There’s another thread arguing the pros and cons of Brexit, so this is not that.

I voted remain, but up until recently I was very much in the ‘we have to respect the results of the referendum’ camp. However, my patience has now run out as I am starting to see the genuine suffering that the last 6 years of trying to make this piss poor decison work for us- I work in health care, so unfortunately I get to see first hand the what happens at the sharp end of this sort of thing.

So, cheer me up and let me fantasise a little: how in hell’s teeth could this country possibly engineer a return to the EU? Especially considering neither major party has any interest in doing so. Any ideas?

It’s not going to happen; neither of the two big parties want it.

The EU have made it clear that there is no current roadmap available for the UK to rejoin, I don’t blame them as all the English EU mp’s  did was disrupt proceedings and act like dicks.

There’s another thread arguing the pros and cons of Brexit

Is there? Pros and cons sounds like quite a balanced debate. Are you sure?

Especially considering neither major party has any interest in doing so.

While I voted remain, and still would, the above is critical. If there was a referendum again tomorrow it would be 50/50 again. That split is reflected equally in both political parties too. Labour’s left and the Conservative right, for different reasons.

I don’t blame them as all the English EU mp’s did was disrupt proceedings and act like dicks.

Funny, that’s exactly what a retired Dutch EU civil servant said to me a few weeks ago. And now he’s living in Scotland 🤣

If I had to live in England or Wales I’d be agitating for Scottish Independence on the basis that there’s a chance to see how Scotland coped with rejoining and hoping the people of England would learn something useful.

I won’t vote for a pro-Brexit party.

That includes Labour, who I have voted for in the past and would otherwise consider voting for again.

Eventually they will get there. Hopefully in my lifetime.

The euro would be an impassible errrr impasse

Move north of the Scottish border while suggesting to all that Scotland should be independent, if it’s such a burden on the rest of the UK. We can be the test bed for rejoining.

The euro would be an impassible errrr impasse

Judging by how f******d our economy and pound is, the Euro would represent significant progress….

irrespective of whether or not you think brexit was a daft idea it’s becoming clear that those who seek to deliver it are either a) catastrophically incompetent, b) attempting to square an impossible circle or a combination of both. on that basis i think that in an election cycle or two we will see more movements made towards a closer alignment with the EU by the labour party. rejoining is a long, long way off.

We need to learn that the problems of this country are due to the tories and not the eu.
It’s going to hurt but we will get there eventually and be willing participants and not a bunch of sulky ****.

Any attempt to rejoin now, or even raise the question of rejoining, would more than likely reignite the fire and prolong the pain. I don’t think there’s any way out of it for at least a few years when people are willing to step back and look at it more objectively.

We need to learn that the problems of this country are due to the tortes and not the eu.

Jeezo, I mean, it’s not my favourite Cake but I’m struggling to blame Brexit on a Torte.

The EU have made it clear that there is no current roadmap available for the UK to rejoin

I dunno, I think it’d take a LOT of work from a united Government but I reckon the door would at least be open.

I look forward to the day that the UK will rejoin the EU.

Brexit has proved a disaster for Britain and for Europe !

Let’s shape a vision of a common future… starting today ! #RejoinEU

🇬🇧 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/Cw4WusrIrC

— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) October 22, 2022

Well, Tory donor Guy Hands thinks we should rejoin the EU (or at least renegotiate a better trade deal).
According to Hands, “the first thing to do would be to admit that the Brexit negotiations were a complete disaster “.

We lost pretty much all the benefits we’d ground out over a generation in the EU when we left, we wouldn’t get them back, and rejoining would just be more cost and faff for the UK.

I voted remain, as probably most did on here, but the reality is the minute we left it was nigh on impossible to return without costing the UK a fortune.

If I had to live in England or Wales I’d be agitating for Scottish Independence on the basis that there’s a chance to see how Scotland coped with rejoining and hoping the people of England would learn something useful.

You know England and Wales aren’t the same country, right?

Came on here to say move to Scotland…….

Been beaten to it by a few replies up above

Realistically, I think the best we can hope for are closer ties but not full membership. The main problem at the moment is that those who have a “radical libertarian righ-wing agenda” are still in power and will be hoping to implement their nightmare by stealth (now that Truss’s more direct approach has failed).

Roadmap would appear to be Scottish independence, Scottish rejoining and inevitably flourishing.

Meanwhile England, and by extension Wales being hammered being an isolated and insignificant small country ignoring the elephant in the room for another decade or two before coming back with its tail between its legs and asking, sheepishly to be allowed back into the party.

Bit like an alcoholic, there will be no helping it ‘till it’s hot rock bottom. Whilst there is still an NHS and welfare state to sell off, we’re not there yet – by a long shot.

We need to learn that the problems of this country are due to the tories and not the eu.

For all its faults, the EU was used as a cover for the failings of many UK governments of both major parties.

They can’t keep blaming the EU for much longer, and will have to face up to their own inadequacies.

But I fear argee is right, we couldn’t rejoin on the terms we had, and that needs to be taken into account.

I don’t see one.
There is no political will; even if there was a recognition that there could be some merit in informal discussions between UK political parties about re-setting the relationship with the EU the fallout from farage/tice/ERG etc would poison them instantly – betrayal yadda yadda.
Earlier today a businessman interviewed on radio explained how damaging brexit had been for his business – increased cost and bureaucracy resulting in lost sales; next interviewee – that happened because you ‘…didn’t prepare properly’.
As a summary of why any attempt to (partially) re-integrate will fail, that’s as good as any.

Guy Hands comments, while 100% correct IMO, will be dismissed as those of a hedge fund manager wanting to further line his pockets.

The lack of understanding about the long lasting/permanent economic damage caused by brexit is concerning; too many people can’t or don’t want to accept that brexit isn’t delivering the economic benefits it was claimed would result – and their view will never change.
As for the effect on culture – mate, what’s kultsha?

Roadmap:

Two more years of Tories and the impact Brexit is having (there report on the food standards checks on imports this week was appaling, will try and get a linky)
Labour win, I’m guessing first suggestion will be single market
People see the benefits
Inch closer to rejoining, but I can see if being another 10 years before a firm mandate.

Hopefully people like that tory donor have sensible dicsussions in the meantime.

There is a reason none of the 2 big parties don’t want it the Tories don’t want it because it is their baby, Labour (I think) do want it but the debate is too toxic just now that they will choose to do nothing about it until the public start pushing for it and everyone is in agreeance that it was a crap idea.

You can only blame this government. If they’d had a brain cell between them they’d have implemented a good working/trade relationship with the EU long ago. You know, like probably the rest of the world have, who also aren’t members.

Why do the Scottish think that as soon as they are independent they can just magically join the EU?

Would they actually meet the criteria or is it just more political BS from that one trick pony politician?

They’ll be no rejoin in this lifetime and even if there were Britain will never get the favourable position it had.
It’ll be interesting to do a gap analysis every 10 years. Ie. before Brexit the UK’s GDP was 90%if Germany, now it’s 70%.
Time to tax the rich pensioners who voted for it as the young have nothing.

Ironically, whilst it was immigration that supposedly won the Brexit vote, it may also be its downfall. With record levels of employment across many sectors we also have record levels of skills shortages. Companies can’t invest and grow without people and access to a growing market and this country desperately needs increased revenues and taxation. The UK working population demographic is about to fall off a cliff in the next decade as the post-war boomer peak reaches retirement and there simply isn’t enough money to pay all those pensions or enough care workers to wipe the arses of those who no longer have the faculties to care.

UK economy has flat-lined since 2016, only buoyed up by cheap interest rates and a house-price boom neither of which we now know are sustainable. Whilst COVID is a convenient scapegoat, the complete absence of a post-Brexit plan beyond a 3-word slogan is coming home to roost, particularly all those mythical trade deals.

That said, we haven’t reached the bottom and there’s too many in this Government, it’s sponsors and the media with a vested interest in perpetuating the lies.

Judging by how f******d our economy and pound is, the Euro would represent significant progress….

The two currencies will hit parity soon, so will be an easy transition.

Christ I remember when it was €1.6 to the £ because you could use a car speedo to convert.

Funny, that’s exactly what a retired Dutch EU civil servant said to me a few weeks ago. And now he’s living in Scotland 🤣

Back in 2015 I was a host for warmshowers cycle touring and had an EU senior policy member for sustainable travel staying for a few days, she took a sabbatical from the EU parliament and spent 6 months cycling around the UK to inform herself of the issues and I’m still in touch with her and have heard first hand what they thought of the quality of the elected officials, the damage done to the EU by the likes of Farage and his ilk is not be underestimated and there’s absolutely no chance of the UK gaining entry, Scotland however could be welcomed back.

there’s absolutely no chance of the UK gaining entry, Scotland however could be welcomed back.

I’m no fan of the “they need us more than we need them” philosophy, but I think that’s bollox.

I won’t vote for a pro-Brexit party.

That includes Labour, who I have voted for in the past and would otherwise consider voting for again.

Eventually they will get there. Hopefully in my lifetime.

I think it’s a stretch to call Labour today pro brexit.

Labour today are very much avoiding the brexit debate because it is an election loser – simple as that. If their manifersto were to mention brexit in anything other than a ‘make it work’ guise there is no question the next election would, once again, be fought over brexit.

Personally I would trust Labour more to improve the EU relationship far more than Cons.

As a resident of Kent and a near neighbour to the M20, I’d be very gratified to see the members of the ERG and Bruges Group clear up after one of the all to inevitable accidents on the motorway of the like I’ve seen before being marched out to remove the bottles of trucker-piss from the roadsides.

I’m no fan of the “they need us more than we need them” philosophy, but I think that’s bollox

To expand, they EU will play hardball, but would definitely want the 6th or 7th biggest economy in the world (or 10th by the time it happens); a permanent member of the UN security Council; a v significant defence spender.

We won’t get the deal we negotiated under Thatcher but as a net contributer to the EU would be v welcome…possibly thru gritted political teeth.

There’s going to be no rejoining even if we had political will, the EU have realised they are better off without us so we’re hardly going to get welcomed back, less so as a broken union.

Businesses did get notice to prepare for Brexit, but there was no indication of what that preparation should involve, beyond bending over and biting down on something so you don’t scream.

A big point not frequently mentioned is that when we left the EU the dynamics were changed. We were a major member who was joined by others who was not as focused on the French’s outlook for the EU. Internal politics have changed and will continue to do so. There will be egos to play on the EU side as well and I think any rejoining will have conditions of following a path that even most pro EU politicians would not have been comfortable with if we had stayed a member

There’s going to be no rejoining even if we had political will, the EU have realised they are better off without us so we’re hardly going to get welcomed back,

Wanna bet?

they’ll have us back but the cost of entry is going to be suitably expensive (as it should be because we are dicks).