Brexit - The UK's EU Referendum & Withdrawal

[marktigger]

will the referendum only be open to British Citizens to vote?

[marktigger]

Just on the point about the Northern Peace Process - most people in the Republic support Britain remaining in the EU (75%). A majority also supports all of Cameron's demands (58% for national sovereignty, 59% for opt-out of closer Union, 54% for restrictions on migrants from less developed regions, and 70% for ending child benefit for those abroad).

While it's not going to be of any note during the British referendum, it does show that common membership and working on mutually beneficial issues within Europe has brought us closer together - and hopefully we can maintain this relationship in regards to Northern Ireland if you leave.

yes the Irish are very keen for Britain to remain as if the UK leaves the budget will fall apart and Ireland may find its self having to contribute more than it receives.
If the UK does leave Ireland may find its pro EU stance becoming more isolated as I suspect other countries will follow the UK and leave. It might end up in Ireland's interests to federate back into the United Kingdom.

[arfah]

............

[Pseudo]

will the referendum only be open to British Citizens to vote?

UK, Gibraltar,Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, IIRC?

I think it's the same eligibility as a general election with the addition of Commonwealth citizens resident in Gibraltar and members of the House of Lords. So British, Commonwealth and Irish citizens resident in the UK will be eligible to vote.

[arfah]

............

[Pseudo]

Quoted from the BBC.

British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over 18 who are resident in the UK, along with UK nationals who have lived overseas for less than 15 years. Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar will also be eligible, unlike in a general election. Citizens from EU countries - apart from Ireland, Malta and Cyprus - will not get a vote.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32810887

So what I said.

[arfah]

............

[RetroSicotte]

Quoted from the BBC.

British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens over 18 who are resident in the UK, along with UK nationals who have lived overseas for less than 15 years.

And immediately they have shown up the SNP on how you run this.

Casual reminder here that the SNP denied Scots living overseas or in England the oppurtunity to vote. If you weren't living in Scotland itself, you couldn't vote.

They basically rigged the thing in their favour. They got it down to 50/50 instead of 60/40, denied overseas or in other parts of the UK and even got the young and stupid 16-17 year old vote included.

This one looks vastly more fair. Kudos for them showing the SNP how it's done, even if it's still a vote I'd prefer we shouldn't have to be making...

[marktigger]

it will be the same for a Northern Ireland Border poll only those on the Electoral register for northern Ireland so the ward of mill town cemetery will be voting to unite Ireland!

[SKB]

Still surprised at all those "Undecided" votes in the thread poll. You can change your vote if you've now made up your mind.

[marktigger]

looks like Camerons great deal is being undermined and watered down already. I am seriously starting to think that either the European Union don't get it or they want us to leave.

[SKB]

HSBC keeps headquarters in London, rejects move to Hong Kong

Global banking giant HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) has decided to keep its headquarters in Britain, rejecting the option of shifting its centre of gravity back to its main profit-generating hub Hong Kong after a thorough 10-month review.
More: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-h ... KKCN0VN11F

[bobp]

Don't understand what the above story has to do with any referendum.

[SDL]

One of the fears of a brexit is that all the big business headquarters in the UK would be moved to the EU if we left (same argument made during the Scottish Independence referendum). This was meant to be HSBC confirming they wouldn't go...

Though I've now seen that while their HQ will stay in the UK, if we left then they'd move 1000 jobs to Paris.

[bobp]

The UK financial centre is a global concern of which the eu is a very small part. The eu would like the financial sector in places like Frankfurt and Paris to grow but they will never be as successful as London. Yes some companies may move their HQ but as HSBC have found out the UK is a good place to do business.

[IrishT]

yes the Irish are very keen for Britain to remain as if the UK leaves the budget will fall apart and Ireland may find its self having to contribute more than it receives.

CAP payments don't really affect the economy as a whole, it's more for farmers benefit - the Government could find €500 million down the back of the couch somewhere to cover that if need be.

The real problem comes through the free trade aspect - Britain is one of our largest trading partners and if the British leave, we'll be stuck trying to negotiate deals by ourselves rather than as a block.

If the UK does leave Ireland may find its pro EU stance becoming more isolated as I suspect other countries will follow the UK and leave. It might end up in Ireland's interests to federate back into the United Kingdom.

We would not willingly rejoin the UK, that's simply off the cards. We would end up subsidizing poorer regions of the UK, we'd have little to no say over how our country would be run, we'd lose out on tens (or hundreds) of billions of dollars from US firms (why set up/maintain operations in Ireland when labour prices are so much higher than the rest of the UK?).

We had a tremendous political fuss over a few of your politicians suggesting we rejoin the Commonwealth, never mind the UK.

[IrishT]

While I don't think that it will be politically feasible, I'm definitely coming around to the idea that should the UK vote to leave the EU then Scotland and Northern Ireland's best move would be to enter in to federation with the Republic of Ireland. It'd solve all concerned's immediate problems with Brexit as well as forestalling some of the unintended consequences of Scottish secession.

While I would love to see Northern Ireland brought into the Republic out of nationalism, and a Union with Scotland out of a sense of Gaelic Unity, it's not only politically infeasible, but economically too.

There was a recent American study that found it would take roughly 8 years to harmonise RoI/NI economies (and eventually lead to a net gain of around €100bn) running a tremendous deficit in the meanwhile. Our debt to GDP ratio is still in the mid-90s, there's simply no way we could run a €12bn (or however much it would cost) deficit for 8 years (plus the €3bn we're currently running) with our debt that high. If we had contemplated this before the crash, when our debt was quite low, it would have been possible to do - nowadays, it will take another 10 years (or less depending on how rapidly our economy grows) before we're ready to load up on that level of debt.

[marktigger]

While I would love to see Northern Ireland brought into the Republic out of nationalism,

I suspect that a move like that would lead to a civil war that would make Bosnia look like a sunday school outing

[Cooper]

While I would love to see Northern Ireland brought into the Republic out of nationalism,

I suspect that a move like that would lead to a civil war that would make Bosnia look like a sunday school outing

..even NI Catholics wanting to join the Republic are in the minority right now, last poll I saw over 60% of them wanted to remain part of the UK.

Granted, it was taken at the height of the ROI economic problems and as the economy recovers that level may drop, but it does show the idea that Catholics in NI are automatically in favour of leaving the UK is a myth perpetrated by a noisy minority, but isn't that always the way with nationalists.

[unicorn77]

What is it with today's "deal"? Does anyone seriously think it is relevant to the in/out question, except maybe Boris Johnson?

I just can't see how it will make any difference at all to people's views on the question, whether you tend to in or out. I believe it to be just a propoganda exercise, or smokescreen, so that Cameron et al can try and fool people into looking at the deal rather than the fundamnetal question.

Maybe it's just me, because my problem with being in the EU goes back maybe 20 years when I decided that losing our sovereignty became an overriding issue and I wanted out then and out now.

So who thinks todays deal is, well, a big deal?

[Dave]

HSBC keeps headquarters in London, rejects move to Hong Kong

Global banking giant HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) has decided to keep its headquarters in Britain, rejecting the option of shifting its centre of gravity back to its main profit-generating hub Hong Kong after a thorough 10-month review.
More: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-h ... KKCN0VN11F

HSBC are now saying there will be jobs moved to the EU in the event of Brexit:

HSBC could switch up to 1,000 jobs to Paris if Britain votes to exit the EU in the forthcoming referendum.

Announcing its decision to stay in London after an exhaustive 10-month review, which included taking advice from former US secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Henry Kissinger, its chairman, Douglas Flint, said the “best answer” for the bank was for the UK to stay put in a reformed EU.

But failing that, it would have the option to switch jobs away from the City. Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive, said that could mean 1,000 people moving.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 76396.html

[Dave]

HSBC keeps headquarters in London, rejects move to Hong Kong

Global banking giant HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) has decided to keep its headquarters in Britain, rejecting the option of shifting its centre of gravity back to its main profit-generating hub Hong Kong after a thorough 10-month review.
More: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-h ... KKCN0VN11F

HSBC are now saying there will be jobs moved to the EU in the event of Brexit:

HSBC could switch up to 1,000 jobs to Paris if Britain votes to exit the EU in the forthcoming referendum.

Announcing its decision to stay in London after an exhaustive 10-month review, which included taking advice from former US secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Henry Kissinger, its chairman, Douglas Flint, said the “best answer” for the bank was for the UK to stay put in a reformed EU.

But failing that, it would have the option to switch jobs away from the City. Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive, said that could mean 1,000 people moving.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 76396.html

[The Armchair Soldier]

PM announces the referendum will take place on 23 June.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35621079

[SKB]

David Cameron Statement - EU Renegotiation Deal (19th February 2016)



Not much of a deal is it? Definitely voting 'OUT' now. Bye bye EU

[marktigger]

So we vote on the 23rd of June then the European Parliment decide whether we can have the changes or not? so they can turn our vote on its head! this just shows exactly how much contempt the EU elite shows for the Nation States