Brexit slowly becoming a Farce.

[Theroadlesstravelled]

That non legally binding trade deal with Utah is looking good.

https://www.reuters.com/business/britain-eyes-trade-agreements-with-california-utah-2022-12-10/

[coprolite]

1 hour ago, Theroadlesstravelled said:

That non legally binding trade deal with Utah is looking good.

https://www.reuters.com/business/britain-eyes-trade-agreements-with-california-utah-2022-12-10/

I had not heard of these before. 

I haven't seen the Carolinas' yet but the Indiana is among the vaguest waffle I've ever seen, and i was a civil servant. 

The firmest commitment is to not overly disadvantaging UK firms when it comes to state level procurement. Other than that it's "seek to strengthen ties", "foster information sharing" etc. 

I suppose you could argue that it's better than nothing, but it's not obviously so.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-and-indiana-trade-and-economic-memorandum-of-understanding/memorandum-of-understanding-on-economic-cooperation-and-trade-relations-between-indiana-and-the-united-kingdom#section-1-objectives

[carpetmonster]

3 hours ago, Theroadlesstravelled said:

That non legally binding trade deal with Utah is looking good.

https://www.reuters.com/business/britain-eyes-trade-agreements-with-california-utah-2022-12-10/

I’m not sure what Utah exports outside of Mormons doing their missions. 

[Fullerene]

9 minutes ago, carpetmonster said:

I’m not sure what Utah exports outside of Mormons doing their missions. 

Solid rocket boosters that might blow up.

[carpetmonster]

3 hours ago, Fullerene said:

Solid rocket boosters that might blow up.

Get both. If a rocket explodes above your street, everyone will come outside to look and that’s vastly labour saving on chapping every door individually. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

In Rome just now, its amazing how much friendlier people are when they ask you ‘Are you British’ and you tell them ‘no, Scottish’. The Europeans get it. 

[Salt n Vinegar]

1 hour ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

In Rome just now, its amazing how much friendlier people are when they ask you ‘Are you British’ and you tell them ‘no, Scottish’. The Europeans get it. 

It does seem strange but that's my experience too. Seen it in the Greek Islands, Italy and France. Favourite tactic is on first night, go to the bar, order a whisky (malt if available - Laphroaig usually gets an admiring glance) then say "from my country". Frequently ensures good service, especially if the "vindaloo" lot are around. 

[Fullerene]

9 hours ago, Salt n Vinegar said:

It does seem strange but that's my experience too. Seen it in the Greek Islands, Italy and France. Favourite tactic is on first night, go to the bar, order a whisky (malt if available - Laphroaig usually gets an admiring glance) then say "from my country". Frequently ensures good service, especially if the "vindaloo" lot are around. 

"We had a gentleman in last night claiming he was from Laphrogia or maybe I misheard him.  Don't really think that is a real place but we were pleasant enough and he left happy."

[Clown Job]

[KirkieRR]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/12/watchdog-reprimands-tories-over-800bn-post-brexit-trade-deals-claim?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR1Fs8X9hhMxjBd_OcMynOMbfCtTqbZ2KVJOZf4Beg6xlCI7ZFTGcY9XgWw

 

SIde issue - some aspects of the Graun's 'style guide' really boil my grammatical urine. The word 'party', even if it is part of a political pary's official name, always starts lower-case. So, Scottish National party (so are they the SNp, Graun, eh, eh, eh?), Labour party.

 

Why? 'We're posh and we say so' presumably.

 

Rant over. Main point, Brexit is rubbish, Tories are lying about it, Labour sit on their hands.

[coprolite]

2 hours ago, KirkieRR said:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/12/watchdog-reprimands-tories-over-800bn-post-brexit-trade-deals-claim?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR1Fs8X9hhMxjBd_OcMynOMbfCtTqbZ2KVJOZf4Beg6xlCI7ZFTGcY9XgWw

 

SIde issue - some aspects of the Graun's 'style guide' really boil my grammatical urine. The word 'party', even if it is part of a political pary's official name, always starts lower-case. So, Scottish National party (so are they the SNp, Graun, eh, eh, eh?), Labour party.

 

Why? 'We're posh and we say so' presumably.

 

Rant over. Main point, Brexit is rubbish, Tories are lying about it, Labour sit on their hands.

Man on street sees “£800bn new trade from brexit”, thinks: £800bn is a big number; trade is a good thing; new is good thing; therefore brexit lots of money good thing.

man on street sees “official statistics watchdog…blah blah blah” boooriiing, not reading that. Still thinks “brexit good, make lot of money”

This is how Brexit always worked.

[Brother Blades]

21 minutes ago, coprolite said:

Man on street sees “£800bn new trade from brexit”, thinks: £800bn is a big number; trade is a good thing; new is good thing; therefore brexit lots of money good thing.

man on street sees “official statistics watchdog…blah blah blah” boooriiing, not reading that. Still thinks “brexit good, make lot of money”

This is how Brexit always worked.

The racism, it was always about racism & xenophobia. 

[coprolite]

44 minutes ago, Brother Blades said:

The racism, it was always about racism & xenophobia. 

Fair point. The money's the fig leaf of justification

[Suspect Device]

 

[Granny Danger]

8 minutes ago, Suspect Device said:

 

I suspect that one of the main reasons that Starmer wouldn’t want another referendum on the EU is that it would negate any argument against another Independence referendum.

[Antlion]

6 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

I suspect that one of the main reasons that Starmer wouldn’t want another referendum on the EU is that it would negate any argument against another Independence referendum.

There isn’t an argument against another independence referendum, though - as the 2014 ref was on whether we wanted to be part of an EU member state. We’ve never voted on whether we want to be a region of an anti-EU member state.

Starmer doesn’t want a referendum on joining the EU purely because he knows - whatever the opinion polls show - that he has to cater to the right- and far right-press, or risk being labelled a socialist leftie (boo!). It’s the same reason he vocally opposes Scottish democracy: he knows it’s necessary to come across as a sufficiently blood-and-soil UK Nat to those whose views (and newspapers) matter in Little Britain.

Starmer and Labour have no interest in changing the direction of the UK. They’ll just change their values in return for a brief period in power.

[welshbairn]

7 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

I suspect that one of the main reasons that Starmer wouldn’t want another referendum on the EU is that it would negate any argument against another Independence referendum.

I don't think he gives a f**k about Scotland, it's the Northern England racist Brexiteer vote he's obsessed about. Scotland's a lost cause for him, at least in the short to medium term.

[MazzyStar]

56 minutes ago, Antlion said:

There isn’t an argument against another independence referendum, though - as the 2014 ref was on whether we wanted to be part of an EU member state. We’ve never voted on whether we want to be a region of an anti-EU member state.

Starmer doesn’t want a referendum on joining the EU purely because he knows - whatever the opinion polls show - that he has to cater to the right- and far right-press, or risk being labelled a socialist leftie (boo!). It’s the same reason he vocally opposes Scottish democracy: he knows it’s necessary to come across as a sufficiently blood-and-soil UK Nat to those whose views (and newspapers) matter in Little Britain.

Starmer and Labour have no interest in changing the direction of the UK. They’ll just change their values in return for a brief period in power.

It wasn’t though, was it? 

[Antlion]

18 minutes ago, MazzyStar said:

It wasn’t though, was it? 

Are you suggesting that the UK was not an EU member state in 2014? 

[Granny Danger]

1 hour ago, welshbairn said:

I don't think he gives a f**k about Scotland, it's the Northern England racist Brexiteer vote he's obsessed about. Scotland's a lost cause for him, at least in the short to medium term.

Excluding the present unique situation Labour needs Scotland even if it means reliance on the SNP.