Concerns grow over Brexit, food prices and the pound

Yes, we have problems- but the last four you mention are nothing to do with the EU but are direct consequences of our Government’s policies. Without a change in domestic policy they will be the same in or out of the EU. However if our Government spends the next ten years mired in Brexit it is far less likely to be able to tackle these very real problems.

Why should we need to buy a visa to visit EU countries when we leave? Before we joined what was to become the EU we didn’t need visas, just our passports, as we do now to visit European countries outside the EU. We should just revert back to that situation. If what’s left of the EU imposes visas then we impose them on their visitors to the UK too. As for holidays being dearer they might be a little because of the sterling fall but the value of the pound is always changing. It may well go up in the future. Also the EU isn’t the only places British people go for holidays. There is a big world out there beyond the EU.

You say a lot of consumer products are cheaper from the UK so why are you worried? There’ll only be tariffs put on if your EU put tariffs on.

And after that they took control of the banks and made sure the money was spent on Germans not foreigners ,that upset the bankers greatly dbt.

I totally agree Derek. While our position in the EU is uncertain, other countries financial view of us will be uncertain, and that leads to pressure on the currency. It helps our exporters; if it reduces the amount we import so much the better. Fracking might eventually help by reducing gas imports, using more home-grown food could help, wouldn’t harm to take holidays at home……… We can regard it as an opportunity. Eventually the value of our currency will reflect our financial strength, or otherwise. UK manufacturing is a key element and we can do more to help it grow when freed from EU rules.

The vote was a majority whatever you say and should be accepted by the “remoaners”. What we need now is to get out of the EU as soon as we can.

But it wasn’t a majority of the electorate – not even close. And calling those who disagree with you as ‘remoaners’ isn’t very nice, is it?

The ‘winners’ seem to be be doing most of the moaning at the moment. As someone who voted to remain, I am quite content with the outcome of the referendum and hope it will be implemented in a sensible manner without prejudicing our negotiating position and in accordance with our national laws and international obligations. I am not sure everyone who voted to leave had exactly the same idea of the destination or the timetable. To get from where we were on referendum day to where we need to be in order to make a success of the Brexit negotiations in just over nine months will be a remarkable achievement and then two years later we shall be out.

It is almost inevitable, and was never denied during the campaign, that there would be an impact on consumers, such as the price of goods sourced from Europe and the cost of continental holidays [there are alternatives]. We don’t have to tear up the beneficial regulations on trade and consumer rights that originated from the EU and we can ignore or discard the rest if it suits us. I think the way to get the reluctant leavers on board is to develop sensible and realistic arguments and and use facts rather than prejudices to demonstrate that there is a good way forward. There is no place in that scenario for divisive language or intolerance. We need the UK’s best brains to work on this and there seems to be little point in alienating any who put their cross in a different box six months ago.

It was a majority of the electorate who decided to vote. Those who choose not to vote also choose, by default, to accept the majority decision of those who did vote.

But it wasn’t a majority of the electorate, was it?

[This comment has been removed for being rude/offensive as per our community guidelines https://conversation.which.co.uk/commenting-guidelines/. Thanks, mods.]

Which REALLY !! you allowed the above post while I have had some removed because of political, comments , it beggars believe !! didn’t you read Cossy,s post . I could think of several HMG security departments who would want/INSIST on that posters email address/IP . If you don’t take action I will . Just been onto the National Counter Terrorism Security office -Which should report that to the police I was told.

It doesn’t look like a hard Brexit to me. It seems that the people who voted to leave are getting what they asked for, and that what they were told would happen is starting to happen. Those who wanted to remain didn’t do enough to address the real issues and failed to attract enough support for staying in the EU. I think the pollsters and media should stop trying to prove the country is fatally divided, and that we should all work together to pull ourselves through this period of uncertainty. As a Remain voter, I am disappointed that there are others who think we can somehow drag our feet on the details and it won’t happen. There is a set timescale, and now there is a plan, so let’s just move forward in that direction and make the best of it. I cannot imagine consumers would be better served by any other course of action. The more that people try to block the exit the harder things will get for themselves.

Why would I put credence on a SKY poll?
It was not the government who chose to leave the EU but the majority of the UK people who voted in the referendum. EU countries need to remember that and respect our free will. Politicians will understand the reality of life, and in the end negotiate accordingly. The world is not run by politicians but by business – trade – and their interests will determine the terms on which it will happen because healthy economies are what matter.
If the UK has something the rest of the world want – products, services – they will still want it whether we are part of the EU are not. What we must do is ensure we develop those “wants” by encouraging and supporting those who provide them.

Thats where you hit the nail on the head malcolm , whats required now is to build up our industry not run the country on banking and services , invest NOW ! not abroad but at home .

I hope I am not wrong but I think we are doing that, Duncan – we have more start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs developing the products and services that we and the world will want tomorrow. We have enough left of the old smokestack industries and the white heat of technology that we remember from our earlier days to continue to flourish but this is coupled now with scientific research and development from other sources within the UK that some of the older manufacturing industries failed to cultivate and sometimes regarded with disdain. We now need to forge this talent and intelligence with the processes of production.

We have suffered from the abandonment of aged infrastructure in the name of environmental improvement, but they are not incompatible; we are now committing environmental crime in the form of long-distance transportation and the extraction of materials from vulnerable places whereas we have great resources on our doorstep which we have the capability and sensitivity to exploit safely and beneficially.

Our future must be linked to replacing imports with home-produced goods that will also be good enough to export to nearby countries, and to developing services in education, medicine, finance, the media and other high-skill areas that can be transferred around the world with little environmental impact but great benefit to other countries who are looking for the quality UK product. The pursuit of quality in both goods and services will command a premium price and give us greater prosperity. In this modern world we need to start being a bit more Victorian!

I have to say this does mean a complete reversal of the prevailing commercial culture so that instead of selling-off our businesses to international conglomerates for short-term profits we need to consolidate at home and rebuild our presence overseas.

One of the problems I had with the EU – but it is a consequence of being part of a group – was our inability to favour UK companies when it came to the awarding of public contracts above a threshold value. The UK generally plays by the rule book unlike some other more devious countries (in my view) and I believe has lost out. When we can look once again at protecting our national interest rather than subsidising other European countries I believe we will be better off. It may just take a little time.