RayC

So the UK should change its' constitution and adopt a Swiss style system based around referendums? I wouldn't dream of taking "that accolade" away from the 52% of the voters who voted that way. In fact, I promise to continually remind them of the fact!

I doubt that there were many statistically sound models predicting Bitcoin at $1 million. I think that I'll put my trust in the models used by epidemiologists and the weather people to get it right more often than not, but if you want to smoke and disregard predictions of hazardous weather simply because they are forecasts, that's your look-out. A bit like Brexit, don't say that you weren't warned. I also predict that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning but you will probably disagree with that forecast as well?

No but like everyone else they can see the past. Fancy that, eh?

The UK government, or more precisely the Tory government, has no one but itself to blame for the situation. From Cameron's calamitous decision to put his own personal political interests above those of the country and call a referendum in the first place, through May's gamble in calling a general election - which backfired disastrous - and fatally weakened her premiership, to Johnson's pact with the 'flat-earth society' (the ERG) - which left him with no room to maneuver - the whole thing has been nothing but a farce of the Tories' own making. The pressure was completely self-inflicted. Very debatable. But in any event, there was - and is - a very good reason why membership of the EU should never be reduced to a simple 'In'/'Out' referendum: It is far too complex. (Also imo there is little place for referendums. We live in a parliamentary democracy. We elect politicians to make decisions on our behalf. That is what they should do). Imo neither side came out of the negotiations with any credit when it comes to citizens' rights. At times, it seemed like a battle for the moral low ground. Agreed. I'm not sure that there was ever a danger of the EU disintegrating, but I accept that it's probably fair to say that Brussels wasn't keen to encourage any further referendums on membership! Vengeful? How so? Noted around the world? Where exactly? How has this manifested itself? I don't accept your premise, but putting that aside, why would the " (European) commissioners have been far better off being more reasonable"? Arguably, they would have been worse off: It may have encouraged others to leave and it might have been seen as a sign of weakness and weakened Brussels' negotiating positions with other nations.

Epidemiology predicts that if you smoke 40-a-day you have more chance of developing lung cancer than if you don't smoke. But, hey, it's just a forecast so puff away! (Humour with a serious twist)

????I dread to think at what is about to be (re)started!

Unless you have an intimate knowledge of this company e.g. have studied its' accounts, seen its' order book, etc that is nothing but idle speculation.

Even if true (debatable), it does not negate the fact that Brexit has had a negative economic economic impact on the UK. (This message will repeat every hour. This is an attempt at humour.)

It has and it would be. Unfortunately, it won't happen for the foreseeable future.

So no accountability or responsibility should be levied against those who got us into this mess in the first place? As for dealing with the present. We've had 3 PMs in 3 months, and who knows how many cabinet ministers in the same period. You think it wise to let these people continue to deal with the problems?

My point is that, to the best of my knowledge, no Brexiters - with the exception of @nauseus - have acknowledged that Brexit has had a negative impact on the UK economy. That is yet another lie (I'm losing count of the number). I have acknowledged on numerous occasions that Covid and the war in Ukraine have had a negative effect on (the UK's) economy, as have many other remainders.

No need for that. Have a look at the OBR report.

You don't seem to able to stop yourself from misrepresenting the facts. This is yet another example. You imply - by omission - that Brexit was not a contributory factor in this company's closure. Yet again, that is untrue. The following is taken from the link which you posted: "The former Five Star Fish facility was taken on by Icelandic Seafood International in 2020 but has recorded a staggering £8 million in losses, with bosses blaming Brexit, the pandemic, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine." Perhaps, you'd like to email the CEO and inform him that he's got it wrong? (Up to you whether you consider this sarcastic or a serious proposal). To avoid any future ambiguity, I will make it explicitly clear when I am being sarcastic. That was a fact. Again, another of my comments taken of context and the meaning distorted. What I said was that 1200 Brits worked for the EU institutions prior to Brexit and those posts will not be filled by Brits when the incumbents leave/ retire. Problem solved (see above). Can't help you there. Maybe take a bit more care before you post factually incorrect information or distort the meaning of others' comments.

There's a glimmer of hope there but .....????

If these obstacles were known why was there no plan to deal with them in advance of them becoming a problem? There was an offer on the table from the EU to extend the transition period but Johnson declined to accept the offer. Same old, same old. Like Mac you continue to totally disregard the wealth of data presented highlighting the negative effects of Brexit. Chomper eloquently displays some equations showing the Brexit position. However, I will disagree with him slightly and agree with you: 27 other nations are experiencing Brexit problems to varying degrees (although nothing to what the UK is experiencing). The justification seems to be you will suffer more than us (which is also incorrect).

Fellows, Probably a good idea to stick to the egg-throwing, and hitting a frozen cow pat with an over-sized cricket bat, if you couldn't appreciate the beauty of yesterday's match. Fair play to the US. They were the better team. England were fortunate to come away with a point.

No one held a gun to Johnson's head and forced him to sign. The responsibility and accountability for the chaos associated with Brexit rests with the UK government.

I assumed that you would take my comment for what it was: A tongue-in-cheek attempt at humour. Clearly I was wrong. In any event, not for the first time and - unfortunately I doubt that it will be the last - you deliberately misrepresent my comment and post a blatant lie. Where have I ever stated that Covid and the Ukraine war have had no effect on the economy or businesses? The opposite is true. I have explicitly stated more than once that both events have had a negative influence. However, in direct contrast to me, you cannot bring yourself to acknowledge - despite all the evidence presented - that Brexit has had a negative effect on the UK economy. Having to correct you time and again is tedious. And in answer to the obvious retort that no one is forcing me to reply: Yes, that's correct. But why should outright falsehoods be allowed to go unchallenged?

I can't find figures for Belgium - let alone Brussels - but 1.3 million nationals lived in all EU members in 2015. This number decreased to 784,000 in 2019 (Yes I'm aware that this is before the UK formally left the EU but it was during 'purgatory' and it's not the wildest assumption to suggest that some left due to Brexit uncertainty). Wrt to Brussels specifically, about 1,200 Brits worked for the EU institutions. They will not be replaced by Brits so that's 1,200 less jobs in Brussels open to Brits.

I worked with plenty of Brits who used to fly/ take Eurostar back to the UK at weekends. I suspect that there are a lot fewer doing it nowadays for the simple reason that there are a lot fewer Brits in Brussels.

I underestimated how bad things were. The North Sea a hotbed of Covid and the Russian and Ukrainian navies fighting it out in British waters!!

See my reply to Mac so, yes WOW .... a whole 2.9% which means one factor alone exceeds the UK government's target inflation rate.

Of course it's "estimated"!!! All economic data are "estimates". Or did you think that every producer, wholesaler, supermarket and corner shop in the UK sends the Treasury data on every item which they ordered, priced and sold? All UK national economic data is based on samples, and are therefore 'estimates', whatever the source. In YOUR opinion, a 2.9% inflation rate is manageable but the UK government disagrees with you and considers it too high (2% is the target). In any event, the 2.9% is attributable to Brexit only. Add in other factors and it will be significantly higher.

When does an increase in the cost of living become a crisis? Depending on the source, commentators have estimated that Brexit contributes upwards of 2.9% to the inflation figure.

Good job you decided against it????????