Britain is leaving the European Union

[Brovo]

It's happening. Leave won.

So, here is the arbitrary discussion thread for it. Keep it civil, talk about it here if y'all would like.

I for one have many mixed feelings about this. I was and still am pro-leave, but I have a terrible, unsettling feeling in my gut that the far right of Europe was watching, and will gladly look at this as a rallying cry.

And, if you live in the UK, and y'all voted (leave or stay), why did you vote the way you did? How do you feel about the results?

EDIT

Also, yes, you can still obviously vote in the poll even if you don't live in the UK. It's a hypothetical question about an ideological choice that actually occurred.

 

[Pahn]

To be honest I haven't been following the Brexit campaign at all until I heard about the MP's murder last week.
I don't have enough sensible knowledge to say Leave or Stay, but, this is the Internet and I'm Canadian... and I would definitely vote Leave if it meant more freedom for Great Britain.

 

[Cammeh]

I voted to remain. I'm genuinely worried.

 

[Rithas]

2016 is the year of poor decisions it seems.

My Irishness is telling me to be giddy

My common sense is telling me to be worried

 

[Sidhe]

I freely admit that I don't understand the scale of this decision or the consequences of it, so my first thought upon hearing 'we should be worried' is 'oh god is this the start of World War 3'

Could someone supply a brief explanation of what exactly this means for the ignorant?

 

[Boba Fit]

Ok, I have not heard enough about this here in the States.

I am planning on moving to England in maybe a year with my girlfriend. I'm trying to figure out the issues and how this could effect me.

Can someone help inform me?

 

[Brovo]

Could someone supply a brief explanation of what exactly this means for the ignorant?

Super tl;dr: Nobody absolutely knows. Both sides are blowing hot air at each other.

What Remain folks say: Going to lose access to things like the common market, which means losing freedom of movement throughout Europe. Pound will drop in value, decreasing buying power.

What Brexit folks who are not Nigel Farage say: Going to be able to make deals with the EU that work for Britain via leveraging their large market for imports for EU goods (and vice versa). Be able to sign trade deals with non-EU nations. (Commonwealth, Norway, Switzerland, US, China, et cetera.) Restoration of industries like the fishing industry via cutting regulation.

What Nigel Farage says: Burr durr independence day woooooooo I'mnotracistipromise OH GOD WE'RE GONNA LOSE no maybe win LOSE WE'RE LOSING OF COURSE OH GOD--wait we won? WE WON. I KNEW WE WOULD WIN. INDEPENDENCE DAY WOOOOO~

What this means for the average joe in the real world: Not a whole lot in the immediate. It'll take a couple of years before negotiations for separation are even finished, leave alone the months/years after that. Basically, compare it to a couple getting a divource, they don't just kill each other immediately, they go through a lot of legal proceedings to divide responsibilities and the like. Now imagine this but about 100 times more complicated and that's what this is. The kids are the regular people in this arrangement, they know shit's going down and the future is going to be very different, but right now, life in every respect is going to be practically the same as it's ever been.

 

[Firemind]

It means my new computer rig will be more expensive to build, because fuckin' importing parts is gunna cost more from abroad because the £ is weaker.

Rip Wallet.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Well, after spending a good amount of time researching the matter coming up to this (I was curious) I was hoping they'd choose to stay. :/
Though that was (in short) due to a combination of not liking leave's uncertainty and my own bias of preferring a unified world (especially when we become a multi-planetary species).

So now I'll just sit back and hope UK is able to prove me wrong and improve their current state of affairs. But that will take time to figure out.

 

[Pachamac]

I voted Remain. I'm genuinely shocked by the results.

I'm currently wondering how Scotland's going to react to this.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Looks like there's been a side effect.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

I voted Remain. I'm genuinely shocked by the results.

I'm currently wondering how Scotland's going to react to this.

Speaking as a bloke in Scotland who made the mistake of checking Facebook this morning...

...really fucking badly.

 

[York]

Hmm, I guess from what I have heard... It's a little ironic that after having requested to join the EU multiple times, to fix their less than optimal economic position, that the UK is now voting to leave the EU for that same reason. >.< Though I guess congratulations to the Brexit movement, the issue stands that the votes have been split nearly down the middle :S so, even if UK does break free from the EU, there's still a considerable amount of damage control that is probably needed.

 

[Jorick]

Hmm, I guess from what I have heard... It's a little ironic that after having requested to join the EU multiple times, to fix their less than optimal economic position, that the UK is now voting to leave the EU for that same reason. >.< Though I guess congratulations to the Brexit movement, the issue stands that the votes have been split nearly down the middle :S so, even if UK does break free from the EU, there's still a considerable amount of damage control that is probably needed.

It's worth noting that the people of Britain were not exactly given a choice about joining the EU. They joined the European Economic Community (EEC) that was its predecessor, which was purely about economic integration of member states into a single market. When it came time to ratify the treaty that morphed the EEC into the European Union, the people of Britain were not actually given a chance to vote to approve it, as most other member nations did. The choice was made by the British parliament, and it wasn't a clean join even then: they didn't sign on to use the Euro (which was supposed to be the cornerstone of the whole setup) and there was a big fight over whether or not to opt out of other parts of the agreement.

This leave vote isn't just about economic troubles, it's also about sovereignty. The EU is heading toward becoming a federal government that stands unquestionably above the member states to unify all members as one super state. This isn't paranoia or anything, members of the EU have quite literally already started on plans to created a United States of Europe which would effectively remove the sovereignty of member states. For a while now, British MEPs in the European Parliament have been the ones most often one the losing side of a vote, which is a clear sign that the EU is heading in a direction that the chosen representatives of the British people do not like. Staying in the EU and being pulled into the federal government system would mean their country gets screwed over by decisions their people do not want, and that far more often than other countries. It seems the majority of British citizens wished to be able to determine their own future, rather than having it dictated by foreigners and unelected officials with no accountability, which seems reasonable enough to me.

There will certainly be some damage control to be done though. Scotland and Northern Ireland might break off to be able to join the EU, since they both had a majority of their votes going to stay. We could see the end of the UK as we know it. :P

 

[York]

It's worth noting that the people of Britain were not exactly given a choice about joining the EU. They joined the European Economic Community (EEC) that was its predecessor, which was purely about economic integration of member states into a single market. When it came time to ratify the treaty that morphed the EEC into the European Union, the people of Britain were not actually given a chance to vote to approve it, as most other member nations did. The choice was made by the British parliament, and it wasn't a clean join even then: they didn't sign on to use the Euro (which was supposed to be the cornerstone of the whole setup) and there was a big fight over whether or not to opt out of other parts of the agreement.

This leave vote isn't just about economic troubles, it's also about sovereignty. The EU is heading toward becoming a federal government that stands unquestionably above the member states to unify all members as one super state. This isn't paranoia or anything, members of the EU have quite literally already started on plans to created a United States of Europe which would effectively remove the sovereignty of member states. For a while now, British MEPs in the European Parliament have been the ones most often one the losing side of a vote, which is a clear sign that the EU is heading in a direction that the chosen representatives of the British people do not like. Staying in the EU and being pulled into the federal government system would mean their country gets screwed over by decisions their people do not want, and that far more often than other countries. It seems the majority of British citizens wished to be able to determine their own future, rather than having it dictated by foreigners and unelected officials with no accountability, which seems reasonable enough to me.

There will certainly be some damage control to be done though. Scotland and Northern Ireland might break off to be able to join the EU, since they both had a majority of their votes going to stay. We could see the end of the UK as we know it. :P

I'd also like to note the UK Government is kinda... Not really known very well for giving the populace much of a choice in things, while I can understand wanting sovereignty, the entire UK Government system will also have to go under a massive overhaul to truly shake off the issues that sparked leaving the EU in the first place. The other thing to note is that well... The UK will have to make their own rules in trading, diplomacy, etc, which... Has the potential to inconvenience a large variety of infrastructures that rely on trade between the UK, and the rest of the EU, it is also pretty dang expensive to create new rules like that in the first place. So... While the decision has been made, I guess I should suggest being cautious what the drawbacks of leaving the EU will be. While the EU isn't exactly the best place to be... I suppose only time will reveal which option was the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

I'd also like to note the UK Government is kinda... Not really known very well for giving the populace much of a choice in things,

To be fair here this was tackled by Sargon in the debate with Thunderf00t I listed earlier.

The basic idea with the sovereignty part is that it's still something. If people really don't like something they can vote around that issue come the next election. The EU requires self-made people to join the council and then make 'requests', without there being a public vote. In practice? It's an outright minimal difference given how often election promises are broken and how people don't tend to vote on non-elections anyways, but it's still something.

 

[York]

To be fair here this was tackled by Sargon in the debate with Thunderf00t I listed earlier.

The basic idea with the sovereignty part is that it's still something. If people really don't like something they can vote around that issue come the next election. The EU requires self-made people to join the council and then make 'requests', without there being a public vote. In practice? It's an outright minimal difference given how often election promises are broken and how people don't tend to vote on non-elections anyways, but it's still something.

I suppose so >.< but again, only time will tell how much this will hold up in the long run... Or, more accurately, which decision is the lesser of the two evils I guess.

 

[Slade]

Watching Merkel's dream get crushed is immensely satisfyingly. Watching her go on stage, surrounded by German flags to pretend she has any love for her own country only to blabber and throw a tantrum at the Brits fills me with schadenfreude.

If you wanted to remain, blame that disgusting excuse of a leader for her incompetence in the handling the refugee crisis and using her cronies in Brussels to bully anyone who doesn't follow the EU line. Merkel did far more for brexit than farage ever could.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

I am literally drowning in online salt right now.

SEND HELP.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

I am literally drowning in online salt right now.

SEND HELP.

Canada will trade you some Poutines for the Salt. :P