Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Article 50 - Exit of EU

Indeed more than half the voters here in Malvern Hills hold a degree and the area voted to leave.

Dead Ringers is a great guide to the politicians.

Just laughing out load listening to it on I player in Helsinki airport on the way to Japan.

There was a was a phone in on radio 5 Friday and one contributor pointed out the Switzerland had withdrawn its application to join the EU that very Monday. His point was that if the EU was so good why was it withdrawn. Can someone confirm these events.

It's true that the upper house did vote to cancel the application last week, but it is of no particular significance, as the application has been in abeyence since the Swiss referendum of 1992 voted against closer ties with the EU, so in reality it was just a bit of legal tidying up. It was in a more real sense a pointless motion as Switzerland has no longer been considered by the EU to be an official candidate to join for many years, so it doesn't change anything.

Happy to be corrected that it wasn't just the northerners. Perhaps fairer to say those outside the affluent south. Those who thought they'd be better of without the wealth creators bank rolling their benefits!

IMHO

BULL SHIIIIIIIIIT.

Total claiming benefit north = 444996.
Total claiming benefit South = 547098.

Engage brain before opening mouth. STOP CRYING.

I'm not entirely sure who is going to be crying the loudest in the months to come. The outcome of the referendum shows that 52% of the voting population feels that Britain should exit the EU. Fair enough, I still think it's a massive error that's going to have terrible consequences for the economy, but the people have spoken.

The fly in the ointment, of course, is that the referendum result is not binding on anyone. In the UK, Parliament is sovereign, and by far the biggest challenges will be to get the MPs to vote through the necessary legislation and to find a government that is willing and able to both negotiate an exit on terms which are not too onerous, whilst at the same time coping with the inevitable economic downturn and social upheaval that is to come. A poisoned chalice indeed.

The electorate may well find that when it comes to finding someone to do the necessary to meet their expectations, that no-one steps forward - or of those that do, none have sufficient widespread support to give their attempt legitimacy. As far as I can see it's only UKIP and the ultra Left parts of the Labour Party that genuinely want Brexit, and neither of them appear to have sufficient economic credibility in the eyes of the electorate to attract sufficient votes to get them into power.

This whole debacle has years to run yet, and it ain't going to be pretty. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it all gets bogged down and ends up being put on the 'too hard' pile.

It's quite simple Mike. The deal by which Switzerland finally gained access to the single market (after 7 years of negotiation following the 1992 referendum) included their signing up to the Schengen agreement. They were therefore obliged by a treaty obligation, freely entered into, to allow EU nationals access to live and work in Switzerland.

Their subsequent 2014 referendum about limiting this access clearly put them in breach of the treaty they had signed up to. The EU then immediately started taking action '(such as removing the rights of Swiss students to participate in the Erasmus scheme).

This is not about EU bullying. It is about Switzerland keeping to their side of the bargain they made.

Okay, well I agree with you on that.

The EU have been arrogant and intransigent when there were clearly serious problems brewing and widespread dissatisfaction across the Union.

When Junker was appointed at such a time, when he represents for me all that is wrong with Europe, was a real slap in the face for all those who would have liked to see the EU displaying some understanding of Realpolitik. This whole issue could have been resolved before it turned toxic if those at the tiller in Brussels had actually bothered to listen to the chat on the shop floor.

My fear now is that the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater.

Junker is a typical bureaucrate and in my opinion, all that's wrong with the control of the EU. Problems? I see no problems!

Well, no. Not really. He had to step down as prime minister of his own country having presided over a bugging and corruption scandal. And yet he was considered OK to be president of the commission ?

As he's also an arch federalist, his appointment at a time when there was growing reticence over that aspect of the European project was like a red rag to a bull for those who wanted to see a looser Europe .

Even though I am a Europhile this stuff drives me nuts.