EU Referendum Megathread (Brexit)

**Inseriousity.** · 24-06-2016, 10:34 AM

So far, everything's unfolding in the way that I expected it would so I think we can weather the storm in the short term and bounce back just as strong or even stronger in the long term.

Here's a blog post I wrote last month but never really posted anywhere so I thought I'd post it here.

It’s not the End of the World
It’s less than a month to go until the vote to stay or leave the European Union. Project Fear is underway where both sides battle it out to scaremonger as much as possible. For the Remain campaign, if you leave, there’ll be dangerous criminals in your streets because of the lack of EU co-operation and security. For the Leave campaign, if you stay, there’ll be dangerous criminals in your streets because of open borders.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote, 24th June will be a normal day. The sky won’t fall down, the world will keep turning and we will go about our day-to-day lives as if nothing had happened. This is good news. For starters, I like the sky exactly where it is. It also means that when we vote, it’ll be about principle and what you believe in rather than which campaign manages to scare you the most.

The Leave campaign believes in protecting our sovereignty, making sure we take control of our own laws. The Remain campaign believes that sacrificing a little of our sovereignty is a small price to pay for the security and stability the EU provides. Both principles are perfectly valid so the question of the campaign has become about how secure and stable the EU is. If Project Fear can convince you that it would be a catastrophe to leave, the Remain campaign is convinced they can persuade people to sacrifice their sovereignty.

The problem here is that no-one can say for certain what will happen in the future. This is partly because the only people who will have any influence in future discussions are in Government. They are unable to be forthcoming at the moment as they are working for a Remain outcome. It is not in their interests to say what their Plan B is if the country votes to Leave.

I won’t go through every single scaremongering claim from the Remain campaign as the referendum would be over by the time I finished writing this blog. I will address the main issue: the economy.

“The markets will crash and Britain will be plunged into a recession. We will lose access to the single market. People will lose their jobs.” A lot of EU leaders have jumped on the bandwagon saying that they will be brutal with the Brits in the event of Brexit. They will raise tariffs, they won’t work with us and we will lose our influence. The problem is that their economies would be just as fragile. It is not in their economic interests to play hard ball. As Michael Gove put it, “You do not close the shop to your best customer.” I think it would be safe to call their bluff. Politicians are happy to say these things during a campaign to try to get the outcome they want but once the choice to leave has been made, they will have to consider the practical realities of the situation. They won’t want to damage their own economy out of spite.

If the country votes to leave then there are two years under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty (it can be extended to three) to negotiate an exit strategy where these issues can be addressed. We can also start up trade deals with other countries that we are currently unable to. We will not leave straightaway and there is sufficient time to get a good deal. It would not be in our interests or other EU countries to be spiteful and challenging. Our economies require us to work together, to trade with each other and that wouldn’t suddenly stop simply because we voted to leave.

I think that it would be disingenuous to say that there would be no negative consequences. However, the country will bounce back. I believe that the United Kingdom will thrive and be more prosperous outside the EU in the long term. We can take back control of our laws and spend the millions a week we send to Europe on our priorities like the NHS, schools or taking care of the elderly. We have the skills, the people and the determination to succeed.

We just have to believe in ourselves.

xxMATTGxx · 24-06-2016, 11:12 AM

Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish Government will begin to prepare the legislation required to enable a second independence referendum to take place.

The First Minister said the option of a second independence referendum "must be on the table and it is on the table" after Scotland overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU.

She said it is "highly likely" a second independence referendum will take place.

She added she will take "all possible steps and explore all options" to secure Scotland's continuing place in the EU.

She said it is "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland would be taken out of the EU "against its will".

She added: "I am proud of Scotland and how we voted yesterday. We proved we are a modern, outward looking, open and inclusive country and we said clearly that we don't want to leave the EU."

Source: ITV

Cerys · 24-06-2016, 11:13 AM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36621777

'Two Labour MPs have submitted a motion of no confidence in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey confirmed the move in a letter to the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
The motion has no formal constitutional force but calls for a discussion at their next PLP meeting on Monday.

It will be up to the PLP chairman to decide whether it is debated. If accepted it would be followed by a secret ballot of Labour MPs on Tuesday.'

So it begins rip