On Mon 19 Jun at 12:19pm Ashamed to be British wrote:
THE LAUGHING STOCK OF EUROPE
If it weren't so serious, the situation in Great Britain would almost be comical. The country is being governed by a talking robot, nicknamed the Maybot, that somehow managed to visit the burned-out tower block in the west of London without speaking to a single survivor or voluntary helper. Negotiations for the country’s exit from the EU are due to begin on Monday, but no one has even a hint of a plan. The government is dependent on a small party that provides a cozy home for climate change deniers and creationists. Boris Johnson is Foreign Secretary. What in the world has happened to this country?
Two years ago David Cameron emerged from the parliamentary election as the shining victor. He had secured an absolute majority, and as a result it looked as if the career of this cheerful lightweight was headed for surprisingly dizzy heights. The economy was growing faster than in any other industrialised country in the world. Scottish independence and, with it, the break-up of the United Kingdom had been averted. For the first time since 1992, there was a Conservative majority in the House of Commons. Great Britain saw itself as a universally respected actor on the international stage. This was the starting point.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:20pm Ashamed to be British wrote:
In order to get from this comfortable position to the chaos of the present in the shortest possible time, two things were necessary: first, the Conservative right wingers’ obsessive hatred of the EU, and second, Cameron’s irresponsibility in putting the whole future of the country on the line with his referendum, just to satisfy a few fanatics in his party. It is becoming ever clearer just how extraordinarily bad a decision that was. The fact that Great Britain has become the laughing stock of Europe is directly linked to its vote for Brexit.
The ones who will suffer most will be the British people, who were lied to by the Brexit campaign during the referendum and betrayed and treated like idiots by elements of their press. The shamelessness still knows no bounds: the Daily Express has asked in all seriousness whether the inferno in the tower block was due to the cladding having been designed to meet EU standards. It is a simple matter to discover that the answer to this question is No, but by failing to check it, the newspaper has planted the suspicion that the EU might be to blame for this too. As an aside: a country in which parts of the press are so demonstrably uninterested in truth and exploit a disaster like the fire in Grenfell Tower for their own tasteless ends has a very serious problem.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:21pm Ashamed to be British wrote:
Already prices are rising in the shops, already inflation is on the up. Investors are holding back. Economic growth has slowed. And that’s before the Brexit negotiations have even begun. With her unnecessary general election, Prime Minister Theresa May has already squandered an eighth of the time available for them. How on earth an undertaking as complex as Brexit is supposed to be agreed in the time remaining is a mystery.
Great Britain will end up leaving its most important trading partner and will be left weaker in every respect. It would make economic sense to stay in the single market and the customs union, but that would mean being subject to regulations over which Britain no longer had any say. It would be better to have stayed in the EU in the first place. So the government now needs to develop a plan that is both politically acceptable and brings the fewest possible economic disadvantages. It’s a question of damage limitation, nothing more; yet even now there are still politicians strutting around Westminster smugly trumpeting that it will be the EU that comes off worst if it doesn’t toe the line.
The EU is going to be dealing with a government that has no idea what kind of Brexit it wants, led by an unrealistic politician whose days are numbered; and a party in which old trenches are being opened up again: moderate Tories are currently hoping to be able to bring about a softer exit after all, but the hardliners in the party – among them more than a few pigheadedly obstinate ideologues – are already threatening rebellion. An epic battle lies ahead, and it will paralyse the government.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:22pm Ashamed to be British wrote:
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said that he now expects the Brits to finally set out their position clearly, since he cannot negotiate with himself. The irony of this statement is that it would actually be in Britain’s best interests if he did just that. At least that way they’d have one representative on their side who grasps the scale of the task and is actually capable of securing a deal that will be fair to both sides. The Brits do not have a single negotiator of this stature in their ranks. And quite apart from the Brexit terms, both the debate and the referendum have proven to be toxic in ways that are now making themselves felt.
British society is now more divided than at any time since the English civil war in the 17th century, a fact that was demonstrated anew in the general election, in which a good 80% of the votes were cast for the two largest parties. Neither of these parties was offering a centrist programme: the election was a choice between the hard right and the hard left. The political centre has been abandoned, and that is never a good sign. In a country like Great Britain, that for so long had a reputation for pragmatism and rationality, it is grounds for real concern. The situation is getting decidedly out of hand.
After the loss of its empire, the United Kingdom sought a new place in the world. It finally found it, as a strong, awkward and influential part of a larger union: the EU. Now it has given up this place quite needlessly. The consequence, as is now becoming clear, is a veritable identity crisis from which it will take the country a very long time to recover.'
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:22pm Bonehead wrote:
What has happened is the left have ruined this country and the rest of Europe are laughing at us as gutless
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:32pm May`s Monsters wrote:
We are racially superior to those foreign scum.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:33pm @Bonehead wrote:
PMSL, you are mental, the right (and to a lesser extent the centre) have brought this us mess. Nothing to do with the left.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:33pm EN MARCHE ANGLETERRE wrote:
Britain wanted to discuss trade whilst we negotiated on the billions we are paying to leave the EU.
The EU said no
The result is we are not negotiating on trade until the bill is settled
That is the way it is when you “negotiate" with a group 8 times your size and on whom you are dependent. You suggest politely and they decide what suits them.
We told you, but you knew best
Experts told you but you knew best
Inflation is hitting record highs but the B of E dare not increase interest rates because growth is also plummeting
We told you but you knew best
City firms are moving out even now , the National debt is escalating , there is no money for services and that is going to get a lot worse yet
We told you but you knew best
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:34pm Charles De Gaulle wrote:
LOL
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:36pm Ashamed to be British wrote:
Yes it is me again. Sad git with nothing to do except post insane claptrap on here. I do apologize but care in the community has failed me.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:36pm Project Fearless. wrote:
Lies,they need us more than we need them.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:45pm @Ashamed to be British wrote:
Shame on you. Blatant copy and paste ( I read exactly the same article in a Swiss paper)
Can't believe you would pass this off as you're own. Shocking.
On Mon 19 Jun at 12:52pm pyscho wrote:
newms again....
On Mon 19 Jun at 4:11pm lamdan wrote:
It may be a cut and paste, it may be a lengthy diatribe, it may be plagiarised but it is difficult to argue against any of it (apart from inflation being at record highs, we had inflation of over 20% after WW1 and again in the mid 70's). The UK has three choices, remain in the EU, sign up to the semi EU membership that Norway has to gain entry to the Free EU markets, or eff off and good luck because you are on your own from now on. There is no Soft Brexit or Hard Brexit, just Brexit which equals political, social and economic suicide
On Mon 19 Jun at 4:33pm Lovely wrote:
Loving your positive approach to life
On Mon 19 Jun at 5:36pm Pyscho wrote:
Newms again
On Mon 19 Jun at 10:34pm Mark wrote:
Newms is just a little bit special and peculiar.