We can have good banter - but we don't always have to tell the WUMmer he is wumming; he knows it and we can rise above it. If someone leaves THEY have an issue clearly but it is not necessarily someone else's fault - we could have polite anodyne go nowhere discussions but would miss some good heated ones. This board is 99% welcoming and friendly I honestly believe that its faults are seriously overstated. I would leave not606 if any thread got banned or censored as it would mean it was no longer a free board. I was totally opposed to our QPR friend being banned. I guess I am still a hippy at heart and value freedom above all else. I do not like being told how to think or post and what I can or cannot say - I censor myself on trying to not be rude. I know you asked if we can discuss issues Yorkie but it was against the backdrop of what you do not like us doing - why would you want to tell someone else not to discuss party politics if they want to - is your "want" more important than theirs?". I do agree with politely asking others to be polite - those who fail to observe courtesies speak greater volumes about themselves than others. Good points well made - the debates will inevitably involve party politics but those should not dominate and a good argument is always better than "such and such say this"
I hope you are right. I have always been pro EU but have to confess I am seriously starting to doubt the wisdom. One size does not fit all in Europe. Even the more homogeneous USA allows considerable State difference. The UK will never fit into a EU straightjacket and if that cannot be recognised then maybe exit will be better
The problem with the french is they have an in built aversion to any policies that originate from the UK or USA regardless of any potential merit. Once they cure that they may begin to address their numerous mounting problems. Hollande may be enjoying a slight bounce but will it still be a factor next year? What makes France so different from the UK is the strength of support for the extremes, FN and the communists.
Lot of sense in this.... but is there not truth in the fact that the big financial institutions want UK to stay in....
Pfizer who have just completed the largest takeover in pharmaceuticals are talking of moving their HQ from the USA into the EU. Not the UK, but Ireland. HSBC are talking about moving their HQ from the UK to a place not known, but probably the far east. This is how large companies operate these days, take their investment to where it will be most profitable, or give access to a market. While this uncertainty about the UK's position in the EU remains, the country will lose jobs, taxes and investment.
Companies move to Ireland because of their extremely low corporation rate. France and Germany tried to stop the Irish from charging such a low rate during the ballot negotiations but they correctly told them where to go. The UK has created more jobs recently than any other European country and is also still the favourite place to invest. If we lose the vast amount of red tape Brussels plies on the UK we can be even more competitive.
I am not sure how much red tape we would lose SH. Most products would have to adhere to EU standards in order for us to export. I don't know so much about the service industry but suspect it may be similar.
Good point, If we did leave I'm not sure they would make it so easy for the UK in case other countries also fancied leaving. I still think Cameron's demands are cosmetic so the UK will not gain the protection required as some countries seek ever closer political and fiscal union.
I'm not sure the EU can have it both ways - they need to decide how keen they are to keep the UK on the inside. If they will not accede to "reasonable" demands they cannot be surprised if we exit. On the outside trade still flows both ways we are a massive market for EU goods - if they prevent us exporting to them we will not import as much either and the economic consequences could be just as harmful to them as us. Perhaps what we lose from EU exports we will make up with non-Eu where trade barriers mandated by the EU would no longer apply. I think there is still the option to go either way. We do not like the idea of a European SuperState as favoured by France and Germany - theyneed to accpt that and deal with it
My reading of the political situation here is that Hollande will do a great deal to keep the UK in. There are many who would like to see France disengage from the idea of a super state and with the election in 2017 he will be quite inclined to support the ideas being put forward by Cameron, especially with the pressure he is under from the FN. Today they stood side by side over the ISIS problem, and although I think they are poles apart on many issues, both of them are politicians who wish to be seen to be successful.
Although Hollande has had a modest boost in the polls surely he cannot be a serious option in next years polls? I'm disappointed that the right could not find a better candidate than Sarkozy. I well remember his promise for wholesale reform France urgently needed at the start of his previous tenure only for him and his cabinet to collapse to pressure from organised labour and self interest groups. He then became notorious for his extravagant lifestyle hardly a role model. Those reforms are even more desperate today but I doubt if he has grown a backbone. They desperately need a Margaret Thatcher, hope its not Marine Le Pen.
No, he will not be a serious option, but no one has told him that, and he will do all sorts of things to try and save his skin.
It would be interesting to find out what the impact of the UK leaving the EU would be on the offshore islands as we are currently outside the EU anyway. It really annoys me that on my passport I have European Union on the front and then it says a bit further down British Islands - Bailiwick of Jersey. Given the contradiction, could this be official fake ID?
