Is it too late for a U turn on Brexit or at least watering it down?

What a difference a day makes!! It is almost certain now that we will go for a soft Brexit, in fact some MPs have suggested a reversal of the result!!!!

I've just seen that there's a new petition by 38 degrees to try and establish a cross party Brexit committee approach. This link is via Facebook but I expect you could find it by googling 38 degrees if you are interested. Signed.

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/brexit-negotiations-should-be-conducted-by-a-multi-party-committee?bucket=email-blast-9_6_2017_flt&source=facebook-share-button&time=1497026740

That has been part of the Tory stance recently: experts know nothing! We do not need experts!

Nick Clegg knows a great deal about the EU and how it works. And probably many of their negotiating team. He would be very useful.

I get really fed up with this cry of 'bias' just because someone is knowledgeable about a subject or has an area of expertise.

There is absolutely no reason why a non MP shouldn't be part of the negotiating team. Just before the election it was announced that the UK team would include Tim Barrow. He's not an MP, he's a diplomat. A bit of an expert in foreign relations. And supposedly apolitical. Shall we reject him too?

Yes!!

but have been re-elected.
Clegg is biased and out on his ear.

Do you think any Tory politicos are 'extremely biased' Jalima??

We really need a cross party team to negotiate if the resulting deal is to be accepted by everyone
I agree, but will they do that
No, not Nick Clegg, he is extremely biased and his constituency have rejected him anyway.

Not ignoring you GG and Maizie but we have been travelling for two days. Saw the election results on the Ferry this morning! And then the reception for Radio 4 was so bad we could not hear anything. Just trying to gave a quick catch up with a cuppa!

Yes, Penstemmon, that would have been sensible but he decided to leave the ship and probably pursue more financially rewarding offers elsewhere.

When the EU referendum showed the country divided almost equally it would have been sensible for Cameron( remember him?) to say, OK not an overwhelming vote to leave but will use the fact of a 4% majority to continue our negotiations re immigration and trade or for Cameron to have created a x party negotiating groip and got on with it. He is the root cause of today's dependence on fundamentalist Christians holding the sword of Damocles over Tories. (Sorry 4 mixed metaphor!)

And Nick Clegg.

Yes hopefully a softer Brexit now with some element of the customs union retained.
We really need a cross party team to negotiate if the resulting deal is to be accepted by everyone. I would suggest representatives of UK industry are also involved in some way. Keir Starmer should play a major role.
On the other hand the DUP have their own Brexit agenda.

CNN - German Foreign Minister. - message to U.K.

Think again whether it will be good for Britain to leave the EU in this way.

Chance for us to rethink

I would have thought getting a group together including Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry and Nick Clegg to negotiate would be a good start. Not Boris this time.

If May was a true leader she would reach out for a cross party Brexit approach. May is no strong leader.

Every time she chooses party and self interest above the country's interest and makes a divisive choice. She isn't even good at that

Ian Dunt

So come on what are the ideas about Brexit? The Tories have been told No hard Brexit, so what's their fall back position? We need to know sooner rather than later

Sensible ideas from Miller. Definately the way forward. Need a unity government on Brexit. Hard Brexit has been totally rejected

It would seem like a very sensible option, whitewave. I'm not convinced that May can hold onto the leadership for much longer and she certainly has no mandate for the 'hard brexit' she was apparently planning.

Nice of Brussels to offer. Do you have a link to the story?

Right let's start the future with some truth..

Brusells has said that we are happy to wait until we've got our act together. Quite a gracious thing in the circumstances.

Nothing difficult from Brussels

We didn't till I started it. In fact we are a bit short on 'learning' type groups. Another newcomer has started a Philosophy group. But then you find there is an interest.
It wasn't aimed only at you GG, MaizieD and Daphnedill too .

I'm guessing that was for me Yggdrasil. I think U3As vary and I haven't found a similar meeting of enquiring minds within our local one sadly - we certainly don't have a climate change one!

May I recommend looking at your local U3A. I belong here in Burnham, and there are lots of groups doing lots of subjects. If you know about history and want to discuss it, you can start a group of your own. I run one on Climate Change, and have quite a few people interested in learning and discussing about it.

I did my OU study "for fun". I wasn't eligible for any kind of grant or loan, because I already had a BA and MA. When I did my courses, they cost hundreds (can't remember how much), which I could just about afford, rather than the thousands they cost today, which I most definitely can't afford.

I have to be happy with FutureLearn courses, being a member of the local historical society, attending the odd talk/lecture and reading. I love visiting museums, especially in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester.

Welshwife that is such a tempting idea but I would be the one learning and asking all the questions. I have found history so much more interesting since I left school sadly. Ah - you've taken me back. When I had a baby and a toddler my brain was addling and the local NHR (Housewives register now National Women's Register) was full so a couple of friends and I started a new one which quickly grew. We had a topic each month that different people would research, it might be a part of history, a country, a book; it couldn't be about children although it was occasionally about education - it definitely kept me sane and most of my friends today are from that period. Happy memories.

@ Welshwife

We did British (i.e English) history from the Agricultural Revolution to WW1 for O Level. I loathed it (though I got a respectable mark), thought it was so boring with all those Factory Acts! It wasn't until I did the Uni 'Social Sciences Certificate' (which was 4 1st year Uni courses taught in evening classes over 2 years) that it all started to click into place. We covered early 20 C Britain (to the 1950s) International politics, history of Social Welfare and some sociology. Passing the exams (which were the same as the undergrad exams) got you a chance to do the final 2 years at Durham Uni. A chance I took. I loved it! And I would read a history book in preference to a novel now. I graduated in 1994 and was so lucky as it cost me nothing at all. I don't think anyone could do this now. I would have liked to have done a Masters but it would have cost £3,000, which we couldn't then afford. And the children begged for mercy; tired of mum writing endless essays