in the EU. After rebates, the UK’s EU membership fee in 2018 was £13.2bn. Even allowing for inflation, enhancements, etc that's a sizeable net loss. Looks like it's the UK that's failed. Please show me what quantifiable benefits we have gained from Brexit. (Note to Nauseus and TransAm: Don't blame me😉)

I thought that it was clear from the context of my original post that I was voicing a personal opinion rather than suggesting that I was stating a fact and/or acting as spokesman for the UK public. My mistake. Apologies for the ambiguity.

Thank you for the retraction and apology. It is appreciated.

As the mods have stated, LBC is far from a spurious source. I'd suggest Mediabiasfactcheck might want to revisit its' methodology if its' ratings of LBC are anything to go by

Well said.

"We", the British electorate. I didn't claim that I spoke for anyone else, although I'm pretty certain that I am not the only republican in the UK.

Oh dear ... Are you really that desperate to avoid answering my question about the benefits of Brexit that you resort to posting outright lies in an attempt to divert attention? Thought that you were better than that, nauseus. If you refer to page 1, you will see that sirineou was the first person to mention Brexit in this thread, followed by herfiehandbag. I replied to herfie (my first post in this thread). If you must make up things can I suggest that you at least make it a bit more difficult to disprove the lie.

The section containing Figure 2 in the attached link contains the more relevant data https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrants-in-the-uk-labour-market-an-overview/

Trans, I didn't bring Brexit up so point the finger elsewhere. However, once Brexit is brought into the discussion, I feel that it is my civic duty to correct the falicy that it has been of net benefit to the country😉

If that claim is proven, then it is disgusting behaviour and the nurses in question need to be dismissed immediately.

Could you explain why given that Brexit has delivered few, if any, benefits? Perhaps so, but Brexit was the original division upon which these other fractures have emerged.

“Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.” Spike Milligan