The original Brexit took place 240 years ago when a certain set of colonies declared their exit from British rule.
No, you've missed the point of this vote and what's going on in the EU entirely. That's what trade has been really good for. Trade is the great unifier of cultures and nations. That was why the EU was originally formed. Trade will continue. It's the political connection that will end. The EU as a political union is a modern and ever-expanding concept, and that's what has led to the growing backlash. It was political overreach that led to the UK referendum, and which is now advancing calls for referendum in Denmark, The Netherlands, France and even now Italy. This cavalier use of the term "nationalism" we should all recognize as nothing more than a nasty way of giving the patriotism most people hold dear a dash of NAZI flavor. Its the same as the overuse of the "racist" label in this country. Post-Brexit polls tell us that the biggest single motivator in this election was retaining local control of local affairs. Thats not a new concept. It's actually a very practical concept. It's a concept that was built into our very own Constitution. It's a concept that most other First World nations celebrate. Ironically, Belgium isn't one of them. Explains a lot. So, in the end, as it did before, trade will bring calm to Europe (although the only real place there isn't calm is within the EU itself). All this nonsense talk will remain just that.
Actually free trade is what led to the backlash. That's what got the older voters riled up, because their lives were disrupted by free trade in the 90's and they fought back against the system when a way to do so was presented to them. The idea that this was about nationalism is pretty silly. The vote to Brexit was about the circumstances that most communities found themselves in after the elites got the power to move their jobs at will and resolve longstanding labor disputes without the workers having much, if any, recourse. That's why older workers voted heavily to Brexit and younger workers voted heavily to stay. As in all general election referendums the older voters voted at a much higher participation level than the younger ones. Free trade isn't going to tamp down nationalism in a multi-national context it's going to create hyper-nationalism. It's going to make things worse on that front, not better. It was the EU's other role, of allowing people to move alongside the jobs and creating a bigger "us" that was tamping down the nationalism that has wrecked Europe repeatedly in the past. The Brexit took the bad parts of the system for the average voter and made them the only parts that matter for the average Brit right now. They're the only parts that will ultimately still be in force when the Brexit process has completed. England is likely headed for a nasty surge of nationalism off of this that will make the average person's life there worse, not better. The dual specters facing lower middle class Brits right now are either a very protectionist economy, which will set them against a unified Europe, or living with all the downsides of the EU (free movements of jobs and people) but few of the compensating factors (like EU subsidies and participation at the highest level in decision-making). The EU is a good thing if you want to have a 21st century economy in what has become a global marketplace no matter what you try to do otherwise. It makes things like trade wars a thing of the past and it protects the security of each member to a much greater extent than is commonly known. As a sidenote, if the authorities in Texas or California were foolish enough to setup a referendum on membership in the USA it's not hard to see them losing a 52-48 vote either. Globalization has been really bad for the last generation if you weren't in the top 2 percent and the Right has been just as loud about the losses in America as they were in Great Britain and in other places across Europe. It's been couched in different ways, due to differences in the ideology (the average Rightwinger in Europe is much more nationalistic compared to their counterpart in the USA), but the screaming to get out has definitely been there. Rick Perry talked openly about seceding as Governor of Texas, although he took the "it's not that bad, that's a last recourse" position. Again, the people voting to secede would be arguing that Texas had lost sovereignty due to the actions of a non-elected Supreme Court and that Texas ability to secure it's borders had been repeatedly damaged by the actions of the Federal Government.
UKIP leader Farage quits, punching another hole in British politics http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-farage-idUSKCN0ZK0RH "During the referendum campaign I said I want my country back, what I’m saying today is I want my life back"
He had no place in English politics moving forward. His key constituency is going to be outraged almost beyond belief when the Scots vote to leave after Article 50 is finally invoked.
Meanwhile, no one shows the slightest desire to press the Article 50 button or give any real indication of when this happens. My bet is that Britain is still a long way off having left the EU. There'll be a fudge and from there it quite possibly will remain.
It's really interesting how this is working at this point. Cameron is disgusted with the referendum result but he's playing the good soldier and saying that it has to stand. However he's going to make his successor actually push the button. That person is then going to catch most of the fallout for whatever occurs after that. If Cameron did what he said he was going to do before the referendum and invoked Article 50 the day after it would all be on him, but he's going to make somebody (likely a pro-Brexit pol) share the blame and possibly catch most of it when the UK actually exits the EU and in the process becomes the uK. I think it's very unlikely that England will remain in the EU. It's more likely that former constituent parts of the UK will split off and remain. One of the reasons that Cameron is just so angry at Corbyn is that one of the few ways that the UK could remain in the EU at this point is if the Conservatives lose an election to Labour and Labour manages to make Remain the focus of their winning campaign. Corbyn is not Pro-Remain at all, despite feebly waving at it during the referendum process. He's very Socialist, at the extreme Left of the political spectrum, and Cameron would never want to see him as PM after leading that type of campaign even if Corbyn could pull it off which is extremely doubtful. So what Cameron was effectively saying to Corbyn after the referendum is "GTFO so somebody can lead your party and the UK back into the EU. You're clearly not up to the job."
Ugh. My god, the foolishness you spout at times. There isn't a single person on either side of the debate - or the world, for that matter - wh0 has suggested free trade is what caused the backlash of the referendum. Not a one. Until now, of course. At least you kept this post in the 21st Century. So, there's that.
A strong woman dedicated to getting out with a good deal, as opposed to negotiating back in with certain tweaks - just the thing. Theresa May vs. Angela Merkel. Perfect drama.
Boeing already benefiting from Briexit. Probably more American companies will become favorable business partners to Britain as EU break up ensues https://www.google.com/amp/www.cnbc...ces-new-deals-with-boeing.html?client=safari# UK government closes deals with Boeing on P8 aircraft, Apache helicopters, jobs
Farage had a great line when someone used Barack Obama's line to him about how UK will "go to the back of the queue." He said something, "There is no queue. There has never been a queue. We don't have free trade with the United States and never had." It would be a huge boon to U.S. business if we were to negotiate that deal right now. But since that would give a boost to pro-Leave UK and punch bang another nail in the EU coffin, this administration would never do it. Not to mention, I wouldn't want this weak crew negotiating anything. I'd sooner leave that to Hillary's people.
Theresa May in as PM tomorrow. Presumably Article 50 invoked shortly thereafter and let the fireworks start flying. For the record, I have no idea if this is good or bad for England. I'm pretty sure it's terrible for the UK though.
