Thought I'd start a new thread as this is going to be a major talking point this year...have not made up my mind yet...(unlike bucksfizz)....but thinking of voting for an exit as Europe is not doing Britain any good at all it seems....

Ummh.

No deal it is then

They love hushing things up in this country....

Can I withdraw my offer to take the other side of your bet, Doc? I've just looked at the news, and it looks like Parliament no longer need another referendum to exit the Brexit process.

How many days now till you decide to stay, Dilbert?

:o)

I always said at the very start that Cameron was wrong to agree to a referendum....right... now having said that he could have just let the Tory party split in two....but he has given us (credit to him)…..the right to choose the EU or not.....well this is the result....but the exit negotiations look like a shambles....

Oh, and now Nige has quit. Turns out he's had a better job offer from Peckham Used Cars.

Must be a Milwall fan then....

Bummer, Hils!

Since we cannot duck out of leaving the EU on the 29th March 2019 without a change in the law, I was going to up my £5 into a rather ambitious, say £50,000.

And the £10 similarly, into say £100,000. No way is this government going to allow another Referendum on leaving the EU.

So our bet is off then. Ah well.

:-(

And all bets are off, if we get a 'Prime Minister Corbyn', too.

;-)

114 days to go Hils.

Can't wait to see the legal advice on the back stop. Bit of luck she'll quit when it shows the Attorney General advised her that it's a one way ticket to nowhere.

A lot shorter then 114 days to go to the 1st "Informed Referendum" now ... you know it makes sense Dil -):

And also:

Apparently, we can cancel Brexit. That’s what the advocate general to the court of justice of the EU, Europe’s highest court, advised this morning.

The advocate general, Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona, said that the UK can cancel its article 50 notice unilaterally. This means that if our own parliament decides that our interests are best served by remaining, the EU cannot stand in our way.

His decision is not certain to be followed by the full court – which has yet to announce when it will give its judgment – but courts follow their advocate general in the overwhelming majority of cases. And if it does here, we are much more likely to stay in the EU.

You forgot to mention, Doc, that following one of last night's votes, if Maggie Dismay loses next week's vote as is widely expected, Parliament now decides the next course of action rather than the Government.

That effectively means that the Gammons' No Deal is no longer an option. Quelle dommage!!

Andrea Leadsom says it is her firm political opinion that, since the backstop is so detrimental to the interests of the EU, that it would not be allowed by the EU to kick in anyway.

She says, the whole problem now is that there is no particular clear majority for any deal. This is because the whole problem of leaving the EU is so complicated.

Thus, on March 29th, it's either:

1. The PM's deal or
2. No deal

because there are no other deal son the table.

Posts cross....

Ha ha ha.

:-)

Dominic Raab says we should merely put (cobble) our best deal together, go to the EU and tell them, "Take it or Leave it'.

I thinks that's the best answer now. Parliament does a series of votes, etc, etc.

Somebody should tell Dominic Raab that major political battles are always fought and won on the middle ground, and that extremist views of one persuasion or another have no place in modern society.

Quite right Exec. The EU Withdrawal Act is law. Therefore we leave. No amount of parliamentary motions will change that. Yesterday was just a chance for the unruly remainer nutters to let off steam and the leaver tories to put pressure on May to review the backstop.. The only useful outcome was that the government will publish the full AG opinion. Change the backstop and the Government is home and dry. Don't and we leave with no deal. Either way suits me but the former is clearly the better option and the EU Commissariat know that.

"UK services PMI hits 28-month lows of 50.4 in November, a negative surprise
By Dhwani Mehta
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The services sector activity in the UK economy deteriorated unexpectedly in the month of November, surprising markets to the downside, a fresh report from Markit Economics showed on Wednesday.

The services PMI dropped to 50.4 in November versus a 52.2 reading booked in October. Markets predicted 52.5 last month.

Key Points:

Marginal expansion of overall business activity.

Employment growth moderates to four-month low.

Business optimism weakest since July 2016.

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey:

“A sharp deterioration in service sector growth leaves the economy flatlining in November as Brexit concerns intensified. Measured across services, manufacturing and construction, the survey results suggest that the pace of economic growth has stalled. With the exception of July 2016, when business slumped in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, November saw the worst performance since February 2013.”

“The surveys are so far consistent with 0.1% GDP growth in the fourth quarter, thanks to the expansion seen back in October, but growth momentum has since been lost and risks are clearly tilted to the downside.”

“A contraction of service sector business activity in November was only avoided by firms working through backorders to an extent not exceeded since 2009. As such, unless demand revives, a slide into economic decline at the turn of the year is a distinct possibility.”

“Both the slowdown in current business activity and the deterioration in business optimism were primarily caused by an intensification of anxieties over Brexit. Uncertainty in relation to the withdrawal agreement and the possibility of no deal was often reported to have caused companies and customers to cancel or postpone spending and investment decisions. Clarity in relation to Brexit arrangements is therefore urgently needed to help ensure the current stalling of growth does not translate into a downturn.”

Wow Fred , being the economy should have gone into free fall over two years ago and house prices tumbled by 30%+ with mass unemployment sweeping the country then you must be rather pleased with those figures.

How do the EU figures look in comparison ?

Hils , that's not an extremist view it's quite sensible and long term would be good for the country. Just ask the EU what it wants to agree on which are beneficial to both sides like security , citizenship , etc then have an amicable no deal exit.