Brexit

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loringa
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Re: Brexit

Post by loringa »

Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:27 pm Andrew, Can you or anybody else tell me just what is meant by this often much vaunted sovereignty?
Yes, it would be good to know exactly what the Brexiteers think they have achieved by this. It strikes me that all they have really achieved is delays for pretty much everyone at the borders coming either in or out though, to be fair, for passengers that is as much Covid-19 as anything, not so for freight. I don't think it has or will affect the arrival of illegal immigrants and refugees though the French might not give us so much assistance in the future. As for the Eastern Europeans, I guess it will prevent the less skilled from coming in but I am not sure that they much want to much now. In many cases these are the seasonal workers that we actually need to harvest our crops so that isn't really any sort of benefit anyway.

As for what else might be considered a 'sovereignty' success: we have our fishing rights back within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Oh wait, we don't but we have at least stopped the fish caught in British waters for export at the borders; obviously it is better that they rot at the sovereign border posts than are sold for a profit and consumed beyond our borders. British fish for British people! We have certainly prevented goods that are manufactured here from parts bought in from overseas from getting out, ditto similar products from the EU now can't get in: British goods for British people too! What else? We can stop horrid old EU citizens from coming in and using our health system, I suppose, as they wouldn't get enough points to qualify; as for our own EU expats living happily in Spain and not costing our health care system anything, I guess they take their chances. Even if they come back they would no longer be entitled to health care anyway so that should save some money! Bottom line - sovereignty means that we can treat EU citizens as the foreigners they are and, because we are British, we can enjoy being foreigners again in the EU! Win - win I say.

As a footnote, prior to our leaving a popular line amongst the more rabid of Brexiteers on the BBC's HYS which, Katharine, I suspect you might read occasionally was to accuse we so-called Remoaners of being unpatriotic. I was fortunate enough to have had dealings with large numbers of World War 2 veterans over the years and I can categorically say that the vast majority of these people, who were real patriots even if they might have raised eyebrows at the term, were firmly in favour of the EU and European integration. Did Captain Sir Tom ever express a view on this do you know?
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Re: Brexit

Post by Pe.A »

Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:27 pm Andrew, Can you or anybody else tell me just what is meant by this often much vaunted sovereignty?
Such a good question.
Ajarn Philip
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Re: Brexit

Post by Ajarn Philip »

Pe.A wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:02 am
Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:27 pm Andrew, Can you or anybody else tell me just what is meant by this often much vaunted sovereignty?
Such a good question.
My niece, who works on the Dover ferries, informs me that duty-free Bells whisky is going for £10 a litre...
loringa
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A Glimmer of Hope!

Post by loringa »

This is the latest from Reuters:

A growing majority of top bankers and asset managers consider New York as the world's top financial hub and expect Brexit to damage London's global standing, consultants Duff & Phelps said in a global regulatory outlook on Tuesday. D&P's outlook surveyed senior financial professionals from 250 banks and asset managers in Europe, Asia and America, with 60% saying they view New York as the world's leading financial centre, up from 56% in 2020. The survey said only 31% of respondents saw London as the top hub, down from 34% last year, with just over 50% saying that leaving the European Union will weaken London's position as a global financial centre. Britain is under pressure to bolster the competitiveness of its financial services after 7,500 staff and over a trillion euros in assets left for the EU post Brexit. Amsterdam has pushed ahead of London to become Europe's biggest share trading centre, grabbing some of London's derivatives trading activity along the way. Nearly a fifth of respondents to the D&P survey now predict that China will become the top financial centre within five years. Britain is still however the favourite regulatory regime for 31% of those surveyed, well ahead of 25% for both the United States and Singapore. "This unique advantage could be the key to keeping London competitive, particularly as compliance costs for businesses continue to grow," said Monique Melis, a managing director at Duff & Phelps. "As long as regulatory considerations continue to inform decision making, London has an opportunity to preserve its relevance," Melis said.

A glimmer of hope perhaps but I note the ongoing lack of engagement on this forum from the Brexit enthusiasts. I think that it is fair to say that little or nothing that is currently occurring is unexpected so where are you with your defence of Brexit? Come on - Brexiteers, you voted for this shambles so the challenge is for you to convince the rest of us why Brexit is, despite all the evidence to the contrary, a good thing. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
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Re: A Glimmer of Hope!

Post by Katharine »

loringa wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:41 am A glimmer of hope perhaps but I note the ongoing lack of engagement on this forum from the Brexit enthusiasts. I think that it is fair to say that little or nothing that is currently occurring is unexpected so where are you with your defence of Brexit? Come on - Brexiteers, you voted for this shambles so the challenge is for you to convince the rest of us why Brexit is, despite all the evidence to the contrary, a good thing. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
Yes I’m sure we did have some Brexiteers, but where are they? The more I read about Brexit and the results the more depressed I feel. It doesn’t really help to know I still have an EU passport, we live in the UK.

I had thought that Frankfurt would replace London for financial activity, I hadn’t realised that Amsterdam was so important.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
Pe.A
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Re: A Glimmer of Hope!

Post by Pe.A »

Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:53 am
loringa wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:41 am A glimmer of hope perhaps but I note the ongoing lack of engagement on this forum from the Brexit enthusiasts. I think that it is fair to say that little or nothing that is currently occurring is unexpected so where are you with your defence of Brexit? Come on - Brexiteers, you voted for this shambles so the challenge is for you to convince the rest of us why Brexit is, despite all the evidence to the contrary, a good thing. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
Yes I’m sure we did have some Brexiteers, but where are they? The more I read about Brexit and the results the more depressed I feel. It doesn’t really help to know I still have an EU passport, we live in the UK.

I had thought that Frankfurt would replace London for financial activity, I hadn’t realised that Amsterdam was so important.
Frankfurt is way too small - there's nothing much there that would interest finance workers. Amsterdam is different as it's a trading and travel hub - and its entertainment and cultural aspects do provide a certain level of appeal.
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Re: Brexit

Post by Pe.A »

Ajarn Philip wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:09 am
Pe.A wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:02 am
Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:27 pm Andrew, Can you or anybody else tell me just what is meant by this often much vaunted sovereignty?
Such a good question.
My niece, who works on the Dover ferries, informs me that duty-free Bells whisky is going for £10 a litre...
Not my favourite tipple (awful stuff) - but what did it cost before...?
loringa
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Re: Brexit

Post by loringa »

Pe.A wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:40 pm
Ajarn Philip wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:09 am My niece, who works on the Dover ferries, informs me that duty-free Bells whisky is going for £10 a litre...
Not my favourite tipple (awful stuff) - but what did it cost before...?
It is indeed though, as someone who has lived for a number of years in a 'dry' country, I was very happy to be given a bottle when it was all that was available. I have no idea what it costs because I have never purchased a bottle but I can tell you that one supermarket is currently selling Laphraoig for £23 a bottle which is very reasonable for the finest of whiskies. No names of course but every little helps at this difficult time.
Pe.A
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Re: Brexit

Post by Pe.A »

loringa wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:51 pm
Pe.A wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:40 pm
Ajarn Philip wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:09 am My niece, who works on the Dover ferries, informs me that duty-free Bells whisky is going for £10 a litre...
Not my favourite tipple (awful stuff) - but what did it cost before...?
It is indeed though, as someone who has lived for a number of years in a 'dry' country, I was very happy to be given a bottle when it was all that was available. I have no idea what it costs because I have never purchased a bottle but I can tell you that one supermarket is currently selling Laphraoig for £23 a bottle which is very reasonable for the finest of whiskies. No names of course but every little helps at this difficult time.
Of course. Needs must. :D

Then again it's a British make so not sure how Brexit would have made a difference to the price.
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Re: Brexit

Post by Ajarn Philip »

Bells is fine if you like a wee dram in your coffee now and then... :oops: Morrisons invariably have a couple of decent single malts on offer at around £20-23, and Amazon, would you believe, recently had a very attractive offer for a bottle of Jura delivered to your door! Effortless Hebridean bliss...
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Re: Brexit

Post by Ajarn Philip »

Pe.A wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:40 pm
Ajarn Philip wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:09 am
Pe.A wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 2:02 am

Such a good question.
My niece, who works on the Dover ferries, informs me that duty-free Bells whisky is going for £10 a litre...
Not my favourite tipple (awful stuff) - but what did it cost before...?
About £20 for a litre bottle.
scrub
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Re: Brexit

Post by scrub »

Ajarn Philip wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:09 amMy niece, who works on the Dover ferries, informs me that duty-free Bells whisky is going for £10 a litre...
I really don't know if I'd call that a Brexit benefit :lol:
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scrub
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Re: Brexit

Post by scrub »

Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:53 amI had thought that Frankfurt would replace London for financial activity, I hadn’t realised that Amsterdam was so important.
The Netherlands is (or was a year or two ago) the biggest tax haven in the EU, so it makes sense that Amsterdam would be attractive.
London is the hub it is in part because of the cultural/entertainment side but also its convenient geographical position, and while Frankfurt has its charms (I guess), it just can't compete. I think the greater concern for London (in terms of finance activity) is not that there will be one new financial centre, but that businesses will move to any one of a number of new places. New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, etc. could all benefit to a degree, but (besides NY) they won't be able to replace London in terms of size or importance.
Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:27 pmAndrew, Can you or anybody else tell me just what is meant by this often much vaunted sovereignty?
It's a nebulous concept, but I think the Brexit definition was no EU influence over any UK laws. Problem is, it starts to unravel a bit when you pull on it. Pretty much every country that has any agreement of any sort with any other country has shared laws/regulations that they abide by, but in pure Brexit terms, this would be an unconscionable loss of sovereignty. Thing is, since most of the other transnational agreements the UK has signed involve a degree of "pooled sovereignty" you're left scratching your head trying to work out which fantasy land the Brexit purists inhabit, especially those who think that reverting to base WTO (full of unelected bureaucrats who make rules we follow and pay for the privilege of doing so) rules is the best option for increasing the UK's trade with the rest of the world.
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Re: Brexit

Post by sejintenej »

scrub wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:51 am
Katharine wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:53 amI had thought that Frankfurt would replace London for financial activity, I hadn’t realised that Amsterdam was so important.
The Netherlands is (or was a year or two ago) the biggest tax haven in the EU, so it makes sense that Amsterdam would be attractive.
London is the hub it is in part because of the cultural/entertainment side but also its convenient geographical position, and while Frankfurt has its charms (I guess), it just can't compete. I think the greater concern for London (in terms of finance activity) is not that there will be one new financial centre, but that businesses will move to any one of a number of new places. New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, etc. could all benefit to a degree, but (besides NY) they won't be able to replace London in terms of size or importance.
From the financial side I would suggest that London has three principal advantages
1 Language; apart from Chinese (who have very different laws) English is well known in business circles worldwide
2. Law: centuries of experience and jurisprudence. Also the concept of "common sense" when something is not clear in law. Also the willingness to change law when common sense intervenes (BCCI No 7 as I recall for one example, Lord Justice Scrutton "The law is not an ass"). Relatively simple compared to some competitors
3. The presence of facilities from solicitors to printers (very important) to good communications (before Covid)

To give you an example I was involved in, on a deal we worked 24/24 as did our solicitors as did the printers. A draft was worked on through the day with customers (subject to the customer's time), OKayed by the solicitors 11pm, printed by 4am and despatched 5am. Legal in many countries? - we waited over two weeks for Paris to read through documents before they gave us an answer on a French law deal. In another I spent weeks 7/7 trying to fit financing concepts in with the customer's local laws (If a concept was not specifically allowed then it was illegal and they were decades out of date in financial concepts. Article 3 of one of their codes was necessary; it specifically allowed people to breathe, eat drink ........and live!!!)
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What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
time please
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Re: Brexit

Post by time please »

I have still been thinking about what is good with Brexit and realised that we have all missed a very important fact: In the UK one will be hopefully in the near future be able to buy more powerful Hoovers, not the somewhat weaker types found in Europe.

I wrote earlier that Duty Free is coming back and that one could bring back 2 litres of spirits. Was corrected by sej inte nej who pointed out that it would be 1 litre. Well maybe sej inte nej ( kanske kanske ) is wrong because most of the web sites I have visited state it is 2 litres. Nothing really important but just another fact proving the huge good Brexit is doing and will be doing in the future.
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