Worried, Scared and Paralyzed: Lives Caught in Brexit Limbo

This 2nd generation Irish American loves seeing the Brits twist in the wind, but enough is enough: quit Brexit and stay EU.

I guess I'm tiring of the whole Brexit thing. I lost interest in this article real quick. Starting off the article with the profile of someone who is going to prosper by processing red tape just really left me cold. I realize that some level of administration is necessary and I don't mean any offense to the guy, but is this the best illustration you could find? If this is the best lead-off you can find, then I don't care a hoot about Brexit any longer.

A state of 'Flux' has steadily grown like a mushroom under a damp moist hedge row, in the UK for several years. Discontent with the political 2 party system. Frustration at perverse EU regulations foisted onto Britain, example, you cannot sell curly cucumbers they must be straight and of a precise length and diameter, why? There are many positives of EU memebership but fears over immigration and short sighted outmoded Dunkirk spirit 'We'll fight em on the beaches' is indicative of an older generation and those blinkered under paralysis of a connected Europe and a bright future. Unfortunately the European Union's present climate is fracturing whether we like it or not. Perhaps Britain we leave the EU temporarily at this time whilst the fallout and hot cinders blow about, and then return when a stronger footing evolves. All the worry about loosing work and a Brexit downturn?, well I lost a major project after nearly 5 years working on it, during the first three weeks when Brexit arrived. You just have to get on with it that is the human condition, and when the dust settles as it will, we move ever onwards and be part of Europe. It is the cultural exchange the arts sciences, and openess for younger people which will suffer when the UK departs. Sadly with the recent WW2 Remembrance weekend, those who gave us with their lives and energies a freer Europe and democracy, are simply insultated, epsecailly when we see our British Labour Party being led by an antisemtic leader.

I just can't see any benefit to the vast majority of Britons if they leave the European Union. It's just an impression but it seems to me that the haves just want to thumb their noses at Brussels and its influence on their privileged lives. We are a global society and clean air, clean water, trade and sharing of scientific information could save our grandchildren and great grandchildren from catastrophe. It will benefit the world if we are not so selfish.

When the voting is over, when parliament returns to its primary job of running the country for the people of the UK, when the issue is stay or leave the EU, it will all be remembered as an exercise of egos. Yes, pick whoever you want, politicians in gov't, people on the streets, businesses, etc. they all have their own opinions. And each of them are self serving. Me first, you last. The bottom line is that the UK never had it better than being a member of the EU. Brexit is a fantasy that will result in people being worse off. Soon they will understand.

Not worried, scared and paralyzed: Vladimir Putin.

Well Scotland it is up to you. Announce a new referendum on leaving the UK and staying in the EU if Brexit is adopted. The referendum will pass will this time.

Brexit is the greatest self-inflicted harm any European country, outside civil war, will ever experience. It will cause economic ruination throughout the UK and will have negative consequences for its neighbour, Ireland. A disaster of epic proportions.

I hadn't heard the bit about post-Brexit Britain becoming a technology hub - right up there with "Singapore on the Thames" in the annals of ridiculous Brexiteer fictions. The idea of the U.K. successfully competing with California, or even Austin, Texas, in the global tech market is laughable. Berlin is already the European tech hub and will still have unfettered access to a market of 400 million post-Brexit, while London will have Mr. Baker pushing paperwork. Singapore is in the heart of a global trade superhighway. Post-Brexit Britain will be on the fringes of a resurrected Carolingian empire. What British conservatives, with the connivance of Corbynites in Labour, will accomplish is making a once great empire that ruled one-fifth of world's population into a pathetic client state of a mercurial and politically dysfunctional former colony.

Have another referendum - you didn't stick the landing with this one.

What chaos. When I hear Kang keep floating the ridiculous idea of having national referendums in the US, I always immediately think about what a disaster Brexit has turned out to be. Thanks but no thanks.

What trouble can be caused for many by a few unqualified people. Boris is driving the UK nuts and maybe into ruin while Trump is doing the same here while the place focus on impeachment.

EU national married to an American here. We have spent 3 years wanting to know what will happen to us and the UK. We love our neighbours but you can already see the damage starting to happen to vulnerable communities. 3 years of not being able to plan has meant that people dont invest or spend money, the pound is worth less, and the bank still wants its payments like any other time. The ''settled status'' is a joke. It last for 5 years, you can't leave for more than 6 weeks, and you receive no proof of this. Border officials are even ignorant of current immigration regulations. The government issues NO formal paperwork and NO guidance on what may happen in brexit and locals are as deluded as ever about 'getting their country back'.

Nearly 8 decades of life in the U.S., illuminated in the open secrets preserved by the quiet, dedicated philanthropy of librarians, have provided a few insights. We are homo sapiens. Chaos is what we do. Because we delude our children with the pursuit of hollow appetites. And take pride in calling it progress. As Yogi Berra might have said... We get too old too quick being clever to figure out what sanity is.

Still seems that BREXIT is a fantasy game, where the UK is portrayed as a chained giant just waiting to be freed and then fulfill its enormous potential. Well, what happens if it turns out to be just another country trying to compete in the real world of giants like EU, China, US etc. And God help London if the banking industry pulls out en masse to another capital as the UK will no longer be the conduit to the EU, Certainly there have been issues throghout the EU/UK history, and no system, on Earth is perfect, but BREXIT, like Trumpist protectionism and isolationism will lead to the same outcomes they always have: discord and conflict.

Having the flow of imported medications slow to a trickle because of customs issues is quite scary. I have visions of thousands of trucks carrying medical supplies from the EU stuck at the border, waiting for the extensive paperwork to be finished to enter Britain. This could have serious consequences.

It baffles me why they do not just have another referendum on Brexit, possibly with the options of (i) remain, or (ii) leave only on a deal approved by parliament or (iii) leave whether or not a deal is approved by parliament. A general election is a poor way to resolve the matter as it may force those who want to make a clear choice on Brexit free of other considerations to vote for a party they may not otherwise support.

If Brexit was such a good idea why did Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson have to lie to get people to support it? Let's remember that Johnson wrote on the side of a red bus that the UK sends "£350 million a week to the EU," which turned out to be an outright lie. Brexit is just another example that it's easier to go with the con than admit you've been conned.

The tragedy of Brexit is that it will destroy the very identity and sovereignty that proponents have been touting as the reasons for the divorce. The terms for the inevitable re-admittance to the EU will not be favorable when the UK comes back to the negotiating table with hat in hand.

Consider also all the British people who live and/or work in the other EU countries, each of which has made differing commitments and arrangements for them after Brexit. Some are being very accommodating, granting permanent residence or citizenship easily. Others may make it more challenging. In some, even granting citizenship may not be easy as they do not allow dual citizenship, so people will have to renounce British citizenship, making it difficult to move back. Some jobs require citizenship, and what about the availability of free medical care? It will be chaos for years after Brexit.

The cover photograph is stunning. Look at those faces! No one looks happy. What a contrast from the world of curated social-media.

Conservatism used to mean keeping things the way they are, with only minor, slow tweaks. It's a smart approach to most problems, because large changes are always disruptive, and rarely improvements. There is one exception: when external events create a crisis, a big jump may be appropriate. 3 British examples: the Norman Conquest, the Glorious Revolution and the introduction of the NHS.

My guess is that many of those who voted for Brexit were not voting for Brexit per se - they viewed it as a means to express their displeasure and dissatisfaction and fear over the changes in the UK's social safety net, their lack of financial security and their culturally embedded xenophobia. A pro-Brexit vote resulted. Now that the consequences are becoming apparent, and after three years of paralysis and a stunning demonstration of the failure of gobenrment and their political process, it will be interesting to see what will happen in the upcoming vote.

To the rhetorical question apparently asked by the Queen: give me three reasons why we should stay in the EU, the answer will be Scotland, N Ireland and Wales with the clock starting to tick from December 12th. Brexit will also destroy the traditional good-natured character of UK people.

It is not a good sign that the one example given of Brexit creating new jobs involves the need for more people to fill out customs forms.

While vacationing in the Caribbean last week I met a fellow from London who works for the European arm of a Japanese bank with about 4000 employees based in London. He said the bank moved its European head office function from London to Amsterdam last year with a skeletal staff but no change is expected in the staffing in London where the operations are expected to remain despite Brexit.

If Brexit is carried through, a lot of economic activity in Britain will simply stop. This will create even more resentful voters for politicians to exploit by misdirecting their anger to hatred of "the other". It works for Trump in West Virginia. Populists thrive on economic collapse, so when in power damaging the economy is a net plus for them.

Your examples of uncertain futures might usefully be extended by describing the fate of a British passport holder living in an EU country, uncertain whether a) he or she will be allowed to continue living and/or working in that country, and/or b) he or she will have health insurance post-Brexit, or c) even if allowed to reside in one EU country will be allowed to visit or work in another EU country.