vraxxos wrote:
Ditto. I think George Soros summed our situation up best. We already had the best deal possible (in the EU, but not in the Euro), but now we've thrown that away for uncertainty....
"
WE had the best deal..." is precisely the problem with the remain argument, the EU benefits many industries and individuals, no doubt those working class who did benefit also voted remain, however it is clear that the majority do not directly benefit from the political union or single market. Most may indirectly benefit, maybe through low-pay, low-skill jobs served up by the corporations who have the ear of the EU leaders. Its hardly suprising that there has been a backlash. Clearly the downsides of EU membership were too much to bear for the majority of the country.
vraxxos, I strongly encourage you to read JMG's post I linked above for a counter perspective.
The intellectual and current affluent liberal-left suffer from a massive disconnect with the real experiences of the working classes outside London and other economic powerhouse areas. The majority DO NOT benefit from open borders and suppressed wages that follow, failing public institutions and the EUs neoliberal agenda are the icing on the cake. We can argue until the cows come home that these problems are basic failures of past and present government policy and not the fault of the EU. The NHS, council housing capacity and overcrowded schools are at breaking point, and yes, it is percived to be xenophobic to suggest that immigration is the reason for this, however what has the EU parliament done to intervene? Nothing, a vote for the EU was a vote for the status quo and interests of those that benefit from it. I'm hardly surprised how the vote turned out in retrospect.
The EU is a vassal for the plurocrats and coprorate interests, it has been twisted and contorted from it's roots as a economic trading area, this is why many older voters who remember the ECs inception have voted to leave it in its current form. Now the EU is corrupted by the interests of the corporations and those that prosper under fictionalization. The direction of EU policy is controlled by uncountable and unelected presidents with no safe guards from corruption. Don't quote me on this but I read that 95% of EU spending is not audited. The EU as it is now is not setup to put people and their communities first, or improve the lives of the working classes of Britain. This is why I voted leave, even if it meant we suffered in the short term. I believe we will be better equipped to deal with and more adaptable to the challenges of deindustrialisation and degrowth in the peak fossil fuel era. Better to jump the ship before it sinks.
Undoubtedly the EU had some good points, but these were scraps thrown to the masses, much like the failing roman empire declaring that all could eat free bread and attend gladiatorial shows to preserve social order in the failing empire, just in a more in tune with the modern sensibilities of the left-centrist neoliberals. Protecting workers, womens rights, environmental legislation etc can all be achieved outside the EU within our own democracy. This is no reason to remain.
I think we are about to witness a great unraveling of the EU, and British society as we come to terms with the new world. Interesting times we live in.