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....

Granted.

Muddy waters!

I wish my bl. fish wouldn't bite.

I am sure that life was less complicated when I was my grandson age.

He seems to have simple solutions to everything.

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Generally, ask his parents!

you're probably right in that respect fred, though whether that elusive "quality of life" was any better in the early 50's for the lower echelons is extremely doubtful

Iturama,

So, we've established that EU membership hasn't affected you adversely on a personal level, and, as you've highlighted the issue of Club Med youth unemployment, I guess it's also fair to say that you don't know of any other Brits who are personally worse off by the UK being a member of the EU.

And when you say that the EU has failed the youth of Europe, how is that exactly? Surely, if it wasn't for EU freedom of movement, the european youths wouldn't be able to travel to the likes of the UK and Germany to seek work. Every european youngster I've spoken to happens to think the EU is a good thing.

And yes, I do have several gilets jaunes. It's a legal requirement in France to carry them in vehicles at all times, so we just leave them in the cars wherever we go. I also carry a set of replacement light bulbs (not that I'd know what to do with them!), warning triangle, and breathalyser kit.

While we are on the economics, what will be the effect on Sterling's purchasing power and cost of "resaleable" units.

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The total UK trade deficit widened by £3.4 billion to £8.7 billion in the three months to January 2018
The total trade (goods and services) deficit widened by £3.4 billion to £8.7 billion in the three months to January 2018 (Figure 1). This was due primarily to a £3.2 billion widening of the trade in goods deficit to £36.5 billion; which resulted from a 1.7% (£2.1 billion) increase in goods imports, combined with a 1.3% (£1.2 billion) decrease in goods exports to £86.5 billion.

The trade deficit in fuels, which widened by £3.1 billion to £5.4 billion, had the largest impact on the trade in goods deficit; followed by a £1.4 billion widening of the unspecified goods deficit. The 21.4% (£2.4 billion) increase in imports of fuels had the largest impact on the increase in goods imports. In addition, the 8.3% (£0.7 billion) decrease in exports of fuels also had a large impact on the decrease in goods exports.

Of fuels imports, oil was the largest contributor, increasing by 17.4% (£1.5 billion): refined oil increased 17.3% (£0.8 billion) and crude oil increased 17.4% (£0.7 billion). Exports of oil also had the largest fall amongst fuels, decreasing by 5.8% (£0.4 billion) – particularly crude oil (12.3%; £0.6 billion).

While we have no direct evidence, the trade deficit in fuels coincides with weakness in the oil and gas extraction sub-industry during December 2017; which was due to the shut-down of the Forties oil pipeline for a large part of this month.

Trade in services also contributed to the widening of the total trade deficit in the three months to January 2018. The trade surplus in services narrowed by £0.2 billion to £27.9 billion, due to larger increases in imports than exports; 2.5% (£1.1 billion) and 1.3% (£0.9 billion) respectively.

When erratic commodities are excluded, the UK trade deficit widened by £2.6 billion to £8.9 billion in the three months to January 2018. The widening was due mainly to trade in goods imports increasing by 1.8% (£2.1 billion) to £117.7 billion, combined with a 2.5% (£1.1 billion) increase in services imports. Total (goods and services) exports increased 0.4% (£0.6 billion) to £153.4 billion. Given the larger increase in total imports than total exports, the trade deficit excluding erratic commodities widened.

The main commodity contributor to the increase in imports excluding erratic commodities was fuels (particularly refined and crude oil), which increased 21.4% (£2.4 billion), alongside smaller decreases in imports of other goods commodities.

Over the last year, the UK’s total trade deficit widened by £0.4 billion between the three months to January 2017 and the three months to January 2018. This was due primarily to increases of 4.8% (£5.7 billion) and 7.5% (£3.1 billion) in goods and services imports respectively. Imports of fuels and unspecified goods increased the most, by £2.2 billion and £1.2 billion respectively. Although total (goods and services) exports increased by 5.6% (£8.4 billion), this increase was more than offset by the larger increase in total (goods and services) imports.

Manuel,

Seemed less complicated.

I could go scrumping and not end up in court or jump on a bus to town and told to put the fare money back in my pocket by the conductor.

(God only knows why the apples of other gardens appeared better than our own.)

The conductor might off got off the bus to help CNG with her pram.

8-)

indeed ..... parents didn't need to worry about their children going off to play in the fields or woods, and from an honesty point of view, we didn't lock our back door during the day and car keys were left in the ignition

Wish I had known!

Love to have seen how the other half lived and drove.

Did the car have a full tank?

Fred,

What's a bus???

:o)

shame fred had to walk to school without shoes

If Fred walked to school with no shoes, it would have thickened his skin - hence his situation I suggest cynic. :-)

Horseback was quicker.

at least the horse had shoes

Use to watch them being shod.

I wasn't envious.

Have no fear our leader is still hard at it https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46784643

The former Conservative chairman Lord Patten has criticised Theresa May’s handling of Brexit, and believes that a People’s Vote is the only way to stop Brexit self-harm.

The Conservative peer is urging MPs to reject Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement and block a no-deal Brexit saying it should be “put out of its misery as soon as possible”.

He is arguing that if MPs are then unable to agree a new plan for a future relationship with the EU it is only a People’s Vote that can break the impasse.

Lord Patten compared the prime minister to Dr Strangelove, the scientist in Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War satire about nuclear destruction.

He told Radio 4 Today: “There used to be the Doctor Strangelove argument that sometimes you could threaten people with doing crazy things in order to get them to back down. That’s really what’s being suggested at the moment.

“I don’t think Mrs May actually thinks that it makes any sort of sense whatsoever to go ahead without a deal.”

Patten, who has previously said he hates referendums, is also set to use a People’s Vote speech in London to say another vote may be required.

“The whole sorry shambles began with a decision to call a referendum in order to try to manage the English nationalist right wing of the Conservative Party.

“It may be that we can only end this divisive and impoverishing argument by holding another referendum.

“That may prove to be the only and the best way for Britain to avoid an act of self-harm that would betray the aspirations of so many not least the younger citizens of this country.”

Lord Patten does not agree with the prime minister that Britain will crash out of the EU if MPs do not back her deal.

“I don’t believe that the prime minister or many members of her Cabinet think that this would be remotely responsible. It would be very damaging.

“These are similar to the tactics made famous by Dr Strangelove: if you threaten that something crazy will happen, your opponents will back down.

Lord Patten adds that voting for Theresa May’s plan is not the end of negotiations.

“Nothing proposed is as good as what we have now,” he will say, and any plan would require unanimous approval from the 27 remaining EU countries.

“We are not just kicking the can full of our unspecified hopes down the road. We are trying to kick it uphill.”

A news presenter has asked why the current cohort of MPs don’t “club together” and admit that Brexit was a mistake and work to reversing the decision.

In an interview between Conservative MP Bim Afolami and Labour MP Jo Stevens, Sky News presenter Adam Boulton made the suggestion as the pair argued about the merits of accepting the “will of the people”.

Boulton said: “We know a majority of all MPs think that leaving the EU is a bad idea for the country. Wouldn’t actually the best thing be for you two to club together and actually say ‘look this is a mistake, we’ve looked into it, and now we as Parliament are going to reverse it’”.

During the 8-minute interview Jo Stevens, a Labour MP that voted against the triggering of Article 50, also left Tory MP Bim Afolami lost for words as she criticised Theresa May’s handling of Brexit and set out what happens next.

She said: “If she loses her deal and she hasn’t got a Plan B, which clearly she hasn’t as she would be telling us about it, then there has to be change.

So she either loses a vote of no confidence in the government and we have an election, or something else happens that the European Union would consider an extension to Article 50. And also there would be the possibility that we would revoke Article 50, which seems the most sensible thing of all because this is a total mess and she has wasted nearly 3 years on this and she has achieved nothing.”

Afolami, however, continued to parrot the government’s lines on Brexit. He argued that rescinding Article 50 would spark a breakdown in trust between the people and MPs.

He said: “Very few people did vote against Article 50. Parliament has consistently said by big majorities that it is going to implement Brexit.

“I worry deeply about what happens to the trust between elected representatives and the people if Parliament says ‘actually we find this really tricky, we’re not going to do it’.”

He added: “If you reject this deal in front of us, you are basically saying to your voters and the country you prefer no deal to this Brexit deal.”

It is good to see T May is cooperating with and looking for support from Merkel and Juncker etc.

Is she behaving as a quisling PM would do?

Or she still trying to appease the R/neo-cons in her party?

8-)

Crazy.

I would ask those who advocate a 2nd referendum what %age whether the result is to Remain or to Leave would be acceptable.

.01% on this occasion.

8-)