[The E]

So this is a new escalation in the ongoing dumpster fire that is the western world slide backwards to the days of idiotic nationalism. The UK has just voted in a (non-binding) referendum to leave the EU. Initial reactions have been vicious and as expected; The Pound is currently in freefall with the Euro not far behind, Northern Ireland has joined Scotland in fidgeting nervously in their seats contemplating a renewed bid for independence, and Nigel Farage is celebrating the fact that they managed to pull this off with no shots being fired (Jo Cox was a statistical outlier and should not be counted).

So yeah. I am not going to pretend to be in any way neutral in this. This is a monumentally stupid decision that undermines half a century of work towards a better Europe. I just hope the coming recession won't be too hard on all of us.

[karajorma]

So Brexit happened and the entire UK needs to unite....

....and take that smug wanker Farange out and give him a good kicking.

[T-Man]

I am really sorry to the rest of Europe for all this. This whole thing was ridiculous.

The really disgusting this is a lot of people voted based on spite not logic (my own dad included! He even bloody told me so!). Feel like my entire generation has essentially been told 'stuff you' by people like him.

[karajorma]

He'll regret it when he sees what it does to his pension.

The really daft thing is that this isn't going to affect the issues that people voted to leave on anywhere near as much as people think. European citizens will still have the right to live in the UK unless they want to start deporting the millions who already live there (and dealing with millions of UK citizens who are pissed off about being deported from European countries)

[The E]

Yeah, there's an interesting thing here. There's a correlation between voter age and their decision to vote leave or stay; Young voters (i.e. the 18-39 group) predominantly voted to stay, older voters voted to leave. Which of course means that the people who did vote Leave are largely people who won't have to live with the consequences of their actions for that long.

EDIT: Meanwhile, Farage is busy backpedalling: Apparently, the 350 million pounds the UK is giving to the EU won't actually go to the NHS, as that was a mistake in the Leave campaign's advertising.

[666maslo666]

Brexit is a stupid decision and I have yet to hear any rational argument for leaving the EU. There will be some economic harm.

On the other hand, UK will now join the ranks of such a failing states as Switzerland and Norway. Oh, the horror.

Its just not a big deal either way, IMHO. Its one of those issues I have an opinion on, but cant really get excited about.

[Grizzly]

On the other hand, UK will now join the ranks of such a failing states as Switzerland and Norway. Oh, the horror.

That remains to be seen actually: Both Norway and Switzerland have special agreements with the EU regarding a great many things. I doubt that the members of the EU are going to allow the UK the same courtesies.

[666maslo666]

As for impact on my country, Slovak National Bank estimates that Brexit will cause a long term net GDP reduction of 0.34%. Which is unfortunate, but not a big deal.

[Phantom Hoover]

Not a single Scottish constituency voted leave, and the supposed security of the UK's EU membership was a key part of the anti-independence platform. It's going to be an interesting time.

[The E]

Breaking News: As promised, Cameron is resigning.

[headdie]

The Racists and Political fat cats won.  That is all I have to say at the moment

[karajorma]

Breaking News: As promised, Cameron is resigning.

As I said to a friend, at least Tony Blair will be happy that someone can finally take his "Neville Chamberlain Award for the single most short-sighted decision in British Politics"

[qwadtep]

On the other hand, UK will now join the ranks of such a failing states as Switzerland and Norway. Oh, the horror.

That remains to be seen actually: Both Norway and Switzerland have special agreements with the EU regarding a great many things. I doubt that the members of the EU are going to allow the UK the same courtesies.

Considering the huge amount of money the UK puts into the EU, I think they'll be receptive.
Unless Germany thinks it can keep the entire ship afloat by itself.

The Racists and Political fat cats won.  That is all I have to say at the moment

Drop the racism smear. You can be independent and still allow every Zod from Vasuda Prime into your country.
You just get to make that decision yourself instead of having it forced upon you by a foreign politician three layers removed from any public election.

[zookeeper]

I can't form an opinion on it because I understand next to nothing about EU/UK politics and economics.

[Col.Hornet]

Wow. I really did not expect that. Interesting times are ahead of us indeed. I have no idea how it will work for the UK but I have a feeling that it won't be any good for my country. UK's voice  worked like a big counterweight for Berlin's or Brussels's ones within the EU. And now..

I don't like it. Not at all.

But as I remember Mr. Tusk said that estimated time of fulfilling all of the formalities, cancelling all UK's treaties with EU would take around 5-7 years. So everything is possible.

[The E]

Anonymous comment off of Twitter nails it:

[Grizzly]

On the other hand, UK will now join the ranks of such a failing states as Switzerland and Norway. Oh, the horror.

That remains to be seen actually: Both Norway and Switzerland have special agreements with the EU regarding a great many things. I doubt that the members of the EU are going to allow the UK the same courtesies.

Considering the huge amount of money the UK puts into the EU, I think they'll be receptive.
Unless Germany thinks it can keep the entire ship afloat by itself.

Sure, the UK puts a lot of money into the EU, but the opposite is also true (Wales is one of the most heavily subsidized regions in the EU), and roughly half of the UK's trade with the EU. Conversely, only a small part of the EU's trade is with the UK. If trade between both instances would catastrophically break down, the UK would lose more.

But that's not really the point either way: The expectation that the EU will play nice with a country that has repeatedly told them to **** off and now comes begging for benefits is an unrealistic one.

The Racists and Political fat cats won.  That is all I have to say at the moment

Drop the racism smear. You can be independent and still allow every Zod from Vasuda Prime into your country.

Half of the leave campaign was built around not letting that happen. Also, you know, this.

[Admiral MS]

On the other hand, UK will now join the ranks of such a failing states as Switzerland and Norway. Oh, the horror.

That remains to be seen actually: Both Norway and Switzerland have special agreements with the EU regarding a great many things. I doubt that the members of the EU are going to allow the UK the same courtesies.

Considering the huge amount of money the UK puts into the EU, I think they'll be receptive.
Unless Germany thinks it can keep the entire ship afloat by itself.

They will have to pay for EU market access as Norway and Switzerland do although that's probably a lot less than what they pay now.
Also there are strong nationalist movements in many EU countries which will feel confirmed that the EU is useless if UK doesn't have any significant disadvantages. So I guess many politicians will aim for some hard negotiations that won't be favorable for UK and serve to discourage any further attempts at leaving the ship (I mean all these lobbyists, politicians and companies profiting from the EU don't want loose their jobs and money).

On the other hand this might finally shake up the EU institutions to stop pissing off people and do better. At least that's what I hope and that's why I was somehow feeling that the UK leaving might be better on the long run. Well unless you are living in UK
The next 2 years will be really interesting, I just hope that whatever negative effects Brexit will cause won't affect me too much here.

[headdie]

The Racists and Political fat cats won.  That is all I have to say at the moment

Drop the racism smear. You can be independent and still allow every Zod from Vasuda Prime into your country.
You just get to make that decision yourself instead of having it forced upon you by a foreign politician three layers removed from any public election.

The Leave campaign was based on 2 things, the money we send to the EU coffers and the fact we cant stop EU citizens entering the country.

Another thing to note.  Cameron resigned today because of the result, PM of the UK and Leader of the Conservative party.  Traditionally the Conservative Party is the most Eurosceptic of the main stream parties and they believe that it is better to remain.

[Grizzly]

On the other hand, UK will now join the ranks of such a failing states as Switzerland and Norway. Oh, the horror.

That remains to be seen actually: Both Norway and Switzerland have special agreements with the EU regarding a great many things. I doubt that the members of the EU are going to allow the UK the same courtesies.

Considering the huge amount of money the UK puts into the EU, I think they'll be receptive.
Unless Germany thinks it can keep the entire ship afloat by itself.

They will have to pay for EU market access as Norway and Switzerland do although that's probably a lot less than what they pay now.

The question is if the EU will actually let them do that, or that the UK will be given a similar agreement as, say, Canada gets (or even the "default option in case 2 years of negotiations result in nothing" option which is that the UK gets lumped in with the WTO regulations).