Gulliver Foyle
Philosopher
England's the problem.
Cont: Brexit: Now What? Turning it up to 11
- Thread starter Archie Gemmill Goal
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England's the problem.
Gulliver Foyle
Philosopher
A Welsh friend once told me:
The Enlish respect the Scots but they don't like them.
They like the Irish, but don't respect them.
They neither like nor respect the Welsh.
Whatever about the first two, the last is definitely borne out by my experience.
Jack by the hedge
Safely Ignored
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I'm a bit ambivalent about this one having anything to do with Brexit.
The UK is continuing its special exemption to allow the use of a neonicotinoid pesticide on sugar beet seeds (highly toxic to pollinators, but in this case used on a non-flowering crop) but a number of EU countries have also been doing exactly the same thing and, reading between the lines, I don't see anything to say they've stopped.
The "tightening up" it mentions seems to be the Court of Justice of the EU saying these special exemptions really aren't on. But I think it's probably rather telling that the article doesn't say the EU exemptions have ended.
dudalb
Penultimate Amazing
So Spain should get Gibrlatar back no matter what the people of Gilbraltar think...nice.
And I detect "bitter ex pat" disease at work here.
dudalb
Penultimate Amazing
Don't hold your breath on that one. Lots of people both sides of the border who don't want a united Ireland.
Gulliver Foyle
Philosopher
Yeah right, down here support for reunification will start at the same levels that the gay marriage and abortion referenda won by and in the six counties the "unionists" are dying of old age or emigrating already.
It'll happen. Even England's fame for not holding to its end of international treaties won't stop it.
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sinnikal
Critical Thinker
Not really. More of a "happy immigrant" vibe. The UK has been on a downhill trajectory for more than a decade. I could see that my best interests were served by relocating to another country where we would enjoy a better life, with a government that has the interests of the wider population further up the agenda. Should I live long enough to qualify I will apply for Spanish, and consequently EU, citizenship.
Puppycow
Penultimate Amazing
Norman Alexander
Penultimate Amazing
You could have come to Australia for the same lifestyle... Just sayin'
Actually...retirement in Spain does sound awesome!
Ah, those sunlit uplands.
The UK did have a brief economic bounce after the dual economic hits of Brexit and Covid and outperformed most of the other G7 countries. That's because the UK economy was battered much worse than those other economies and despite the "stellar growth" achieved for a couple of quarters, the UK economy is well behind where it was pre-Covid (and maybe pre-Brexit
).As such, that growth was a "dead cat bounce" as the market so colourfully describes it. The UK economy has now settled back into its standard pattern of slow or no growth.
So much of growth in a post-industrial economy with near full employment is fuelled by innovation and improvements in productivity. The UK economy isn't geared for innovation, investment is at historic lows, and the Conservatives' idea of improved productivity is simply to get the same people to work longer hours. In the medium to long term, longer working hours simply leads to lower productivity, especially if some or all of those extra hours are unpaid. Low wages provide a disincentive to innovate or automate, simply throw more (cheap) people at a problem, productivity stagnates and so does the economy.
tl;dr Yup, we're up **** creek economically and the Conservatives will only make things even worse.
sinnikal
Critical Thinker
You could have come to Australia for the same lifestyle... Just sayin'
Actually...retirement in Spain does sound awesome!
Errr, no I couldn't. When I emigrated to Spain all I needed to gain residency was to show an income of ~€8,000 p.a. and have full health coverage. As I am over 65 I was entitled to an S1 form where the UK covers my healthcare in the Spanish health system (which is very good). Free at the point of need. Mind you, I have to pay for prescription medication - well, at 10% of generic price.
Sine I've been here I have suffered a broken hip and a broken wrist. The hip required a 5 day stay in hospital - with a room with a sea view, really good food and amazing levels of care and cleaning. Every staff member has a specific job. Doctors doctor, nurses nurse, carers care, cleaners clean. Amazing stay.
I can see my named GP within 3 days, any GP the same day.
I exchanged my driving licence easily.
It's not so easy to emigrate here from the UK any more. It is now a 'third country'. A couple now need to show an income of €30,000 p.a. - twice that to renew after one year. Or invest €500,000 in a property.
Life here is sweet. If I survive another 7 years I can apply for citizenship.
The Don perks up at the prospect of not having to live out his days in the cold and damp
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Carrot Flower King
Janitor of Lunacy
Oooooh, look, even bizniss people of a Tory persuasion are saying that it was all a load of lies - https://www.theguardian.com/busines...lies-tory-billionaire-guy-hands-uk-eu-economy
And I notice that one of them has a very selective grasp on recent history: hoped for a boost to financial services like that after de-regulation of the City, but neglects to mention the role that played in the 2008 collapse, which we all paid for to keep parasites like him going...
And I notice that one of them has a very selective grasp on recent history: hoped for a boost to financial services like that after de-regulation of the City, but neglects to mention the role that played in the 2008 collapse, which we all paid for to keep parasites like him going...
Norman Alexander
Penultimate Amazing
Castillo El Don?The Don perks up at the prospect of not having to live out his days in the cold and damp
Gulliver Foyle
Philosopher
You could have come across to us. No income requirements because of the CTA and after a year of residency you're allowed to vote in Irish and local elections. And it takes only 5 years to gain citizenship.
sinnikal
Critical Thinker
It's the weather thing. Yesterday it was 12ºC during the day and because I'm acclimatised (should that be acclimated for our USAian friends?) and I was freezing. Luckily I've still got my big coat. Today is better, 16º.
I can vote in local elections here.
Had I had Irish forebears I would have applied for an Irish passport back in 2016.
Pixel42
Schrödinger's cat
That was my plan. I started looking at the price of bungalows in Ireland in November 2019, when it became clear the buggers were going to win the upcoming election with a decent majority. I was going to go over there during the summer of 2020 to view properties, and move before the end of the year. Of course the pandemic put paid to that. I haven't been able to summon up the energy again since, I'm just too old for all the hassle.
sinnikal
Critical Thinker
That was my plan. I started looking at the price of bungalows in Ireland in November 2019, when it became clear the buggers were going to win the upcoming election with a decent majority. I was going to go over there during the summer of 2020 to view properties, and move before the end of the year. Of course the pandemic put paid to that. I haven't been able to summon up the energy again since, I'm just too old for all the hassle.
Heh. I used to live just up the road from you. I bailed just in time. 5 months later the pandemic hit.
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