# BrexitAnother disaster that never happened **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 1, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479 "2017-04-01T03:48:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/61 "2017-04-04T04:05:28Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Only five days after the filing and the uglyness is starting > > [Britain only Started Brexit five days ago and is already talking about war with Spain.](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/04/03/britain_only_left_the_eu_five_days_ago_and_is_already_talking_about_war.html) Do they really think we Spaniards are just gonna go and attack Gibraltar? I mean, those money-laundering Gibraltarians have got enough money that we probably wouldn’t win a war against them by themselves, let alone with the UK behind them. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/62 "2017-04-04T06:32:55Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Do they really think we Spaniards are just gonna go and attack Gibraltar? > > I mean, those money-laundering Gibraltarians have got enough money that we probably wouldn’t win a war against them by themselves, let alone with the UK behind them. Strawman, But the demand will lead to issues. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/63 "2017-04-04T06:39:11Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Strawman, But the demand will lead to issues. What demand? ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/64 "2017-04-04T07:25:11Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > What demand? Did you read the article or just the headline? > [@](#): > > Unexpectedly, the guidelines included a section saying that any deal between Britain and the EU would not apply to the territory of Gibraltar unless Spain agrees. ---
**Author:** ![upend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@upend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/upend)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/65 "2017-04-04T07:34:33Z")
My major problem with the remain campaign was that they attempted to scaremonger about Brexit with some ridiculous claims. This included the emergency budget loss of, well everyone’s job, as I remember. I wish the whole thing had been more positive - on both sides. here we are though and the work is just beginning. Pretty much everything in the statute book will have to be re-written and the government wants to do this (at least initially) without consulting parliament on individual items. we then have to negotiate trade terms with pretty much every country in the world. then we can start to worry about whether it’s working or not. _If_ it begins not to work, it will be 1000 small cuts & not one big disaster. A trade dispute here, a company moving a division abroad there. More than that we’ll never know whether we would have been better off remaining - yep we’ll be having this same debate in 5 years! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/66 "2017-04-04T08:32:36Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > The future is bright, and the future will not be determined in Berlin. That remains to be seen, given that the EU is the main trade partner of the UK, and Germany is quite influential in the EU. Note that one of the first things you’re going to do is passing tons of EU regulations into British law. Great example of how the UK is going to be free and independent from the EU. In fact, the current Gibraltar issue (and Spanish statements that they wouldn’t oppose Scotland joining the EU, while this was a big potential stumbling block in case of Scottish independence) shows that your future might be decided not only in Berlin, but also in Madrid (and presumably in Paris, Rome, Warsaw, etc… depending on the issue). And maybe eventually in Edinburgh too… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/67 "2017-04-04T08:41:47Z")
Too late to edit : what is certain is that the future of the EU won’t be determined anymore in London, and that at least is a good point, since the UK often has been slowing down or preventing EU advances. Like for instance in matters of European defense, where the UK basically blocked any initiative for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/68 "2017-04-04T09:10:03Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Did you read the article or just the headline? You call that a demand? Gibraltar will have to make their separate deal with the EU, since it’s a territory, not part of the UK, the country sharing it’s borders will have a right to veto EU decisions since we would be the most affected. How is that not a perfectly logical clause? Don’t get me wrong, Gibraltar is right in being cautious, since we do tend to vote idiots prone to the occasional fit of jingoistic grandstanding, but it’s still nothing close to a demand. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/69 "2017-04-04T09:14:06Z")
> [@upend](#): > > I wish the whole thing had been more positive - on both sides. Yeah. The only question should have been “do you feel like you are a EU citizen?”. That’s all. No arguments, no “right” or “wrong” side. Not even need for campaigning. Either you want to be a EU citizen or you don’t. As the political union of the EU progresses I’m sure we’ll see more referendums like this one. Hopefully those will be more positive and based on simple national identity, not nebulous economic predictions. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/70 "2017-04-04T10:10:47Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Yeah. The only question should have been “do you feel like you are a EU citizen?”. That’s all. No arguments, no “right” or “wrong” side. Not even need for campaigning. Either you want to be a EU citizen or you don’t. So we shouldn’t be allowed to talk about what we think will be the benefits or drawbacks of such a decision? “Welcome to our Brexit debate. The panellists have decided whether they are EU citizens or not, and, erm…we still have 59 minutes and 20 seconds of time to fill. We’re open to suggestions” ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/71 "2017-04-04T10:35:41Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > So we shouldn’t be allowed to talk about what we think will be the benefits or drawbacks of such a decision? > > “Welcome to our Brexit debate. The panellists have decided whether they are EU citizens or not, and, erm…we still have 59 minutes and 20 seconds of time to fill. We’re open to suggestions” Not really, because the brexiters were 100% right… the EU is not just a trade agreement anymore, so the basis to be a member or not should be all about nationality. The economy will always have ups and downs, in the EU and in the UK, but what holds things together is a common identity. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479/72 "2017-04-04T10:39:58Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Over here in the UK, doom-and-gloom seems to be the province of the Left. Brexit, Global Warming, etc ad nauseam. This is hilarious. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of a publication called The Daily Mail? They have been known from time to time to indulge in a spot of hysterical fear-, outrage- and hatred-mongering, often by presenting information that has only a tangential relationship to reality? Or perhaps you might have heard of UKIP? The same description as above applies. The Right in the UK, as in the US, are far more prone to statements of impending doom and destruction (usually relating to Muslims or migrants) than the Left, and they crank it out in vast quantities on a daily basis. If you haven’t noticed it, it remains true nonetheless. > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > If only I were a fraction as smart as Remainers. > > Project Fear followed by project patronise. Project Projection in operation. Which of the following deserves to be called Project Fear: - Remain campaign: “If we leave the EU, it will cause significant detriment to the UK economy.” - Leave campaign: “If we stay in the EU, millions of Turks will overwhelm the NHS and [gangs of foreign rapists will roam the streets of your neighbourhood](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/04/nigel-farage-migrants-could-pose-sex-attack-threat-to-britain/).” Answers on a postcard, to be sent to the Daily Mail. As for “patronising”, well, this certainly qualifies: > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > If only I were a fraction as smart as Remainers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexitanother-disaster-that-never-happened/783479.md?page=3)