Keir Starmer

[The perfect fumble]

Starmer isn’t going to reopen the Brexit debate. As a nation we are incapable of talking sensibly about the EU, meaning the UK isn’t close to joining the EU or even thinking about it for a generation or two, and the EU isn’t going to accept the UK even if we were thinking about it.

What we can, and will do, is edge ever closer over time and end up with NI‘s current situation applying to the whole of the UK. Voting for Starmer will just make the inevitable quicker and less painful.

You don't say!

Say it often enough and it sounds believable.

Think on this.....

Barely ten years ago it was unthinkable we'd ever leave the EU.

But yeah, a generation, that'd be 20-30 years? And you reckon a generation or two, so that's what? Fifty years or so?

The young want back in, they're not going to wait that long.

 

[mexico1970]

As a black woman…..

Yawn, she is as thick as fucking mince, a serial offender and a natural political enemy of the leader so no surprise he is fucking her off.

It’s called politics Diane, something the left and momentum are also good at playing.

She plays the race game constantly, fucker has stolen a living ;)

 

[BobKowalski]

It’s technically impossible for NI’s set-up to apply to the rest of the UK.

If rest of the UK were to join the single market and EU customs union - as currently applies in NI - then large parts of the current NI set-up would be redundant and the structure would change as a result.

What you’re effectively advocating is the UK rejoining the single market and customs union. There’s effectively no NI option for the rest of the UK.

Yes. I kind of thought that was clear in my post.

 

[BobKowalski]

You don't say!

Say it often enough and it sounds believable.

Think on this.....

Barely ten years ago it was unthinkable we'd ever leave the EU.

But yeah, a generation, that'd be 20-30 years? And you reckon a generation or two, so that's what? Fifty years or so?

The young want back in, they're not going to wait that long.

It will be a decade before we can even start taking sensibly about the EU. And the EU will look a lot different in a decade. When we talk about rejoining we think about going back to what we had, but that EU will have long gone and I don’t see us formally joining a larger, more centralised bloc.

Our relationship will be similar to Switzerland. I could be wrong though, who knows.

 

[The perfect fumble]

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party....

 

[Brewster's millions]

Yes. I kind of thought that was clear in my post.

The differences between what NI has currently and what a plain vanilla membership of the single market and customs union for the UK as a whole would entail - while remaining outside of the EU of course - are the tricky bits though aren’t they?

Currently, and at least in theory, NI has democratic control over trade policy, product/food standards and VAT exemptions - all via goods imported from GB - and changes in single market legislation can be kicked back if sufficient opposition exists. All of this would be removed should the rest of the UK sign up for customs union / single market.

Do you really believe that the UK should be in a situation where it has no control over any of these factors, and simply follows the EU with no influence over trade, product standards and market legislation?

Personally I think that support for rejoining the EU proper would be much stronger and more widespread than the scenario you’re outlining.

 

[BrianW]

I would much sooner rejoin the EU. But then I am not afraid of the potential political consequences. Euro? Federal Europe? Bring them on!

Many people do have reservations about these things, so a more distanced (but integrated) relationship is more palatable, even though it is illogical. Logic clearly does not win elections in the UK. This is second-best as far as I am concerned, but still better (and economically sounder) than what we have. As ever in life, you cannot have it all roads.

 

[remember arthur mann]

Keir who? What a pussy, complete waste of space. We need people like Skinner and Benn.

 

[Postman Pep]

 

[hilts]

We were already in a position where weren’t all in, with the various opt outs we had. It would have been perfectly feasible to guarantee retaining sterling, opting out of a EU army and actually using the rules available to us to limit free movement, so it could easily have been sold to the more sensible eurosceptics that we’re opting out of ever closer integration whilst retaining the main parts we liked. Instead we’ve tossed it all away and thrown out the baby with the bath water.

Hopefully Starmer will get us back to a position where we can benefit from being aligned with the EU without being a member.

Yep and they could have even done all that or some of it before and the referendum wouldn't have been lost. I'm glad some are finally realising listenening to others is a good idea.

Shame it's too late.