Voting at EU elections

[noel]

Noel, my take on it is that I would expect a negative impact in the first instance. As the old saying goes, you cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs. So, when I voted leave, did I do it with expectation that all would be rosy? Absolutely not. The truth is I, and I suspect most 'persons in the street' cannot really know what a future outside of the EU will be like. I do know that I was not happy with the status quo or the projected future of staying in. I also observed that there was a world outside of the EU. And that even a country completely surrounded by the EU could maintain its existence. So was voting leave a jump in the dark? Yes of course, but I prefer to think of it as a leap of faith. Faith in our own abilities and institutions. And faith that there is a wider world and that globalisation has dramatically altered that world in the last 2 decades.

That's a good point. Politicians need to be interested in getting re-elected, and therefore a short "bump in the road" isn't good news for them. I think we've said this before, but Brexit might be a good idea or not in the long run (and that's what we've been discussing here for over 100 pages - and now onto this other thread!). In the short run most people agree it will make us poorer. But again, it's about how much and for how long.

Someone else must have said this already: Old people were more keen than young people on Brexit. Could that be because the type of long-term thinking that this "taking the pain" or however you want to term it is easier for people who can balance a period of economic downturn versus the promise of longer-term gains (be they economic, democratic or whatever)?

[Wheeze]

Pat, the referendum WAS binary. Stay or leave. No middle ground!

[Wheeze]

Noel, a lot of older people were very much for remain. My mum for one! And I remember reading an impassioned piece by a WW2 veteran who said we fought the war for a united Europe not a totalitarian state. I don't think you can paint the picture of leave being a grey vote at the expense of youth. But equally the under 25 vote was underrepresented because many did not vote.
I would like to see a United Europe too and not a totalitarian state...but I felt there was a risk of that happening. But using a political machine rather than a war machine.

[Witton Park]

I wonder why Maggie bothered to push for the creation of the single market? As been clearly demostrated it does not do anything and leaving it will have no effect on UK supply chains.

I wonder why Maggie was blocking Maastricht, I wonder why Maggie was against the ERM....

You read things in to my previous post that I didn't say and I'm not sure anyone has said "it will have no effect" but then that's probably you being sarcy Pat.

But the effect of leaving is a trade off with the benefits. It's my assertion that the effect is far less marked than is portrayed by many.
(see my comments on Cable earlier where he manipulates information for the moment, to fit his narrative, as of course do some on the Leave side)

To have a true single market there has to be a common currency (amongst other things) so the Eurozone will benefit more than non-Eurozone in respect of single market.
"So you advocate joining the Euro" I am then asked.

No, because then you lose control of economic levers as we see in Italy and others.

[Witton Park]

Speaking to Nick Robinson on The Today Programme this morning, EU Commissioner Věra Jourová gave a strong hint that the Withdrawal Agreement could be altered in the future. Saying she would be “very careful” in her answer, she said the decision whether or not to alter the deal in order to avoid a ‘No Deal’ scenario that would hurt both sides would be for the next EU Commission president. She would only commit to the Withdrawal Agreement being the only deal on the table “for the moment”

I thought this might start. New Commission, no loss of face, possible movement.