Brexit vote, the zombie apocalypse and other fallout.

[Smivs]

And the petition, it transpires, was started by a Brexiter who thought they would lose. He's now throwing a wobbly and moaning like hell that it's been 'hijacked' by Remainers.

[Wildeblood]

LOL @ Brexit hyperbole in the media. Apparently neo-nazi gangs are now roaming England committing "racist incidents" with impunity.

[Disembodied]

If there's another Scottish referendum, they should poll the whole UK. If over 50% of the Scottish registered population vote to leave then it's leave; if the Scottish vote is over 50% then it goes to the whole UK vote.

That's a bit like saying the Brexit referendum should now have to poll the whole of the EU ... Not a bad idea, but I don't think it'll fly!

[ffutures]

Someone pointed me at this, which seems vaguely relevant

https://m.xkcd.com/1521/

[Cody]

Bots in that petition? <chortles>

[Smivs]

Well, the pound has crashed, the stockmarket has plunged and the government and opposition are both in meltdown. But I was promised zombies - where are my zombies?

Ah, there they are...

[Cody]

<sniggers> Hodgson has already fallen on his sword, and rightly so - it was an abysmal performance!
As for that bunch of pajeros at Westminster - how much do we pay them? [expletive deleted]

[kanthoney]

Asked cat for his actual opinion on EU & he thinks we should repeatedly ask to leave, then when the door opens just sit there & stare at it

[Rxke]

Asked cat for his actual opinion on EU & he thinks we should repeatedly ask to leave, then when the door opens just sit there & stare at it

Brilliant!

[Fritz]

Yes... the current situation is a feast for comedians and cartoonists.

[Anonymissimus]

As a convinced European I'm feeling almost happy about the Brexit, as it means that the most problematic member that's been blocking things over decades will be gone.
Principle EU criticism comes from lack of knowledge about what you've got with it, and from the lies Europe's right wing populists try to convey and which are currently revealed, thanks to the result.
Elections/referendums are not for protest! You may get something you didn't actually want. And 72% turnout is not particularly great for such an important decision.
Perhaps there's some hope for all who voted remain. There could be elections soon (after a prime minster change it should be democratic standard) and if pro-European parties win they will want to undo the Brexit while Brexit negotiations are still running, perhaps with another referendum.

[Disembodied]

Perhaps there's some hope for all who voted remain. There could be elections soon (after a prime minster change it should be democratic standard) and if pro-European parties win they will want to undo the Brexit while Brexit negotiations are still running, perhaps with another referendum.

Alas, there is no such requirement for a UK general election: our democratic standards are pretty low. Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007 when Tony Blair stood down mid-term, and we didn't have a general election until 2010. And that was back when governments could call general elections whenever they wanted to: since 2011 we have the Fixed-Term Parliamentary Act, which places general elections on a fixed five-year timetable. Calling a general election would require a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the Government (by simple majority), or a two-thirds majority calling for a general election. With the nation in the mood, and state, it's in, there aren't enough turkeys in Westminster prepared to vote for Christmas. And the Labour party - the only pro-European party with a hope of forming a government - is currently eating itself. I don't think we'll see another general election before 2020.

The best outcome the UK can hope for now is speedy entry into the European Economic Area - where we have to pay the EU membership fees, accept free movement of EU citizens, and accept all EU regulations without getting to vote on what those regulations say. This, frankly, is unlikely: it's in the interest of the EU to demonstrate that leaving the EU results in economic pain and hardship, and they have no interest in giving us a soft landing. Plus, there are companies who now want to ship out jobs from the UK: no sense in wasting those by giving them a reason to stay put. Very few people have ever said, "Look! A weak economy. Let's be nice to it."

[Rxke]

The best outcome the UK can hope for now is speedy entry into the European Economic Area - where we have to pay the EU membership fees, accept free movement of EU citizens, and accept all EU regulations without getting to vote on what those regulations say.

Wow, creek, paddle... There's no way to get anything good out of this, no? Not for the remain or the exit people...

Or am I missing something? Is the UK a net exporter of something that will make you rich maybe? How much oil do you have? Is the Commonwealth still a significant 'thing?' (I'm really clueless about this)

[Disembodied]

Wow, creek, paddle... There's no way to get anything good out of this, no? Not for the remain or the exit people...

Or am I missing something? Is the UK a net exporter of something that will make you rich maybe? How much oil do you have? Is the Commonwealth still a significant 'thing?' (I'm really clueless about this)

Not really. Oil was the single largest contributor of revenue to the UK Treasury for decades, but the current global oil price slump has hit that on the head - 2016 is the first year since the 1970s where the Treasury hasn't raked in a take from the North Sea. But the UK hasn't been a net oil exporter for a long time. As a nation, the UK doesn't export much: our balance of payments has been in the red since the 1980s. The service sector covers a bit of that, and our banking/money-laundering sector brings in a fair amount (or it used to, until the recent £1.3 trillion oopsie), but much of that is underpinned by us being within the EU, or at least the EEA: large international banks will very likely transfer their European HQs from London to e.g. Frankfurt, to retain unfettered access to the European money markets.

The Commonwealth is a thing - we have a four-yearly sports day, and quite often the Queen has to go and watch a lot of people she can't stand doing ethnic stuff she's not remotely interested in, when she'd clearly rather be down the bookies, so it's not all bad. And Prince Philip gets to be worshipped as a god. A Commonwealth free trade zone has been talked about, but it's been described as a "fantasy", and is unlikely to ever come to anything: most of the non-Prince-Philip-worshipping nations have better things to do.

[Smivs]

No, there really is no Good Way Out.
As big D says we either keep all the economic benefits (with the costs involved) but lose all influence and the other benefits of EU membership, or just go it alone. I honestly don't know how that would go though. We are a strong and successful nation and over time could probably do alright for ourselves, but to get to that point would take decades. It will take at least ten years to sort out trade deals etc (with the cost in Billions involved in doing this - thousands of civil-service man-hours don't come cheap), then we would need to actually get on with trying to pay our way in the World.
No, the fact is our only hope is that some politically acceptable way of ignoring the vote could be found. This is not as unlikely as it sounds. How likely it is though I can't say, but I'm not holding my breath.

Edited to add:-
At least we haven't lost our sense of humour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a6HNXtdvVQ