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Ok, we are out, what now?

(840 Posts)
Elegran Fri 24-Jun-16 07:49:53

The vote is in, we are to leave the EU. Deep breath, everyone, a new start begins today.

What needs to be done now? No recriminations allowed, no ranting, please. Constructive ideas only for what steps we should take now - we meaning the government, the legal bods, the negotiators, the banks, large and small busineeses, social departments, and orfinary people?

Bear in mind that it will take two years to settle the divorce details, then we have to begin creating a new relationship with the single market of the EU, if we are to buy and sell anything with them, after which new partners might will want to negotiate deals with us. Time scale unknown, but likely to take years. They could be lean years, our credit rating has gone down instantly, and our £ notes won't buy as much abroad at the moment. Better get a taste for British-grown food.

Meanwhile through and after the divorce we have to feed the children (without any alimony, just on our own efforts, and without the inlaws helping us to get orders any more)

The au pairs and the chars will soon go home, which means we'll have to do things ourselves which we used to let them do - look after our aged relations, nurse us after operations, and so on. On the plus side, that should mean we will be needed in those jobs, if we want them.

durhamjen Sun 03-Jul-16 22:01:18

Thank you, Outofstep. Good to be appreciated. There are more of us on here who think like you.
I think if I lived in a Ukip area, I'd have to move. One of the North East MEPs is Ukip, but I say that's for the Northumberland area, not Durham. All Durham MPs are Labour. The problem is that Ukip are going to target the North East.
My MP is one who is giving up as she has had death threats. Nobody should have to put up with that.

varian Sun 03-Jul-16 22:08:49

There is not chaos in every party. The LibDems are united in our sadness but still determined to keep working for a better furure

Tegan Sun 03-Jul-16 22:12:09

Read an article by Nick Clegg about the legalities of the referendum and somehow felt better than I've felt all week.

varian Sun 03-Jul-16 22:25:04

Thank you, Tegan for this link -if only everyone would read this article

Outofstepwithhumanity Sun 03-Jul-16 22:33:37

Durhamjen. Could have been worse, we almost had a UKIP M.P. Farage stood & thankfully failed, as it is, we got an ex- UKIP Brexiteer! You might guess from my username that I take a grim satisfaction in being contrary. I take an even grimmer satisfaction from the fact that the council have cocked up everything they touched, half have resigned and several are being investigated for various misdemeanours. Saying "told you so " is undignified & doesn't help. We have a very large population of Eastern Europeans, they are being subjected to racial abuse on a daily basis, I despair for them, but feel powerless to do anything to help. Would like be to move, but this is a cheap area - deprived you see, so can't afford it! I feel better for a good old moan!

daphnedill Mon 04-Jul-16 01:45:14

Moan away, outofstep. Some people on here will moan at you for moaning, but ignore them.

Try as I might, I can't dissuade myself that the UK is about to become a more mean-spirited, inward-looking place. I'm naturally pragmatic, so look for solutions, and have had so much experience of picking myself up that I'm getting quite good at it, but I'm feeling my optimism ebbing away.

I'm a keen amateur social historian and have often wondered how people felt before something catastrophic happened. We have the benefit of hindsight, but people couldn't foresee the future before something happened . People before WW1 didn't know what was in the future and certainly didn't know that the break-up of the great empires, especially the Ottoman Empire, would have been the cause of the troubles we still have in the Middle East. The people who penned the Treaty of Versailles couldn't have known that it would cause such resentment and be one of the reasons Germans voted for Hitler and we all know what that caused.

I have such a horrible feeling that we are at the start of something catastrophic. I understand the anger people feel about their lives and why they blamed the EU, but I wish they'd thought through the consequences of leaving. It was entirely the wrong way to register protest.

PS. Well done for 'escaping' Farage, but commiserations for ending up with Farage-lite.

suzied Mon 04-Jul-16 04:56:46

Pity Nick Clegg destroyed the Lib Dems as they might have been a credible party to vote for.

daphnedill Mon 04-Jul-16 06:51:26

As a former EU Commission trade negotiatior, Nick Clegg could find himself very much in demand.

Meanwhile, he's keeping himself busy, writing for the Guardian. This is his argument for an election before invoking Article 50..

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/03/britain-general-election-before-article-50

Tegan Mon 04-Jul-16 08:14:28

That's the article I read last night. I disgree about the LibDems, they reined in the Conservatives so much during the coalition....we're only just realising what they're capable of doing with no one to put the brakes on. That's why the S.O. voted for them last time. As ever they have been a voice of reason throughout the referendum campaign. I don't think I've ever held them in higher regard than I do now.

M0nica Mon 04-Jul-16 09:12:55

Tegan, you are one of many. Over 10,000 new members since the referendum.

Tegan Mon 04-Jul-16 09:14:42

Not yet (on holiday at the moment).

Outofstepwithhumanity Mon 04-Jul-16 09:20:28

Yup! dd & thanks. Bracing myself for another week of defending my views and sticking up for my friends from EU countries - I'm getting too old for all this!

daphnedill Mon 04-Jul-16 09:40:17

Meanwhile, the great and good grab a bite to eat...

www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/03/farage-murdoch-lebedev-and-fox-break-bread-as-told-by-lily-allen

I wonder what they were talking about.

grin

durhamjen Mon 04-Jul-16 22:59:00

Putin?