It's all so sad, especially in the fact that, with the dying off of Brexiter generation, the rising generation, unambiguously European in outlook, will have to kick their heels for a decade or so before the UK - or what is left of it - rejoins.
Never before in the history of the world has a political own goal been so enthusiastically celebrated, in this case by the elderly, the poorly-educated, and the merely nostalgic.
3
They were afraid of losing their brand. Too bad those inexplicably poisonous tabloids of theirs make holding on to it increasingly difficult. Who wants to be in a country that has driven out Harry and Meghan who were making Britain the center of optimism for the world.
5
Say, goodbye to Scotland and Northern Ireland Great Britain.
5
The utterly infantile way Nigel Farage left the European Council versus the latter's generous-spirited farewell reveals everything one needs to know about the Leave campaign. My heart goes out to Remainers.
5
Brexit is fine as long as they go full insular, and embrace dramatically free markets and free trade. If they succeed, watch for other nations to leave the EU and retake control of their own liberty and lives.
If American states were allowed to succeed -- you can see the anti-liberty of the USA when a state can voluntarily join, but can never quit -- I'd be for that as central powers and monopoly are known defects and have landed us in the federal mess, tyranny, lies, wars and massive debts with high taxes that produce little good in return.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of moving parts to a national economy. so how anyone will, decades down the road, determine what this will have done to the British economy is anyone's guess. There will be finger pointing and blaming in the next economic crisis/recession/depression and nothing will emerge as the agreed upon diagnosis. They will be split then as they are now, and probably as they will always be.
4
It would interesting to see a frank and honest review in a few years of how Brexit has changed England. I doubt that it will be either as dramatically good or bad as people think. I do believe that it will diminish England's place in the world, just as Trump has diminished the status of the US.
Globalization has hurt many people around the world and for some reason conservatives seem to have benefited more from the resulting turmoil. Ironically the wealthy backers of right wing politics have gained even more power from the upheaval, even though they were behind the whole globalization mess in the first place.
25
@Jim Dickinson
The populations of different countries have different preferences and priorities. Obviously, with Brexit, a lot of people resented surrendering elements of national control and sovereignty to an outside union. And even if their economic interests are a bit worse by going it alone, it is a price they are willing to pay to retain a higher level of sovereignty.
Compare that to the United States. We are tax adverse. We are apparently more willing to have a crazy quilt health care system run by for profit corporations, paying through the nose in order to pay less directly in taxes. Even though the present system's total cost makes us the highest health care cost nation. But it is the hatred of taxes and "socialism" that outweighs economic common sense.
But then I never ran into a Senior who hated Medicare.
19
@RM Or Social Security. Can't wait for the new Medicaid rules of block grants to go into effect.
I wonder if the farmers who received the $30 billion handout are adverse to "socialism".
12
@cec
And states do not have to use those Medicaid block grants for health care. That is really troubling.
2
We in the 27 deserve so much better than this never-ending hooliganism from a country that never even bothered to try and understand what the EU is.
The UK has always been able to make its own laws, just like any other EU member state. What the UK always struggled with was playing fair according to the rules it so happily put in place for others. Nothing to do with law, a lot to do with arrogance, delusions of grandeur and a misguided sense of superiority.
Leave voters themselves seem to be powered by a mixture of vague nationalistic fervour, xenophobic dislike of foreigners (not just immigrants but 'Brussels' and 'Germany') and a sense of bitter self-pity that others might think they are a little dim-witted.
In time people will have to face up to what Brexit actually means for them as individuals and for the UK.
National unity is just one in a long line of Brexit delusions which persist by being oppressive.
Britain will soon resemble the classic dying marriage: Brexit bullies holding out their sad offerings, pretending everything’s ok. Depressed Remainers biding their time, looking for a way out.
The fact remains that you have a bitterly divided country and you are leaving the EU with less than half the population behind you.
This is just a prelude to a decade of division and recriminations.
What's more they have another five years of Tory rule to contend with.
The credibility of the UK has been hugely diminished in the eyes of the wider world as a result of this stupidity.
61
@Chris The EU was a (very successful) customs union. With Maastricht, it began metastasizing into an authoritarian superstate, ignoring the will of voters--those who were given the chance to vote, that is--who said, clearly, "no" to all this. The authoritarian's response was the Treaty of Lisbon.
I think the UK is in for a rough time--EU mandarins will do all they can to punish these rebels--but I can't blame it for saying, "enough."
1
@Chris
They forgot the sad days of 70's now it is welcome to a United Scotland, United Ireland, and United Wales!
1
“authoritarian superstate” ?
What are you talking about?
The EU is the sum of its members, one of which was the UK. The UK therefore took part in all the decisions; things weren’t done that hadn’t been agreed to.
A lot of Americans, like Britons, clearly don’t know how the EU functions.
6
As a UK subject, I don't want to 'just get on with it' - I want the people who lied, cheated, bribed and broke Electoral Law to go to prison. Fat chance of that, the 'victors' get to write the history ...
No chance of bringing the country together, I'll never forgive them for stealing my European Citizenship.
18
The UK has never really been a member of the EU in the true sense of the word. It has always had one foot in, one foot out. It never seemed to remember that when it joined the EU, it was amongst the poorest members of the bloc. It builds little, makes little, and its economy, much like the US, is mostly built on paper-shuffling in the financial field. My prediction is, in 40 years, the UK will again lag most of the bloc in economic development. The world today little needs an isolated, former has-been empire island whose greatest asset previously was that they spoke English in a financial world and had access to one of the world's greatest common markets.
76
They also have the misguided opinion that the African-Indian-Australia-Commonwealth will become trading partners; unfortunately that Commonwealth is now called the Commonwealth of Africa-India-Australia-China.
2
@Brains And why wouldn't they want to trade with the UK? We trade with China and Russia and Ukraine without being in some pact.
Instead of pacts, let's just go free trade and free markets and watch us grow and prosper once again.
Britain should celebrate, while there still is a Britain.…
I wonder how long Whales will stay in the Union being England's subject, after Scotland and Ireland have left to rejoin the EU as independent Nations.
2
Being Englishman suddenly became a liability living in France. Never again will Europeans treat an Englishman the same. The English are not European anymore after this sad day. England is now leaving Europe claiming independence. As if that means anything. Patriotism is the last vestige of the scoundrel?
17
@Simon Cardew No, liberty and self-determination are better than central planning. Hong Kong is doing great and only suffers because of the monster China trying to control and destroy it.
@Simon Cardew A sad fact of BREXIT. The Trump administration is working to make Great Britain pay the same prices for drugs as we do here in America. There will be many surprises from leaving the EU.
7
let's welcome Scotland and Ireland to the EU.
4
Scotland and Ireland should Brexit from Britain and join the EU on favorable terms.
1
Boris was a Remainer until the results of the referendum. The referendum barely passed on a majority vote, so it is hardly a great victory. Brexiteers don't seem to have a Plan for Feb 1st and beyond……..
2
They couldn't' afford to ring that bell, they don't want to celebrate proudly? If saving a few Hundred thousand pounds is where England s at ya'll going to have cut a lot of coupons in the coming years.
Now that this is over, what do you have to offer the USA so you get a place near the head of the table. We already have James Bond and the Crown.
@Travis `
You're also more than welcome to Boris (the spider?) Johnson, New York born.
This is like an American becoming a citizen of Michigan. As UK citizen, this has massively diminished my rights to live and work where I want. And in return for what? Bragging rights? Bragging about shooting yourself in the foot isn’t that much fun.
3
@T
It is nothing like that. Michigan was not an independent sovereign nation that subsequently got subsumed by the United States, this comment just shows how little you understand about the culture, history and geo politics of Britain and Europe.
1. One more time, the propaganda machine has worked: "the bewildered herd" has been hoodwinked. History and geography loudly say England is European. Eleonore of Aquitaine is kicking in her tomb today.
2. Brexit, at a time when the survival of humanity on earth depends on global cooperation among nations. "The intelligent species" in it splendid glory!
5
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. I feel sorry for our ally because they are unaware of the second and third order consequences of this act. This could be the unraveling of the United Kingdom.
1
Xenophobia and isolationism have never been the cure for anything. The UK has made a grave mistake that will cost them way more than they gain - not to mention the likely eventual separation of Scotland and the reunification of Ireland.
2
You can't put a price on not having a row of unelected bureaucrats telling you what to do. Look at the women who led the event yesterday, appalled Britain exercises its own sovereignty.
It's a smack in the face to the elite who just can't figure out why people wouldn't want to be part of the experiment.
It's almost like London/NYC isn't representative of much outside its own concrete jungle. But don't tell them that.
3
The only winner here is Putin. He wants to destabilize countries and alliances like the EU and NATO that have strong cohesion. By encouraging internal squabbles that distract and exhaust the populace, he seeds fertile ground for mendacious leaders to establish cult followers that divide the country. The two main examples of this are the US and the UK. He interfered in the 2016 and 2018 American elections and in the UK election and the Brexit referendum. But he also has disinformation campaigns in at least 20 countries globally with destabilizing results.
Putin is smirking. He loves to win and usually does.
5
I cannot blame them for wanting to get it over but seriously do the British really think that they are so exceptional that they can go it alone?
Cue "Ode to Joy"....
2
@MomT there are 166 countries in the UN that are not in the EU. Call me an optimist, but I reckon we'll get by better than most.
The British have never gotten over the end of the Empire. And that ship sailed in the 1940s and 1950s. The UK is a medium sized power that thinks it’s far more important than it is. They’re in for a rude awakening.
8
Black Friday for small, soon to be tiny, Britain and its even littler pols. Scotland will exit in order to stay in the EU. Northern Ireland may decide that its shared island looks better at closing time. Rush to get an EU passport for educated Brits.
Going it alone sounds good to the populist wing but prosperous nations know better. Or they fail.
5
'Rather, it is a characteristically British reflex: Get on with it.'
Exactly. And it is not only British, it should be a universal feeling. No decisions are ever outright back-breaking or striking-gold, as it is virulently put forward in this case, especially and obviously by the Remainers who just could not accept the loss, so just go on with it, the sun will raise tomorrow, you'll go to bed later on, no sinkholes, monsters, cataclysms and such.
1
@ss I agree. Sinkholes, monsters, and cataclysms are not what lies ahead for the British.
The British people should be congratulated for taking back their democracy and sovereignty at a time when democracy is under attack all around the world.
November is now the time for the American people to do the same.
4
I’m sending my sympathy and best wishes. I feel your pain, and hope we’ve ALL learned a very important lesson : Elections Have Consequences.
NOVEMBER.
5
My husband and I are planning a vacation to Europe this fall. He suggested the Lake District in GB but we've decided with Brexit and GB going the way of the US with their election decisions, we've opted for France. We'll spend our money in countries that are not behaving like our own gov't here in the US.
14
@readalot19 we did nothing more than ensure we can remove and replace our ultimate governors when they fail us or we tire of them. When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them…
Hope to see you soon, you'll always be welcome.
2
@readalot19
The Lake District is lovely and if you like hill walking you'd be spoilt for choice. However it is geographically limited, tends to get overcrowded and can be expensive.
Why not consider north west Scotland? A similar sort of magic but on a grander scale and less congested (especially if you avoid the NC500 tourist route).
I'd recommend Assynt, Wester Ross generally and Sutherland. I'm 70 and still enjoy the backpackers hostels also there is no law of trespass in Scotland so responsable camping is easy.
As regards governments, any compassionate, objectively moral person would see big differences between the Edinburgh and Westminster governments although not all powers are devolved (yet).
2
I have lived in the north of England all my life and the Tory party has NEVER brought any investment or prosperity to the north.
For the last 10 years the Tory party have savagely cut any welfare benefits and have subjected ordinary people to never ending austerity and cuts in public services. It will be business as usual for Johnson and his right wing Tory Party, for ordinary people and particularly those in the north ,who voted Tory in Labour heartlands, will NEVER benefit from this government.
Both the election of Johnson and his BREXIT will therefore go down in history as the greatest con trick in British history with only future economic disasters in store and very high taxes for ordinary people.
15
HS2, the high speed train referenced here, is now re-scheduled for completion in something like 20 years, at an extra several billion. It is reportedly poorly-conceived, and will mean nothing positive for this government, or the local commuters in the midlands and north.
‘Brexit Shrugged,’ is true, however. People are tired. People everywhere are tired of politics and sad news.
As an American resident of Britain, who couldn’t vote in the referendum, I speak for more the a few of my friends when I say: ugh.
So - globalization has failed. Facebook is bad for democracy. Free Scotland? Unite Ireland?
5
This experiment of 66 million people (a fifth of our size) might tell us whether we can go it alone - to a place far far back in history that was great (for those dominant). I am bullish because the British democracy is mature, the freedom of speech is unparalleled, the economy is dramatically inventive and innovative, and the culture is plain seductive. There is no cause for gloom and doom, not al all. I suspect the Brits will rapidly move away from a nanny state (they cannot afford) toward a free market economy outside of fortress EU. No I don't expect Frankfurt to lure the talent from the planet as does London. They will begin to mirror the oligarchy that is the US; with the poor emotionally committed to saving every robber baron, while brimming with suspicion and hate toward 'others.'
What is coming is new trade alliances that link developed markets (NAFTA, Japan) with developing ones in the commonwealth - with the Brits sitting in between exploiting both ends. So, sell if you want to, I am buying for I am bullish on Brexit.
6
My father is British and I've always had affection for the country, but after turning to austerity in the midst of the greatest global financial crisis since the Great Depression and now inviting financial disaster and reducing the country's influence due to an influx of Middle Eastern refugees seeking to escape Bush and Blair's war of choice in Iraq, I feel sorry for those who know how bad this is, but the rest will get what they voted for and get it hard.
18
The will of the people finally prevails, despite the years-long efforts of some to thwart it.
9
@Mon Ray
The advisory, not mandatory, referendum (i.e. opinion poll) on Brexit sqeaked in by only a small majority at a time when very little thought had been given to the detailed consequences.
The most recent polls I've seen indicate that that majority has reversed, still without details of the detailed negotiations required to finalise the reality of leaving.
I know that geographical distance empowers oversimplifications but hyperbolic sloganising is always unhelpful and inaccurate.
11
@Mon Ray
51 percent, during a Russian rigged, referendum, is hardly ‘the will of the people.’
2
If UK succeed after Brexit within, say 5 to 10 yrs, then many people in other countries in the EU region, mainly the big and more prosperous ones in western Europe, probably would raise louder demand to leave EU.
6
@Bonku Britain will not suddenly post Chinese growth figures. It’s a developed nation and will still be heavily linked to the mainland’s economic cycle. Even if it were to grow .5pp faster than Germany, it will not prompt anyone to leave.
The most likely outcome will be an EFTA-deal, which will change very little as Britain is already opted out of Schengen and doesn’t have the euro.
They can’t afford to lose corporate EU passporting because of their financial hub in London.
4
That is why because of enlightened self interest the EU will ensure that BREXIT and Britain are a failure, while maintaining the delicate balancing act of making it look like Britain's fault - which Johnson and the Tories are ably helping with.
The EU has the power in negotiations, and they can arrange for the result to be a hard BREXIT. While that will cause some slight damage to the EU economy, that will be counterbalanced by the London financial markets and many multinational firms relocating to Europe. As well without English nationalism blocking closer ties, the EU can get on with reform and integration that Britain has been obstructing for years.
The EU need BREXIT to be such a disaster for the UK that nationalist in other EU members are completely disillusioned.
The break up of the UK into separate counties will just be the final condemnation of the consequences.
Ask yourself this, why would another nation go out of its way to inconvenience themselves by giving Britain a better deal than they need to?
2
@Bonku How can they succeed? Half the country is against it & want to remain Europeans, & what about Scotland & Northern Ireland, they want to stay so will it be goodbye England? The old people who voted for this are dying off the young want to remain, so no, they will not succeed but be a weakened diminished England.
5
There is no mention in this article of the effect of Brexit on the National Health Service. The NHS has been heavily dependent on immgrant doctors and nurses, many of whom have already left, with more to follow. The chronic manpower shortages of the NHS will only get worse. There is a famous case of a young pediatrician at an NHS hospital, (and of course also an immigrant) who was charged with homicide over the death of a young patient as she was tyring to deal with an impossible workload with no supervision. Not a great story for NHS recruitment.
22
@David W Kabel
David the NHS as you rightly say is heavily dependent on large numbers of European and other countries doctors and nurses. BREXIT has created a hostile environment for European doctors and nurses, who are returning to Europe where they are welcome.
This is all courtesy of the most right wing Tory government we have ever had who have starved the NHS of vital funds to operate a safe health service, which as a consequence makes it unsafe for doctors and nurses to work in.
Recently in the West Sussex Hospital , whose local MP is the Health Minister Matt Hancock, an anonymous whistleblower who was presumed to be a doctor, contacted the family of a patient who died and informed the family that something had gone drastically wrong in their loved one's care. The response from the Hospital was to bully and intimidate doctor's, unlawfully, to demand samples of their handwriting and fingerprints so they could presumably discipline and fire this valiant doctor. This authoritarian and unlawful response, is something I would expect from North Korea or China.
It is not an uncommon experience for doctor's who blow the whistle in the UK, in this way, to end up fired and out of a job, with sometimes permanent harm to their promising career. This is despite the fact that doctor's in these circumstances are legally protected a whistleblower. So you are right the NHS is a dangerous place to work in for doctor's and nurses and BREXIT will make it much worse.
2
This is just Brexit light. They haven't worked out much of anything of substance. We will see how people feel about it 12 months from now after they've had to do the heavy lifting. Personally it seems a bit risky to me to do this without the details nailed down.
15
@Cantaloupe They had to do SOMETHING. The people long ago voted to leave (based on hopeful promises and stoking of fears), so here it finally begins. I suspect it won't be as beneficial as promised, or as bad as threatened. As we know, politicians always have an agenda that may, or may not, be in the best interest of the people they represent. I'm sure the politicians will make the best of Brexit; best wishes to our great friends.
3
Now that Britain has taken control, is unshackled from bureaucracy, empowered by sovereignty, ... what’s next?
I only see two possibilities: Britain closely aligned to the EU with an EFTA-like deal similar to Switzerland or Norway. Or, a hard Brexit with Britain becoming a fiscal pariah at the edge of the EU. Low taxes and extensive deregulation would be the only way to compete with the EU for investments in that scenario. The next battle of the remain crowd will be to avoid the latter.
4
I was flabbergasted when the U.K. voted to commit suicide.
But when the Senate Republicans prevail today in acquitting Donald Trump of treason, the madness in Britain looks good in comparison.
49
Everyone is waking up and tired of being controlled & manipulated. The left went too far. If you performed a legitimate poll the findings would show 90% of both conservatives and liberals are tired of PC and woke causes, and oppose globalist control.
12
@JOSEPH
Yes, it does seem that many people are tired of decency and good manners. And it shows.
5
@JOSEPH Everyone? 90%? These are self-derived fabrications based solely on personal bias. You have nothing else to support your claims. I think the right has gone too far and Brexit is slow-moving proof. My opinion: Open minded people, conservative and liberal, are tired of self-serving politicians who see their role as an opportunity to enrich themselves at our expense. Leaders who lie, cheat, and manipulate facts to support their own agenda. Is it "everyone", or "90%" who believe this? Who knows. Certainly not you or me.
3
How is it any of our business? The way I see it, the majority of Brits want out. It’s their prerogative. For anyone in the US to criticize them is arrogant.
15
@John Opinion spoken here is just that, opinion. It's not binding or used in policy decisions. I don't think anyone in Britain is truly offended by what people opine here. I'll limb-walk and say there are people in Britain who have opinions about our way of doing things. I'm not offended in the least.
1
Independence for Scotland is essential. 700 years of occupation is enough. Time to make England "little" again.
40
@Philip W
As a paid up member of the SNP, I agree with your first sentence.
As for your second "wee bitie", Scotland is the only national unit in the UK that's never been successfully invaded or occupied - although the invasion of Ireland was eventually overturned, mainly.
As for England, I'm close to giving up caring about their self imposed election disasters.
3
@Philip W If Scotland secedes from the UK, it won't become "independent." It will just become a (wee) vassal state under the control of Brussels and Frankfurt.
If that's what it wants, of course, great.
As for "little" England...Scotland is responsible for less than 8% of the UK's GDP. "Little" England generates about 86%. If Scotland were to secede, what would be left would be the third largest economy in Europe.
@Philip W Scotland voluntarily joined the united kingdom, there's never been an "occupation".
2
Sometimes, it just takes a bombastic guy willing to push the envelope to get something done.
11
@RM Like wreck a democracy and sell it to Putin? Getting "something" done is not the same as doing something smart and constructive.
3
@RM One could argue that getting something done and doing the right thing are not the same. Stay tuned...
Best of luck trying to get a good job without that EU passport. Brits are now going to be on a level playing field with the likes of Bangladesh. Congrats.
41
@Monsp
Many Americans working in Europe without an EU passport...
Most of the British people are totally clueless about the extent to which their economy and much of their social culture is integrated with Europe a huge mass or 450 million people 21 miles away. Eventually the economic dimension of politics will reassert itself and Britain will have negotiate the reality of Britain's place in the world. They're going to find out that there is no sentimental bias to the union jack. It's already happening. Yesterday the auto industry reported their 2019 numbers and auto output fell 14% to 1.3 million units the lowest number since 2010 (it's fallen by 450,000 units since the referendum) but the share of this reduced 2019 output that went to the EU increased to 55%. Fish mentioned in this article is another emotive topic in Britain which exports 65% of its catch to Europe where it commands higher prices. Right now the British are in the happy state of when ignorance is bliss wisdom is folly.
20
The relief or resignation the Brits are feeling will soon be felt by Americans if the Senate votes to dismiss the partisan and predictable impeachment that has been dominating the news and paralyzing Congress. It will be refreshing to move on—especially when we discover that the Brexit and Impeachment Chicken Littles we’re wrong.
7
@ehillesum -- Wishful thinking at best. It's just the beginning. As more information about Trump's duplicity the greater the call for his resignation.
19
@ehillesum What relief? 62% of Scots voted remain, & even more Scots know Trump for the liar & coman he is.
1
New trade deal with EU most likely current agreements with clarity clause of referendums on leaving 2/3 majority vote.
Britain really ought to know that the U.S. has no permanent friends, only permanent interests, especially highlighted under this administration. Let’s see how The Special Relationship plays out now.
I’ve always admired “the get on with it” attitude of the Brits — having lived there, and still visiting frequently. I hope they do get on with the reality that their place in the world is one of less importance; they simply matter less as a global player. Brexit, at least in part, seemed like a vote by some, of their unwillingness to realize their decreasing significance. Empires come and go; surely, they should know that. When the loss of significance begins in the U.S. — and in some ways, it already has, something tells me it will be handled with the same unwillingness to let go, a call to, dare I say, “make America great again.” It is fascinating to witness it all. Though the forecast of the future is never fully clear, maybe The Special Relationship will have much equal footing in decades ahead.
10
The author, like Boris, presumes England is the UK. It is not. Scotland and Ireland will experience the growing pains of Brexit and may decide they also want their own divorce, from the UK.
Their other false presumption is that the EU and all nations throughout the world will agree to renegotiate trade with England as if the current year is 1820 and there's a ruling British Empire. It is not, and no one will. A former empire that thinks it holds superior leverage with others will face reality quickly and capital will continue to leave England. Building a house on a foundation of lies doesn't produce a happy home for long.
45
Hi there
I think you mean Northern Ireland? Here in the Republic we are still proud members of the EU...
27
I am losing my European citizenship due to a pack of xenophobes led by self-interested liars. I am deeply hurt and resentful, as are all my friends around Europe. The fantasists, for moment, have won.
67
@G Rayns
Its the same here basically.
Except we're losing our democracy.
26
@G Rayns
What is a European citizenship?
4
@nomad127
Every citizen of a country that is a part of the European Union (EU) can obtain a European passport and be able to go across other EU countries more easily than a regular national passport. When I went to the Netherlands last year, the Amsterdam airport had a fast lane for EU passport-holding citizens, and I, as an American, had to wait on the slow lane.
There also other perks of European citizenship, like easier applications for work visas to other EU countries, enjoying the EU economic bloc and the single market, protection under EU-wide government regulation, et cetera.
14
Britain will forge new trade agreements with Europe and life will not only go on, the country will prosper. So much for the ridiculous left who engaged in nonstop scare tactics before and after the Brexit vote.
16
@Robert
Apparently you are unaware that the EU emerged with 80% of what they wanted from the Withdrawal Agreement (continued contributions to the budget, Northern Ireland effectively remains in the customs union etc.). If Britain does succeed in forging new trade agreements with the EU it will very much on their terms. You're also apparently unware that this was not a traditional left/right argument. Much of the left including the leader of the Labour party Corbyn have long wanted to leave the EU. And btw the UK economy has already lost about 3.5% of GDP because of this decision (that's about 100 billion pounds in a 2 trillion pound economy).
31
@Robert And you know this, how?
2
In my opinion, the EU project is a choice of civilisation, because Europe is not just a geographical expression or a market of almost half a billion people. Europe is something much deeper, giving that half a billion people their own identity. Before we are Italian or German or French or Spanish and so on, we are Europeans. That is what you Anglo-Saxons, even those who were to stay, unfortunately, do not understand. Best regards from Padua (EU).
24
@Flavius I’m not sure that the British ever saw themselves as European.
Brexit is tragic (as is Trumpism), yet understandable and perhaps inevitable. Global trade and technology have changed the reward system (even for non-participants) and blurred national borders. Progressive solutions (think Corbyn, and Sanders here) face formidable barriers, among them an entrenched, united, and powerful conservative (classically Liberal) economic/political class, and a divided citizenry within which any one group is wary of benefits flowing to another. Alternatively, radically Populist/Nativist policies are counterproductive and even more divisive, rewarding only the clever and well-connected. Historically, the usual reset for this dilemma is either a war, a depression, a plague, or a revolution. I would much prefer electing a unifying, pragmatic, centrist who listens thoughtfully to many voices.
24
@Jack Lord Well stated. I offer this concerning your last sentence-we in this country need those desired qualifications in our elected leadership.
4
Scotland and Ireland should get on with it too. That said, you can blame the Tories when the Labour Party couldn't come up with someone better than Corbyn. He flunked prior to the Brexit vote and failed worse afterwards. So, this falls on the "fool me twice" category
11
@Bos Do you mean Scotland and Northern Ireland? Ireland's not leaving the EU.
17
Well done Britain for truly standing up in what you believe in.
Today on TV we are seeing Remainers joining the day with the Brexiteers and having a drink and saying democracy won so lets get on with making the country work...Brits always come together and are at there best when they do...I guess we have instilled in us what many of our Parents and Grandparents had in WW2.
Enjoy your evening.
19
@scarlett
From here it looks more like Brexit fatigue on all sides.
I guess we will have to wait until the end of 2020 to decide whether to offer congratulations or condolences.
Best of luck.
6
@scarlett --Yep, everything's coming up roses as the Brits come together.
Apparently the next round of talks between the EU and the UK will also be a love fest featuring a thriving UK economy with few problems. Sure.
4
@cec
Your not know it all by any chance?
It is a very sad day; the day will come sometime in the not too distant future when regret and realization will set in. Brexit is a monumental error based on nationalistic jingoism and mis-information by the likes of Johnson.
50
Brexit seems a half-way measure, if the Brits really want to assert that their country is "not Europe." The next stage would be to get the Empire going again, which was what enabled them to be not-Europeans in the past. And, finally, another war is in order, to keep the Spanish, French, or Germans (pick your century) from consolidating their economic power and uniting/dominating the continent (oops, maybe too late on that one--the Germans went and did it and finally got away with it anyway).
1
And they can invade all the Commonwealth countries again, although India and Pakistan will be difficult, Australia and Canada… there's distance, but both are non nuclear.
As for former British territories, The US, no chance, and starting the Opium Wars again with China would not be prudent.
Maybe they could take back some Carribbean Islands.
It's just a shame that Argentina is such a basket case these days, they could've made another play for the Falklands.
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it is really no longer accurate to speak of Britain as a unified entity. Here in Scotland we rejected both Brexit and Boris Johnson by significant margins, as did the people of Northern Ireland. The end of the United Kingdom looms, as Scotland is almost certain to end the Union to chart its own future within five years, while a united Ireland is equally likely. There will be no Great Britain, only Little England, with Wales trotting along at heel. I write this as a Scot who lived and worked in England until 2016 supported the Union. Sadly, England appears to have lost all contact with reality as it retreats into a nostalgia-fuelled Brexit fantasy.
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@Peter Shepherd
"Nostalgia" is right. Now the only thing they've got left is Trafalgar Square.
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Putin is laughing at how little work he had to do to do so much damage. And the people who were his foot soldiers in the war on The West are not going to get fat checks and stacks of cash. Well, the higher ups will, but the common pro-leave voter will end up poorer. However, it will take time for that painful lesson to be learned.
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Last thing the author says is, Britain should increase immigration. Really? When every British subject is a millionaire and have access to the best quality schools and medical care, they should consider allowing some immigration. Immigration is an assault on the working class of a nation. It should be ended.
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@Michael Green -- Yea! Straight from the eugenicists of the early 1900's. Of course in the US where the birth rate has been reduced considerably over the last 75 years, Social Security is based on the number of younger workers supporting those in retirement which is the way S.S. works.
Immigrants are part of the working class of the nation.
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I don't understand where the writer gets that there's any sense of relief. It's just dread and foreboding for those who never wanted brexit. The UK is run and dominated by a small, hard right group of very wealthy media owners and businesses who fund politicians like johnson, farage and the tory party. There won't be any 'UK positive force for good, welcoming and tolerant, at the forefront of climate change action' etc. There'll just be more division, scapegoating and racism, especially when the poorest brexit supporters are left to hang in the wind or when the likes of Nissan or Airbus ups sticks and leaves 1000s jobless, as could well happen in case of no deal at the end of the year.
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Couldn’t agree more. No relief in my house, or amongst my friends and colleagues. Intense depression, more like.
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At least you do not have T !
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The only people happy to "get on with it" are the ones that don't realise the implications of Brexit and refuse to recognise that the whole thing is far from being over and will instead be dragging on for years. I think it's misleading, unfair and plain inaccurate to suggest it's somehow the vast majority of the population.
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Britain is leaving the most successful peace project in European (possibly world) history. Compare the last 60 years of history with the 60 years previously. Forgive me if I don't celebrate.
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It's true that today will mark only a fairly technical change. After such a divisive process, celebrations are bound to be fairly low key.
And much of the heavy lifting is still to be done with a trade deal to be negotiated and the EU still not appearing very enthusiastic to negotiate.
There are also still challenges faced with our Remainers back home as some of the ones interviewed for this article demonstrate. Take Mr. Garton Ash saying that the government should be "adopting an open immigration policy." For a few months, Germany had an almost open immigration policy and the results were traumatic with a million or so people now resident and struggling to assimilate as this paper has described. And Germany is not English-speaking.
According to the UN, there are nearly eighty million displaced people around the world, a very significant proportion of whom would no doubt aspire to move to an English-speaking, developed country. Added to that, there are a similar number of potential economic migrants. And perhaps three quarters of these potential migrants will be men of working age looking to remit money back home. There would be enough of them to double our population and with travel comparatively so much easier than it used to be, they would come as Germany rapidly discovered before their open policy was reversed.
An immigration policy is essential. It mystifies me how Mr. Garton Ash gets to be a Professor of anything without understanding this reality.
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I am of the world outside of Britain and admit to my fair share of disinterest regarding Brexit. However, I've been listening with great interest to the early morning coverage on BBC radio, I have grown to care a great deal, particularly about those who oppose the divorce. The Britains moving and living freely throughout Europe - and those young people who may never have such a chance. The difficulties facing Scotland's independence movement that mount up, as a result of the exit. The uncertainty. The divide. It is in the individual stories that we grow to care, always, not through the endless quacking of gruff politicians. Maybe I wasn't listening intently enough before, but we'd be well served - we people of the world - to listen to each other more closely than our (for lack of a more apt word) "leaders."
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"Britain, he said, now had a rare opportunity to improve its society, unshackled from the bureaucracy of Brussels"-article.
Perhaps but those regulations and standards from Brussels provided labor and environmental protections which did not exist in UK law, while membership of the world's largest trading bloc provided enormous opportunity for business. The Leave movement was directed by oligarchs who wanted to "free" the UK from those restrictions.
Notably, the financial firm of Jacob Reese-Mogg. has moved some operation out of the City. The oligarchs' underlying claim was to make the UK, "a Singapore on the Thames." The EU. the UK's largest trading partner, is not about to give the UK the same trading rights when it is trying to make the country into a low tax, low regulation competitor.
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Mark Lander: how can you discuss Brexit and never mention Scotland? You talk about the "North" of Britain promoting Brexit and voting heavily for the Tories in the last election. Isn't Scotland the "north" of Britain? Didn't Scotland vote heavily against Brexit in the Referendum and against the Tories in the last election?
Everybody in England loves to ignore Scotland. But given that Scottish Independence is now inevitable, thanks to Brexit, Boris Johnson's dreams of a revitalized Britain (he means England) are for nought. He will lose Scotland's oil, its renewable energy, its water, its whisky and its fish. What's left to bargain with? Not much of great value.
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@Antonia If I were in Scotland, I’d be very interested in departing the UK and rejoining Europe. As many Scots seem to have been in the recent election. But alas, the process doesn’t allow Scotland to do so unilaterally . . .
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@RM Maybe not yet. But Scots are very resourceful. Stay tuned.
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@Antonia He never mentions Northern Ireland either (which voted against Brexit) and how much Brexit will affect the entire island of Ireland.
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It’s a great day for Britain. For those who are forward looking and imbued with entrepreneurial spirit, this represents a wonderful opportunity after decades of encroaching EU authoritarian power which no one signed up for. Brexit is largely presented by liberal media as negative but their focus should always have been on EU accountability and exposing the lack of. Those who run the EU are not elected by europeans and yet they make decisions over the heads of elected sovereign leaders, i have always been so amazed by the numbers of pro EU anti Brexit supporters who think this is acceptable. It’s merely an undemocratic and elite club. How about the media shine a spotlight on this weird powerful cartel some time soon. And praising the British people for rejecting it and standing up to unaccountable power despite the risks.
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Fabulous comment. I laughed to my socks. It compares poorly though, I have to say, with the pronouncements over the last few years by Pres Trump. His phantasmagoria has been far more exciting than that offered by Boris Johnson, the man who cannot even tell the British public how many children he has (and was taken to court over the paternity of one of them.) Sadly, Brexit, as with Trump, is based entirely on lies.
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@Psychgoss Your comment nicely encapsulates , in substance and style, why Brexit has been resisted by the informed and educated.
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@Psychgoss Denial is not a river in Egypt.
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Somehow, I believe Britain will survive. After all, the Brits have given the world Newton and Hawking; Shakespeare, Dickens, and Kipling; Elgar, The Beatles, and Led Zepellin; Bacon, and Locke, and Russell; the Magna Carta, parliamentary government and the spawning of the Industrial Revolution. Some of the western world's most influential, outsized, and innovative ideas came from this tiny island of thinkers and tinkerers.
The world would be wise to not underestimate what might come of this.
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@Edziu None of that matters, though. The fact that some smart and intelligent people were born in the UK simply does not make up for severing the country's relationship with its largest trading partner and losing myriad other benefits. This is pure romanticism and is untethered from reality.
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Greece gave us the greatest thinkers in western history. Look at how they’re doing.
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@Edziu
The last time I looked, Paul McCartney lives in NYC with additional homes in Tucson and California. Ringo has lived in Los Angeles for years and George Harrison died at his home in Los Angeles. John Lennon lived his final years in NYC. Keith Richards has lived on his estate in Connecticut for decades and reportedly loves his life there.
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The author is glossing over how painful and upset millions of Britons are about leaving the at 23.00 today. Far from just getting on with it, we are hugely saddened about what is happening to our country and view the rise in xenophobia, racism, homophobia and nationalism with great alarm. Yes, we accept we lost the referendum and the most recent election and we are losing EU citizenship today but we are angry and will work with that anger constructively in the months ahead to remain connected with our European friends and allies and be watchful of trade deals with the US that harm the NHS, our farmers and our industries. That is certainly, not getting on with it.
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My heart goes out to Remainers and how the referendum was so disastrously handled. It's analogous to how the majority of Americans feel who voted for Hillary Clinton against Trump to find that he is President due to our Electoral College system and not the will of the people. When many Britons think of the US, they think of Trump and his minority base rather than the majority who fervently reject him. Sadly, the same mistake will be made by many others who will equate Britain (despite Scotland and NI) with xenophobia, continuing Anglo-arrogance, and longing for past imperial relevance.
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