British SDopers: how are you personally preparing for Brexit

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hoarding?
Doing nothing?
Or something in between?

I am totally unaffected by Brexit, and haven’t been following it closely for the past year or so.
I had just assumed that all the noise and screaming was just for show: politicians jockeying for position, playing with threats and brinkmanship, using scare tactics while looking for excuses to cover up their stupidity. I assumed that when the deadline actually approaches, proper British gentlemen would step up and act responsibly.

But now I see that I was wrong.

Here’s what it looks like to me:
There is true chaos ahead. Third world style chaos, with food shortages and riots in the streets.
If there are no legally binding agreements in place to ensure health inspections, then technically it should be illegal to sell food.

Now in reality, I’m guessing that somehow life will go on.
For the first few weeks,people will just carry on with their usual routines.
[del]Truck[/del] Lorry drivers will continue driving their regular routes even if their vehicles are now technically unlicensed, and nobody will stop them for inspection. Food delivery will continue, because both sides want to continue the routine trade and make money, and so the few inspectors on duty will just wave them through. The entire economy will be operating as a black market, while the people in charge turn a blind eye.

But eventually, somebody will take somebody else to court, and suddenly the whole enterprise will have to face reality.
Those pictures of long lines of parked trucks blocking the roads for days will actually become facts on the ground. And then the chaos will begin. Nowadays, every business works on “just-in-time” delivery schedules, so a few small roadblocks (pun intended) could cascade disastrously through every industry in the country.

I hope I’m wrong.

If I were living in England, I’d be hoarding everything I could possibly fit in my apartment.
But I don’t live England.
So , for those of you who do, please tell me whether you are taking any precautions?

Are there many “preppers” ? *
Are there any official instructions from the government regarding, say, financial regulations, or travel advisories, the need for visas, etc?

*if there are, I’m sure they are in no way as crazy as the preppers in America, who keep entire fortresses of food and ammunition.
But it’s fun for a Yank to imagine:“Cheerio my dear chap! I say, would you like to share my bunker and a pint?” :slight_smile:

2

Why would you be hoarding? I’m hardly pro-Brexit, but HM Customs is not going to be impounding European goods at the docks. At worst, there will be price hikes.

3

People who are medication-dependent are certainly hoarding. And I for one don’t blame them - the British government’s assurances of “oh, not to worry, we’ve got this sorted” ring rather hollow when you see the massive incompetence on display in Parliament over actually working out how to Brexit (or not) at all.

In order to keep the supermarket shelves stocked, you need a certain amount of throughput through Customs. The docks don’t have to shut down in order to cause chaos - just a sudden significant decrease in efficiency would do it.

4

Nothing in my post should be taken to suggest that the government knows what it’s doing. Brexit - from the original decision to have a nonbinding plebiscite to today - has been the biggest farce in British history.

5

I am not doing anything to personally prepare.

The worst that could happen is a deep recession and a decade or two of economic decline until we rebuild our trading links with the rest of the world just as we did in the first couple of decades after WW2.

The best we can hope for is that is doesn’t actually take place. I am pretty sure most politicians think the same way. None of them seem to have presented any sort of cunning plan what to do next. It reminds me of the Cold War years where everyone talked about missiles, bombs and shelters, but no-one had a plan for what happens twenty minutes after the Nuclear button was pressed.

With Brexit, the button is an economic self destruct. We won’t die, there won’t be riots or food shortages. There will just be poverty and poor prospects until the economy gradually recovers. Many of have lived through economic crises before. We will get by. The young will emigrate or endure years of debt.

I suspect Brexit will be put off for a couple of years.

Time enough for another batch of politicians to argue over what Brexit 2.0 should look like.:frowning:

6

What makes you think that? Every indication is that inspections will start immediately (assuming a no-deal Brexit, that is - with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will remain part of the EU for customs until 31 December 2020 with 1 extension option.) Does the EU strike you as an organization inclined to look the other way on this?

7

You really should take the talk of the Remainers with a huge pinch of salt. It’s the statements that are stupid and obviously wrong like that that got us into this mess in the first place. Hereabouts (Aberdeen) businesses seem to be fully prepared for Brexit.

And elsewhere in the UK:

From where did that one come? Trading Standards operate under UK law.

Huh? Vehicles in the UK are licensed by the DVLA, a UK governmental organisation.

More generally, the whole of EU law was subsumed into UK law last year.

There’s a huge amount of scaremongering by Remainers. It does the pro-EU cause a huge disservice. Brexit will mean change and Remainers are scared of it.

Personally, I do not expect Brexit to go smoothly. I do expect disruptions. What those will be I do not know. There will be businesses who have not prepared. They may go bust and it will take time for other businesses to fill the gaps.Before the referendum I spoke to a lot of people and those who were voting to leave said that they thought there would be a short-term down-turn but that the UK would be better off in the longer term. I hope they are correct.

The big problem right now is not Brexit but the uncertainty of Brexit. If people knew that Brexit was actually happening on date X then they could make better plans.

Brexit is an utter farce and clusterfuck but that’s down to the politicians; the British people are more resilient.

8

As somewhat of an antidote (from the Interwebs)

Physicians were unable to reach a consensus: Should Brexit take place?

The Allergists were in favour of scratching it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Brexiters had a lot of nerve.

Meanwhile, Obstetricians felt certain everyone was labouring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!”

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Chemists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow.

The Plastic Surgeons opined that May’s proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter.”

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

Anaesthesiologists thought it was all a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a**holes in Parliament.

9

But does Europe recognize the DVLA? I thought it would have its own licensing system, applying equally to all 30 countries, but NOT to non-member countries.
So I thought that UK refrigerated lorries will no longer be licensed to carry food into Europe.
I hope I am wrong.

But I assume that the opposite is not true: Europe did NOT subsume the whole of UK law into its legal system.
So , again,–who is responsible for licensing the lorries once they leave England and enter Europe?

(silly example: suppose a refugee from the Syrian war drives a rusty, broken-down vehicle through Turkey, crosses all of Europe, and arrives at the Champs Elysee in Paris, delivering unrefrigerated, spoiled beef to a supermarket. And suppose after Brexit a British driver arrives at the same time in a modern refrigerated lorry. Are both of them unlicensed?

10

Why would you think that the EU licenses vehicles? It doesn’t - member states still license their own. Remember the EU is not ‘yet’ a single state - plenty of legislation is at a local level.

What’s more, there’s plenty of states that border EU ones, and still manage to ship/drive food across borders. Turkey included.

11

Why do you think Britain has a DVLA is the EU has “its own licensing system”?

12

I watched a YouTube video showing the votes in the House of Commons for No Deal vs. May’s Plan and parts of it were incomprehensible to me, like when I try to watch cricket.

The speaker (?) would call the question and everyone would stand on one side or the other to be toted up then the speaker would announce the totals and, “The yes (or no) votes have it.” He would them announce something incomprehensible to my American cloth ears and four guys standing in a row before his bench would all nod once, simultaneously. What was that last bit about?

13

That’s different from your original question. For the answer, ask Europe; it’s not the UK’s problem.

14

The division (vote) is technically counted by tellers, and the Speaker announces the tellers’ counts.

15

Personally, I’m doing nothing. But then, I’m fortunate enough to have a bit of headroom in our monthly budget, some savings, a secure job that won’t be affected by Brexit, and no dependence on medication. Having said that, I believe the vast majority of my countrymen are similarly carrying on as normal.

I have noticed government adverts in the media about helping businesses prepare for Brexit, and reminding people who intend to travel abroad in the next few months that Brexit could mean slightly more issues with this. Since neither of these things affects me, I haven’t looked into it further.

16

Let this be warning to the rest of the world - referendums with binary options on extremely complex issues do not work. And what a total fucking mess our politicians have made of it. They couldn’t run a whelk stall. Please send food as soon as possible, we are starving here :frowning:

17

I’m from Northern Ireland.

Apart from a bet with my cousin that there will be a second referendum before his birthday this year (December) I’m not really doing anything to prepare. Perhaps I’m just used to politically instability and craziness. I do have the suspicion that Brexit won’t actually happen, or be so watered down as to be Brexit in name only.

Sinn Fein views this as their window of opportunity and are pushing hard for a referendum on unification with the Republic of Ireland and I suspect there is a lot more going on behind the scenes regarding Brexit in general and this aspect in particular than the general public is aware of.

Yes, two suspicions, I’m a suspicious person.

18

That’s actually something I’d been a bit curious about - whether there was any push for unification between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which I assume would involve Northern Ireland leaving the UK.
Apparently there’s at least some - is it widespread, popular, and do you think it’d be more popular if a hard border was imposed between the two?

19

it becomes the UK’s problem, though, if the answer is that EU countries do not accept UK truck licences. It’s obviously a problem for UK trucking companies, much of whose businesses involve trucking things into, out of or between other EU countries. And then it become a problem for UK businesses and consumers, if the restrictions suddenly faced by the UK trucking industry lead to delays, shortages and the like affecting imported goods.

This is why, if the UK decides not to ratify a Withdrawal Agreement under which UK trucking licences would continue to be recognised, it can’t really disclaim responsiblity for the entirely forseeable problems that may result from UK trucking licences not being recognised.

20

Recent polls are still showing a solid majority in favour of Irish unity among voters in the South of Ireland but stilll only a minority in favour in the North. Almost certainly, a hard border would increase support.

I’ve lived in Ireland for 19 years now and this is the first time I can remember mainstream Irish politicians and media even speaking about reunification as a realistic possibility, though. That in itself is significant.