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[–] 86 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (14 children)

Not gonna happen anytime soon.
And there is no majority for it in UK when the reality of rejoining is explained.

  1. Give up the British pound and switch to Euro.
  2. Pay full price, the old discount membership is not an option.
  3. Dismantle FPP elections and House of lords which are both utterly undemocratic, and cause political instability.
  4. Being willing to allow EU to become even tighter (may imply giving up an additional bit of sovereignty) to be able to work with more new member states, and avoid a Hungary situation in the future.

There is a majority in general that is for reentering, but when the above points are stated, support in the general population drops to about 13%!!

It's probably higher among younger people, but without mentioning the above points, no poll on reentering is worth anything, because they are polling a pipedream.

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  • [–] 42 points 1 week ago* (1 child)

    They really didn't grasp at all the sweetheart deal they had with the EU... other countries would have killed for that.

    It reminds me so much of the Americans complaining about their position in NATO and the "world policeman" that they fought tooth and nail to get because of the huge amounts of soft power it grants in negotiations and generally shaping world policy.

    The irony of a Republican working to undo that... Kissinger's gotta be able to power a small country with how fast he's spinning. Ultimately, good for the world in the end, but another pretty hilarious example of a nation misinterpreting a boon as an albatross around the neck and shooting themselves in the foot by getting rid of it lol. Rhymes so much with Brexit.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    I'm a British voter and I see no deal-breakers.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

    Good, IMO they shouldn't be. ;)
    But to be fair I forgot what for some is the biggest deal breaker, which is the Schengen agreement that allows free travel for EU citizens within EU. Which of course again IMO is another benefit, not a drawback. But propaganda uses it to stir up xenophobia.

    As an EU citizen I too don't see any problems in the above points. Getting a better democracy would seem to me to be a HUGE bonus. But sometimes Brits are a bit stubborn, and they want special treatment because they believe in British exceptionalism.

    UK always considered itself separate from continental Europe, and somewhat superior to the rest of Europe. Which for decades was true, because UK were first to industrialize, and was immensely wealthy from having colonies and the world reserve currency.
    But when that broke down after WW2, UK declined quickly and became a "normal" country. But the mentality never really followed the reality.

    At least that's how I understand it.
    But maybe the steep drop in support when the points are presented isn't so much because they are against them, as maybe they don't quite understand them, or think UK can get a better deal.
    What for instance does it mean to switch from GBP to EUR? That's probably not so clear for everybody.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    If Britain were to return to a pre-Brexit state today, it may look more like what Switzerland has: regulatory alignment and freedom of movement, though outside the increasingly tightly integrated bloc.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Not quite pre-Brexit, because it is not the same as a membership, but I agree that the realistic near future is increased cooperation between UK and EU, and something like Switzerland is a likely model. Which will mean UK will have to follow EU regulation, but will have zero influence on it.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    gestures at current UK regulation and political situation

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  • [–] 9 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Canada will join EU before UK does.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    As things are going it is not impossible. But Canada still rely on USA as their most significant trading partner, and EU membership would dramatically complicate that relationship.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Technically speaking, Point 1 isn't guaranteed to be demanded by the EU. Most of the EU agrees that the UK rejoining would be a huge benefit to the EU. Whether that means the EU would agree to waive the monetary union requirement is not a settled question.

    Furthermore, even if Brussels DID demand that the UK agree to take the Euro like all new joining members, there are loopholes that allow a member state to agree to that but then never finish the process. Sweden for example.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Nothing is guaranteed, but the official standpoint from EU is that UK will NOT get a special deal. And participation in the Euro is the default.
    So UK will technically be obligated to join the Euro.

    Sweden came in under other terms back in 1995, much has changed since, and such exceptions will not be likely to be accepted today.

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    [–] 31 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

    I really think that it's time to stop bashing the Brits. Esp. those younger brits. There are many Pro-Europeans who got totally fucked by the older generation. Many of those older Pro-Brexit voters do not have to deal with border controls and bad job prospects, because they are dead. No one who is currently under 28 was even allowed to vote.

    So stop the senseless bashing and let's try to work together to bring the UK back.

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    [–] 16 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Please, no. The UK held the EU back. They'd had to change their political system first. We don't need them pushing Chat Control and other crap in the EU too.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Brexit is a perfect example of old people fucking up young people lives.

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    [–] 12 points 1 week ago (7 children)

    I remember before Brexit, I was still on Facebook. That's been so long I struggle to remember exactly how Facebook worked; mostly you were posting among your own coterie of friends but some places were more public. I remember posting my own "You really don't want to do that" on the subject of Brexit, and some idiot Brit came back with "you yanks don't know what it's like having your laws made for you by politicians you didn't elect 500 miles away."

    Motherfucker I live almost exactly that far from Washington DC, out of 435 congressman and 100 senators I get to vote for exactly three of them. The difference between me and the average citizen of the UK is I understand what it means to be a citizen of a federation.

    In the words of my grandfather: "You made your bed, now eat it."

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    [–] 6 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Sadly, it'll take years for the UK to rejon the EU, and only if there's a government that actually wants it too.

    There are unbelievable levels of bureaucracy in the entire process. Tons of topics to negotiate, requirements to meet and verify.

    There's at least one country that will become a new EU member before the UK rejoins. Possibly 2 or 3, depending on how the others do.

    It's just sad how much time and resources were wasted because of this idiotic move. So many Brits could be living considerably better lives, but instead they have to deal with this shit for like 20-30 years in total. But hey, the politicians got their votes, ruled the country for a while, and they're set for life.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago* (3 children)

    Decades*

    That's how long it takes.

    Not only would UK not get any special deal, but they would have to align in terms of anti-corruption, monetary policy, infrastructure, health, food, commodity, energy sector planning.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago

    Very true. It'd have to completely revise most of its policies. As an existing member, it could have negotiated special terms or just stalled, but as a candidate, it has to follow requirements to the letter.

    Kind of like an existing employee at a company can slack off or make silly mistakes, but a candidate on an interview cannot, because they just won't get accepted.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago

    I'm 46, I'm not young!

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago

    Brexit is turning into one of those rare political decisions where the people who will live with the consequences the longest were mostly too young to vote on it. Whether rejoining happens or not, the generational divide on Europe’s future is becoming impossible to ignore.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Brexit is the single best modern example of why direct democracy is a critically flawed idea.

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    [–] 4 points 1 week ago (1 child)
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    Well, Britain has had the same foreign policy for the past 500 years. Create a disunited Europe.

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