What's the state of Brexit, Brits?

@Picklebobble2 a small kicking.......the only reason there hasn't been more kicking off is because they know if they (tories) rock the boat too much a general election will be on the cards and that's the last thing the establishment want because of the mild socialist policies labour are offering

@Picklebobble2 I'm a little outside these politics. I thought I heard on CBC today, May could celebrate a victory, but maybe I should have taken cue by it not being May day for her. So in Britain, the current government has finally agreed to their terms, and they await the response from the EU?

@SW-User No. The deal so far is between E:U negotiators and Mrs.May.
The E:U are sniggering slightly because there are several areas within the deal where it's a clear 'win' for them and probably many 'remainers'. Not the least of which is agreeing to pay the E:U a substantial sum for things we apparently agreed to some time ago.

From what we the public know of it (given that there are 500+ pages to this thing and even most of our elected representatives hadn't actually SEEN the full document THEMSELVES before last night !) nobody will like it because it satisfies nobody in either camp.

@Picklebobble2 and there is no logical reason for the EU to listen to the UK now (will be a factor).

@SW-User That's true to some extent. I mean it's not as if the nations within the E:U are massive customers for anything we make in this country.
A no deal would suit them as they could get rid of us; we're still legally liable to contribute for things we agreed to some time ago and they don't have the hassle of having to deal with us any longer.

The E:U is caught though between trying to send a message to other member states that "This is what happens if you want to leave. See how hard we can make it for you ??" and knowing that WE are the BIGGEST consumer of stuff MADE in European countries !
Which is WHY the language used in the agreement is interesting.

@Picklebobble2 It's fairly easy to see you are small fry to their conglomerate. The EU as it is stands less to be hurt here than what is happening in Britain. Makes the UK the small bargaining chip, which I'm sure the UK is not used to playing. Effectively the people of Britain have taken away what they always knew; power.

@SW-User what do you mean by power?

@gol979 The UK effectively becomes the small player in global trade among trading partners of other continents. That's just trade. I know one of the big beefs people who supported Brexit in the UK, is they felt they had no control of immigration, well for those xenophobic those who you fear are going to be just as close.

@SW-User The 'power' as you put it belongs to France and Germany.
But even they aren't stupid enough to make this too difficult for the UK.
Which European country do you think buys the most German/French wine/cars etc ?

@SW-User Global trade is a bit of a nonsense at the moment because those who [i]think[/i] they are the biggest (the USA and Russia) are small fry these days when compared with China and Malaysia and other emerging nations.

@SW-User there is a conversation to be had about immigration but to do with a mobile cheap labour force nothing to do with pigmentation, as the mainstream press and most politicians depict it.
I get what your are saying about trade but for me personally I believe there are better ways to organise ourselves and staying in the eu these options are practically impossible under law. See the eu competition rules. Also, they wanted to sign TTIP which is another power grab by corporations

@Picklebobble2 So the way to attack that is taking yourself out? Honestly, that gives you little influence.

@gol979 I know none of what the local papers, or the UK press make this, outside of occasional reading of the BBC and the Guardian. It all seems foolhearted. I can see more reason why Canada would back out of agreements with the US than why the UK did with the EU. (other than we had, mostly, our sovereignty)

@SW-User the bbc and the guardian are just mouth pieces for the establishment now.......occasionally they will do some forensic reporting, months or years after the event, but investigative reporting is dead in these corporations.

@SW-User OF COURSE !!
Have you not yet figured out that all this is a little out of date ?
The E:U was created after the old Common Market became obsolete !

America doesn't have the goods to sell like it used to.
Nobody forsaw the ending of Communism or the collapse of The Soviet Union or the emergence of China as the worlds largest and cheapest productive nation !

Why buy American when you can buy Chinese at 1/3 the price ??

The idea of trade blocs has changed over the last thirty years.
Those who [i]were[/i] the big players no longer are !
Sad fact is....they just haven't worked THAT out yet !

@Picklebobble2 Then why does the UK stand more to lose than the EU? (The EU market is more diverse after all). I think you are missing something, but you likely support Brexit (which I cant speak about as a Canadian)

@Picklebobble2 they still are the big players......the dollar is the reserve currency. No doubt other nations are growing economically and the hegemonic powers are in decline but they are still the biggest players

@SW-User you're wrapping all your arguments in this free market economic system (which is failing the majority of people and isn't free at all)

@SW-User France and Germany have invested heavily, VERY heavily in making the E:U THE dominant buying power in the world.
Problem is they require EVERY other nation to fall in behind their thinking and financing in order to make this work.
And it's already out of date !

@gol979 Especially the US. Why did Trump start his trade war? It's obvious. Re-asserting, or trying, American dominance.

@Picklebobble2 So you disagree and out date yourself further?

@gol979 RIGHT ! It favours those with the most money ! It favours those with nationalised industries !

We've seen what happens when industries are de-regulated and sold off to private investors and it doesn't work !
It's a major bugbear knowing that the biggest energy providers are all STILL making huge profits and ALL of them foreign !

@SW-User NO i just don't see the point in throwing BILLIONS of pounds into a system that favours everybody else more than it does us !
ESPECIALLY when our own elected governments wring their hands when asked to be accountable to the people they represent and say...."Nothing to do with us that's down to the E:U".

@Picklebobble2 foreign governments that sinks the argument that the state cannot run a business.

This is one of the big reasons that I think the eu is just a big cog in this neoliberal system.... And for the reasons I have mentioned before (don't want to sound like a broken record lol)

@SW-User And after his comment to American steel producers about having to work smarter; cheaper THAT should have sent shockwaves around America's producers that America doesn't have the dominance it once did.