United Kingdom Referendum on European Union Membership

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What does Alexis Tsipras have to say about this?

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Should I start the "2018 UK EU Referendum Mark 2.0" thread yet?

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Should I start the "2018 UK EU Referendum Mark 2.0" thread yet?

Why not start an early general election thread, and a Conservative Party leader one at that.  One of those things will happen by the end of the month, and I hope the other could happen as well.

Both should. At this point, general election with new party leaders is the only decent thing to do.

And, of course, the new Scottish referendum thread should be started today.

...which leads to the Irish Reunification referendum thread...

Wow, the UK is becoming Yugoslavia without the bullets.

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Sinn Fein calling for an Irish Reunification Referendum now.

...which leads to the Irish Reunification referendum thread...

Wow, the UK is becoming Yugoslavia without the bullets.

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BBC has called it.

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The US is never going to let the UK lose their veto in the UN.  Not gonna happen!  Hate to burst all of your anti-British bubbles.

*anti-English bubbles

Britain is dead, expect a Kingdom of Scotland and a United Kingdom of England and Northern Ireland Wales, and the united Irish Republic.

Fixed.

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One of the things that concerns me most about this is that, if things don't get dramatically better, who or what becomes the Eurosceptic punching bag? Leftists? Minorities?

As a Brexiter, I sincerely hope this isn't the birth of an Enoch Powell 2.0 movement.

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This is vaguely interesting tweet storm on Brexit and the City of London by journalist Ben Judah: https://twitter.com/b_judah/status/748097437047332864

While it leaps into conspiracy theorizing in one or two moments, it's interesting as it makes clearer what exactly France and Germany would want for negotiating. Would be interested to hear thoughts, especially from ag.

In my opinion it's a normal negotiation process. If you read or listen to what Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt said in the last days, you could see that their starting point in the negotiations right now is all good for the UK and unacceptable for the EU. So the EU is also starting from a position that is all good for the EU and unacceptable for the UK.
Then they will have two years to find a middle ground that is somewhat acceptable for everyone.

It's like negotiating a salary during a job interview.

No it's not. The UK isn't seeking an unequal relationship with the EU, which employment inherently is. The UK is seeking a business agreement with Brussels. But, they're starting off by demanding all the benefits of a deal without any obligations in return. That's so incredibly arrogant.

What's even more arrogant is that while they claim to have the mandate of the British people, they are negotiating with the leaders who also have a democratic mandate of 27 other countries. What gives them the right to think their democratic mandate is stronger?

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When we negotiate a deal with China, of course there will be a limit of protectionism, if the Chinese reject we can trade with them via WTO MFN.

Why will China negotiate a trade agreement with the UK (or England, as it's soon to be)? Out of the goodness of their hearts? Out of fear that Britain (which won't exist by then) will send warships to take back Hong Kong? Or purely because it sees material opportunities?

And what does England produce in terms of goods and services which the EU, USA, Australia, Japan, or South Korea don't?

Granted, at this stage, the fastest growing sector of China's economy is now consumer services where English companies hold a huge competitive advantage. But while having an Anglo/Chinese trade agreement is a plus from China's perspective, it's absolutely essential from England's perspective. So the talks are inherently unequal. It will then demand (and receive) far more savage concessions than if it were negotiating with the European Union, an entity of similar GDP.

How ironic that almost 200 years after Britain forced an unequal trade agreement on China to legally partake in drug trafficking, a much-emasculated England will grovel to China for an unequal trade agreement which ends whatever's left of England's manufacturing in exchange for allowing HSBC (which ironically finance the opium trade) to open more branches across China...

Of course, you can replace "China" with every other trading power in the above. Including supposed Commonwealth realms like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

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Regardless weather the UK signs a deal with China or not, the U.K. Economy is too dependent on finance.

Maybe so, but as of present, the loss of such a large sector of the economy will have a huge impact on the English government's tax base, at a time when a self-induced recession causes spending to rise.

And, all trade agreements will be negotiated by City-friendly Tory government, which will definitely push to salvage the financial sector's interests across the world.

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None of them will have any sympathy for England's self-induced predicament. All of them will drive hard bargains. Many will even be gleeful at the chance to "get back" at the old colonial master. Anyone who thinks the Commonwealth is anything more than a talking shop which organizes a sporting event every four years is delusional.

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The best case scenario is that Scottish nationalism is tempered down by the realization that Brussels cannot give Scotland an easy ride, that a Norway-style deal is made where the UK is obliged to automatically pass EU laws without debate (and make transfer payments) to retain access to the single market, *and* that UKIP is discredited when they fail to deliver. But we're in uncharted territory, and investors (real investors, not City traders) always hate that.