# What will the UK do wrt Brexit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 18, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799 "2019-02-18T22:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 84
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1663 "2020-12-18T07:59:25Z")
> BJ might yet do so, but there will be [some number of] head-banging Tory Europhobes, in Parliament and in the Tory-favouring media who will claim that almost any binding agreement is _ipso facto_ an infringement of sovereignty. And even if BJ is able to face them down in Parliament to get through an agreement they don’t like (and its associated legislation)\*, they will be in a position to make continuing trouble for him in the longer term (and there will be plenty of reasons and occasions to do so outside this particular question - the handling of Covid, the absence of trade deals with other countries, and so on). Boris is in trouble either way though. I’m not sure the trouble he would get from hardline Brexiters would be worse than the trouble he would have from a no deal Brexit. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1664 "2020-12-18T10:44:53Z")
Boris will soon have achieved his purpose. He won the election last year with an 80 seat majority; he will soon, one way or the other, have got Brexit done. Even Leavers expect some kind of short-term disruption as a result of Brexit. When that pain is felt, Boris will be left carrying the can. At which point he’ll be dumped and the Tories will get a new leader who had literally nothing to do with it, wasn’t even there guv, and on we go. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1665 "2020-12-18T11:10:18Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > At which point he’ll be dumped and the Tories will get a new leader who had literally nothing to do with it, wasn’t even there guv, and on we go. That’s probably why Michael Gove has been keeping a low profile. I agree that Johnson will be gone in a few months. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1666 "2020-12-18T11:49:38Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > > [@Stanislaus](#): > > > > At which point he’ll be dumped and the Tories will get a new leader who had literally nothing to do with it, wasn’t even there guv, and on we go. > > That’s probably why Michael Gove has been keeping a low profile. He can’t seriously expect not to be blamed as well, surely? Still, with this shameless shower and their party membership, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1667 "2020-12-18T13:38:24Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > He can’t seriously expect not to be blamed as well, surely? Still, with this shameless shower and their party membership, who knows? He bloody well shouldn’t expect it. But lots of things that shouldn’t be true, are. That’s what we’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1668 "2020-12-21T13:26:05Z")
Well, this new, more infectious strain of Covid that has spread in the UK seems to have given many other countries good reason to restrict travel from the UK. So now we have the cross channel trade crisis arriving early with the Dover to Calais route blocked to traffic for health reasons. The disruption we anticipated with Brexit seems to have come early, courtesy of Covid. We live in strange times. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1669 "2020-12-22T13:07:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I mean, the vast majority of Leavers voted that way due to xenophobia and racism, but since you are here, that seems kinda doubtful. I’m as staunch a remainer as you could hope to find, but your sweeping assertion just isn’t true. People didn’t know what they were voting for, and the right wing press has spent the last 40 years telling them that everything that goes wrong is the fault of the EU. Remain didn’t stand a chance. My mother voted leave. She isn’t xenophobic or racist. She’s from that generation who will vote no matter what, and she pretty much tossed a coin. She deeply regrets her vote and often tells me ‘they shouldn’t have let us decide, we didn’t know what we were voting for.’ ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1670 "2020-12-22T13:45:40Z")
Totally true. And Cummings admitted that, without the Turkey/EU lie and the £350M/NHS lie that the referendum would probably have gone 48/52 rather than 52/48. And also, that 48/52 for Brexit ‘would not have been the end of the story’, as the current situation seems to be. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1671 "2020-12-22T14:34:21Z")
> [@its\_the\_daddy](#): > > And also, that 48/52 for Brexit ‘would not have been the end of the story’, as the current situation seems to be. Both Farage and Rees Mogg said pre-election that if they lost 48-52 they would continue to fight on. Funnily enough , once they _won_ 52-48 the result became the immutable “will of the people”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1672 "2020-12-22T16:01:34Z")
Odd that. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1673 "2020-12-22T18:38:46Z")
They would have been entitled to continue to put their case, but nobody would have listened. The response would have been “We had a debate, just like you wanted, followed by a vote, and you lost. The issue is now settled for the foreseeable future.” ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1674 "2020-12-22T19:48:33Z")
That same situation applies to Scotland. But the Scottish people DO NOT believe the issue is “now settled for the foreseeable future”, instead polls suggest they now want to leave: > **[Support For Scottish Independence Is Growing, Partly Due To U.K.'s COVID-19...](https://www.npr.org/2020/12/15/946242592/support-for-scottish-independence-is-growing-partly-due-to-u-k-s-covid-19-respon)** > > Recent polls show consistent support among Scots for leaving Great Britain. Many in Scotland think Prime Minister Boris Johnson is poorly suited to handle the pandemic and trust Scottish leaders more. ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1675 "2020-12-22T20:04:35Z")
Wonder what they’re going to do about the charter granted to Bruges in Belgium by King Charles II in the 1660s …? I did enjoy reading this: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55190259](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55190259) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1676 "2020-12-23T13:12:54Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > That same situation applies to Scotland. But the Scottish people DO NOT believe the issue is “now settled for the foreseeable future”, instead polls suggest they now want to leave See also Quebec over the last 50-ish years. Itches don’t stay scratched. IMO as an American watching from a considerable distance, had Brexit gone down 48/52 the Leave campaign would have licked their wounds for a couple of years at most then tried again. John Major certainly didn’t settle the matter, now did he? ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1677 "2020-12-23T16:14:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > the Leave campaign would have licked their wounds for a couple of years The Leave campaign would have licked their wounds for a couple of microseconds, and Farage ‘outrage’ would have broken out anew. Just look at the pro-Brexit nastiness whenever the (ongoing) outcomes of Brexit are criticised. In spite of their having “won”. Why do they have to call their erstwhile enemies ‘remoaners’? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1678 "2020-12-23T17:30:49Z")
It looks like there is now going to be a deal within the next few hours: > **[Brexit trade and security deal with EU within 'touching distance', says No 10](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/23/eu-countries-prepare-for-possible-imminent-brexit-deal)** > > Boris Johnson briefs cabinet on breakthrough and is expected to address nation early on Christmas Eve ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1679 "2020-12-23T21:12:10Z")
A correspondent once remarked that he automatically skipped all headlines beginning “Geneva Peace Talks Breakdown/stalemate/reopen” for years without missing anything of importance (and he hoped ‘Vietnam’ wasn’t going to go the same way.) ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1680 "2020-12-24T01:04:42Z")
Yeah the talks have stalled. EU governments are unhappy that negotiators appear to have tried to ‘bounce’ Member States into a deal with little time to scrutinise. I don’t blame them. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1681 "2020-12-24T01:54:23Z")
Link please? Everything I’m seeing says they’re still very close. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799/1682 "2020-12-24T08:39:06Z")
This was just Twitter chatter, I guess. It seems something has been achieved. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799.md?page=83) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-uk-do-wrt-brexit/829799.md?page=85)