mercuryg

Well, no, you're quite right, they won't. Who is Steven?

"Yes! And a great day for Ukip!" Who? Seriously, you actually think UKIP has any legs? I mean, seriously, in actual, well, seriousness? If so, wow.

I don't think mission is accomplished at all. In fact, I'd go as far as to suggest we won't actually leave the EU at all, and that things will not change. You make a lot of fine points about the EU - many of which I agree with - but I, personally (and many others I know who are heavily immersed in commerce and industry in this country) feel to leave and - indeed - the imminent destruction of the EU is not a great prospect. I guess we have to wait and see.

3G, with all the best in respect, surely it's clear that any industrial entity in this non-EU country, doing business with an EU country, will still be subject to EU applied regulations? That stands to reason, just as they have to comply with regulations wherever they are trading. And then there's the subject of money; any company worth its weight, when offered grants, will take it, and happily comply with conditions. That, too, is only natural. The thing is, however, how many people voted leave on the basis of business, or economics? I agree with Sym; many - too many - voted on the immigration platform, and will now be disappointed that, in fact, little changes on that front. And then, of course, there's the question of why nobody wants anything to do with it any longer! From the PM, who rapidly washed his hands of it, to your mate Nigel, happy to invite you for a pint, but now wants 'his life back'! It's a complete and utter farce, and quite frankly, embarrassing. What year are they planning to implement it now, by the way? Last I heard was a 2019 start.

While I respect Malcolm's views, I suggest he fails to take into account that businesses will still move abroad, with the aid of EU grants, when we are no longer part of the EU. Perhaps even more so.

I think it an absolute disgrace that anyone should act with such aggression towards a woman (or in fact anyone) on their own over such a trivial matter, dog waste related or otherwise. This man is clearly a bully with too much time on his hands. If I knew where he was I'd borrow my sisters two dogs and head down there.

This is true!

Spuggy, your posts are interesting, but they hurt my brain!

It couldn't be simpler, Malcolm, and Chris, the Daily Mail does a good job of informing people about nonsense.

Facebook is not the be all and end all. I'm sure there is much more to consider, by those involved, than this.

Drop scones! Haven't heard of them for years!

For the record, I have a friend who has one, and she loves it, says its practical and reliable. Skodas are regarded as among the best built cars in the world these days, a far cry from the old reputation: standing joke was, 'Have you got a windscreen wiper for a Skoda?' 'That sounds like a fair swap.'

This thread should be x-rated, it really is disgraceful. I'm surprised there's been no mention of big ends.

Purple, of course?

Great pics Foxy, and well done to you HPW!

"our looking down on voters because they don't ascribe to your own blinkered mindset is the epitome of elitism! " But you do exactly the same. "We will prosper outside the EU, every business person I respect is of that opinion," Suffice to say, many I have spoken too are of the opposite opinion. Not all, I might add, but certainly the majority. " What successful business enterprise have you ever controlled?" Quite a few, as it happens; one in my twenties, which sold to a bigger rival, and was a manufacturing operation; I've managed businesses at high levels, again in manufacturing; and I now run a successful service. I have a business degree, am a qualified accountant, and have a wide range of experience. "so, what's your excuse for terminal naivety?" See the first point.

"They will slowly but surely take over every part of Britain and make it their own, if we don't fight back and say if you're wanting to move here, you take on our laws." Once more, Chris, who told you this? Where is the evidence for it? We've discussed it before and, as I said then, the maths simply don't add up. The rest of us also breed, you see, and we have a colossal head start as there are many more of 'us' than their are Muslims. Also, despite what you may believe, they do take on our laws. You might want to look up what Sharia is actually all about.

Yeah, I think that, by the age of 43, you should at least have learned that, despite what the Daily Mail says, Muslims are not going to take over the country. I'm all for politicians having prior life experience, but how does that encourage the young to get involved?

The markets didn't crash? Really? My friends in the business say otherwise, or is this another area where you are expert, and nobody else knows anything? Shares in the financial, property and industrial spheres have shed bag loads over the last few days - try asking people with money invested there - and the pound is falling faster than ever. Good for me, of course, as I currently get 74p for a dollar, where it was 66p this time last week. Get real, this is a genuine, economic mess that is only going to get worse.

My elite? Again, how arrogant, and ignorant, and if that is as you seem to believe permitted, when will you realise how horribly wrong you are? You won't, of course, because you'd never have the guts to admit it! Leaving the EU is a huge economic mistake. Anyone with half a brain knows that. As for branding me liberal whatever, my politics are decisively left wing, but with a touch of education and intelligence.

Simply stunning

Nor can I; in no way was I suggesting it should be them!

"That may be so Merc, but still didn't stop people telling me the story." This is entirely my point: you believed the story! In these days of instant communication and extended reach, one story becomes a Facebook fact before you know it, yet each one of us has the ability to find out what is, and what is not, fact in a matter of seconds. How many of those stories above, for example, are actually as stated? I'd venture that, if you look into each one, there is an element of exaggeration involved, as the actual story may not be sensational enough to grab the reader. I mean, I actually had someone tell me, in all honesty, that they were voting Leave because the EU implemented stupid rules such as the one banning straight (or curly, whichever version you believe) bananas; another cited the well known 'fact' that the EU directive on cabbages amounts to 27000 words, and so on. Both are complete bollocks, and take mere seconds to find. I'll give you a good tip here: walk into the Red Lion now and you'll see a line of flags, Cross of St George, strung up across the bar. They clearly haven't been told it might offend someone, and I'd guess the rest of the Wetherspoon pubs in England are also flying them.

I posted a reply to the above but it doesn't seem to be here: decisions of this magnitude should not be given to the population. A great proportion of them had no idea what they were actually voting for. They believed that a leave vote would mean all the immigrants - here legally, working and paying taxes - would go home, and no more would come; they believed, while it was untrue all along, that the NHS would benefit from the money we currently 'give' to the EU; they believed a lot of things that they actually knew nothing about. How many of the population actually know what the EU does? Decisions such as this should be put in the hands of people who understand the consequences.

Well, no, isn't Brexit currently being proven to have been founded on broken promises? To be absolutely honest, I find the entire thing utterly embarrassing, and to take a leaf out of your own book and speak more than frankly, so should you. Do you actually think this shambling bunch of so called politicians are capable of running the country? Nobody knows who is doing what, when and where! It's a complete farce! The Prime Minister has taken his ball home and will no longer play; the opposition has crumbled to dust; the financial markets are in turmoil. We are a laughing stock, and rightly so.