Brexit done and dusted?

[mint]

So.....are you satisfied, indifferent, weary, exhausted by the whole mess that is Brexit?  Are you too k n a c k e r e d to care anymore?

Do you still want to voice your opinion, your feelings, etc?

Go on, let's have it!  Might be your final say?  YES, only on this Forum and nowhere else perhaps!  I promise to read all responses with the seriousness that they deserve[:D]

[EuroTrash]

Well the divorce agreement is done in principle.

Still to be dusted, it's not got through Parliament yet.

Assuming it does, hopefully there will be a brief respite before it all kicks off again negotiating the future relationship. And all those cans that have been kicked down the road, will have to get kicked all over again. I expect there will be more arguing and prevaricating leading up to another cliffhanger in the run up to the end of the transition. Can't wait.

Yawn.

[lindal1000]

At least another 2 years of this before we get any more clarity

[alittlebitfrench]

How many times do I have to say this..

It will go to a second vote....or the first vote will be ruled nulled by the high courts.

Brexit is finished. There was never a deal.

I think this was May's game plan all along.

If so...she has played a blinder.

[woolybanana]

Damp squib, Nimt!

[Théière]

Lots of news papers, media etc quoting May, "Brexit, take it or leave it" that sounds like the need for a referendum, a vote by the people for the future of their country on the deal.

[mint]

ET spot on about kicking cans down roads and I'd like to confidently agree with Teapot about another vote by the people except that I don't think anyone will buy that one.

Now May is said to be going on a charm offensive around the country to try and sell her deal to the public.  Whilst I often find May offensive, I don't think anyone can ever accuse her of having any charm.

Now the parliamentary debate is set for 11 December.  It's never going to end, is it?

It has been said that the British (specifically the English), being a very unspiritual people, invented Cricket in order to have an idea of Eternity.  I think that we can now replace Cricket with Brexit.

[richard51]

Well, Mint, most of the worlds problems can be attributed to religion.

In terms of the West its catholics but the protest _ants protested and diverted. Goodness knows what the evangelicals are now thinking and its basis !!!

So, perhaps the English are absolutely right.

[Alan Zoff]

The public are so fed up - uninterested - in the whole affair that I reckon both Leavers and Remainers would vote for the May deal now, just to get it over and done with. Which makes me suspicious from her reluctance to entertain another vote that - as ALBF was it? - suggested earlier, she doesn't really want it to happen. She just doesn't want to be the one blamed for the outcome, which will be bad for almost everyone now, whatever happens. And she is still a Remainer at heart.

[richard51]

Isn't that sad about the public, Alan?

[richard51]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6431207/Trump-says-Theresa-Mays-Brexit-deal-hit-UK-trade.html

Know its only the daily mail but did people actually think that the UK could get good trade agreements with the US/others after Brexit.

If so, then the UK must have some really super salespersons - some on here perhaps?

[Alan Zoff]

Frankly, Richard, the British public are an embarrassment when it comes to democracy.

A few weeks ago I watched a very intelligent Brexit debate on French TV. One of the panellists thought Brexit must be all people in Britain talked about. In response, another who said he spent a large part of the year in England and had gone round pubs and restaurants trying to gain an insight into public opinion on the subject, said he had reached the conclusion that all Brits really cared and talked about were Top Gear, X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. British politicians and their constituents lived on different planets.

[Théière]

Is it any wonder TV is talked about when no one wants to bring the elephant in the room up or risk depressing every one.

I disagree about the apathy though, plenty concerned.

[BritinBretagne]

I think that Brexit is not a central topic of conversation in Britain because most people don’t believe the outcome will have a real influence on their lives, it’s too remote. The people who post on here live in a different world, one where the implications of Brexit might be life changing.

[alittlebitfrench]

Yes Brit.....you do live in a different world. LOL.

[YCCMB]

I think that Brexit is not a central topic of conversation in Britain because it is actually on a loop on all news media 24/7, so many simply don't feel the need to vocalise it any further.

You can't switch on the TV or radio, or walk past a newspaper (let alone buy one) without being bombarded by Brexit.

And it's been on the same loop now for the best part of a fortnight, because there actually hasn't been anything to say except what's been said time and time and time again, ad nauseam.

So, for those who live in the UK (and for whom, BinB, the implications are just as likely to be life changing...only there's 60 million of us and about half a million of you) it's probably just a case of wanting to go to the pub and talk about something, anything rather than Brexit for a brief period.

Obviously, if you're not in the UK, you wouldn't know.

[BritinBretagne]

A different world to you. (Thank God)

[Alan Zoff]

Laura Kuenssberg has I think summed things up quite well with regard to May's stance against seemingly impossible odds:

"It may work. It may well not. But Theresa May will not fail because she didn't try."

No one has a clue now what's best for the country so she is going to stick with what she set out to do, come Hell or High Water, and regardless of the consequences.

[BritinBretagne]

[quote user="You can call me Betty or Queenie if you prefer"]I think that Brexit is not a central topic of conversation in Britain because it is actually on a loop on all news media 24/7, so many simply don't feel the need to vocalise it any further.

You can't switch on the TV or radio, or walk past a newspaper (let alone buy one) without being bombarded by Brexit.

And it's been on the same loop now for the best part of a fortnight, because there actually hasn't been anything to say except what's been said time and time and time again, ad nauseam.

So, for those who live in the UK (and for whom, BinB, the implications are just as likely to be life changing...only there's 60 million of us and about half a million of you) it's probably just a case of wanting to go to the pub and talk about something, anything rather than Brexit for a brief period.

Obviously, if you're not in the UK, you wouldn't know.[/quote]

I used the word most on purpose. I was also including you and people like you in ‘my’ group as you seem to see it. You have completely misunderstood my post.

[Patf]

I see what you mean, Betty.

The Brexit discussions on these forums have made me realise how different our priorities are - I mean between those of you who have elected to stay in France, and those of us who have returned 'home' or have 2nd homes in France. And second homers have other worries eg tax fonciere.

If we had been even 10 years younger we would have stayed (I think.)

And I agree with Alan Zoff that this deal will be agreed in the end - everyone is fed up with it, and no-one else really wants May's job, especially at this stage.

[YCCMB]

I apologise if that is the case, BinB, but it did read as a generalisation.

My three months in France over the summer were a rare and blessed release from 24/7 blanket Brexit. I am sure I'm not alone. I would certainly see it as competely normal that a French journalist (the intellectual level of the programme is moot) would be less than likely to get a clear picture of "the average Briton" and their view on Brexit by sticking a mcrophone in their face at the pub or whilst they're out for a nice dinner en couple. I'm almost surprised he didn't find himself smacked in the face.

Sure, there are many who haven't got a clue. There are many who are sick and tired of hearing about Brexit...not because they're uninterested or uninformed, but quite simply because the UK media have turned having nothing new to say into an art form.

The reality is that there will now be little of real substance to report until the commons vote. This will not stop posturing, point-scoring and speculating from continuing, but absolutely nothing else can happen.

Today, Tangoman has decided to weigh in. Let's face it, if half the UK government can't be arsed to read the latest 500 page opus, the chances that kapok-head, who has the attention span of an amoeba and an IQ to match, has read it are somewhere between remote and non-existent. But he's got an opinion and the BBC are not afraid to broadcast it. Whoopee.

[Alan Zoff]

What's the betting that Boris and Farage had something to do with Trump's intervention? Boris looked positively sheepish after TM stood up to him - and all the others who weighed into her quite mercilessly - in the Commons yesterday. I hadn't expected to be, but must admit that I was impressed by her poise, whether or not her answers held much water. It takes guts to stand up to a barrage like that.

[nomoss]

[quote user="Alan Zoff"]What's the betting that Boris and Farage had something to do with Trump's intervention? Boris looked positively sheepish after TM stood up to him - and all the others who weighed into her quite mercilessly - in the Commons yesterday. I hadn't expected to be, but must admit that I was impressed by her poise, whether or not her answers held much water. It takes guts to stand up to a barrage like that.[/quote]

Especially when she was continually explaining aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement to people who apparently had not read it nor had it explained to them.

Maybe they were feigning ignorance in order to have points explained for public edification?

I was not only impressed by her poise, but also by her patience and her knowledge.

[EuroTrash]

I may be way off beam but to me, something clicked into place with May just before Chequers. I think maybe she actually sat down and took in what the EU had been telling her for years, checked out facts, maybe read treaties, maybe she even got a proper source in to explain things to her, and the scales fell from her eyes and she saw reality. It hasn't turned her into a charismatic diplomat but she does now seem to have the edge over the rest of the government in understanding Brexit. It's a shame she isn't more charismatic and persuasive because getting the rest of her bone-headed party to experience the same eureka moment is going to be a challenge for her.

[Théière]

Charismatic, persuasive, diplomatic, not words I will ever use to describe May.

Diplomacy is only the smarmy way to describe the journey to hell in a handcart and lead you to believe you'll enjoy the trip!