I am surprised there isn't a thread for this issue already.
A midnight tonight (Mountain time) the polls open and the British will vote on whether or not they will stay in the EU.
Many world leaders and NGOs have warned about the potential financial consequences for Britain if they choose to leave the EU - and the list is indeed long.
If they vote yes, our own stocks will most likely take a hit as well.
The "leave" vote has had a lot of hate and racism associated with it as well ( although that is unfair to the majority of those voting leave).
Time (U.S. Eastern in parenthesis) Event
7 a.m. (2.a.m.) Polling stations open
10 p.m. (5 p.m.) Polling stations close, no exit polls
Around 11:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m.) First announcements on voter turnout
12:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m.) Results expected for first counting areas
3-4 a.m. (10-11 p.m.) Results from half of the counting areas are in
Around 5 a.m. (midnight) About 80% of counting areas have reported results
7 a.m. (2 a.m.) All votes are likely to have been counted and the official result is expected shortly after.
You should add a poll, see what CP's opinion is. I say they should stay. Unlike other EU countries they still have control of their currency, which is a big deal.
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You should add a poll, see what CP's opinion is. I say they should stay. Unlike other EU countries they still have control of their currency, which is a big deal.
As an outsider, I also think they should stay. Their membership in the EU has to be a big help with respect to trade, as well as immigration and emigration. I would think this is quite important to an island nation.
I think the main reason people are looking to leave is the lost feeling of autonomy, where some EU decision are made for the best of the EU (and rightly so) as opposed to always being 'good' to Britain.
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I think its very interesting that Canadian sentiment seems to be overwhelmingly in favour of the UK staying in the EU, and discount their concerns over autonomy and immigration policies as being a small price to pay for the economic advantages, while most Canadians are overwhelmingly opposed to an economic union/shared border with the United States because of all the required compromises that would entail, and many even think NAFTA is a bad idea for the same reasons.
Now the UK is about 50% larger than Canada population wise and has a bit more of a voice than Canada might in a NAU, but it is still a case of being a small part of a union of 400 million people who don't see things your way very often.
Not that I am in favor of Brexit, I think the UK actually negotiated the best of both worlds, but it will be an interesting day nonetheless.
I too think there is a turnout surge for "stay" and they wind up winning by a fairly comfortable margin (55-45 seems about right /\)... The curious thing will be what happens after (Tory split, Labour incompetence, Scotland).
People always vote with their wallet. I would think that while many do want to leave, entering the economic wilderness just won't appeal to enough people for leave to win. I do think it'll be closer than a 10 point margin, maybe something 52-48.
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I think its very interesting that Canadian sentiment seems to be overwhelmingly in favour of the UK staying in the EU, and discount their concerns over autonomy and immigration policies as being a small price to pay for the economic advantages, while most Canadians are overwhelmingly opposed to an economic union/shared border with the United States because of all the required compromises that would entail, and many even think NAFTA is a bad idea for the same reasons.
Now the UK is about 50% larger than Canada population wise and has a bit more of a voice than Canada might in a NAU, but it is still a case of being a small part of a union of 400 million people who don't see things your way very often.
Not that I am in favor of Brexit, I think the UK actually negotiated the best of both worlds, but it will be an interesting day nonetheless.
I don't think that you can compare the UK/EU and Canada/US quite the same though. A lot of Canadians feel as though an economic union with the US is basically a slippery slope into political union (rightly or wrongly), whereas that appears entirely different in Europe. Also comparing NAFTA which is a pure trade agreement to being a member of an economic union is quite different. If NAFTA ended tomorrow Canada and the US would still do business (I guess depending on why it ended, but lets say it was just amicable), and they would do that business with different ground rules regarding trade and tariffs.
The EU/UK would also continue doing business, but the fact is that the UK would still have to meet the EU standards and regulations that they are taking issue with today. It doesn't appear to change any of that?
John Oliver's video is below, he is pro staying, so assumed potential bias.
What do you mean? I don't detect any bias. He just said that literally every metric is in favour of remaining part of the EU and that the people who are against it are only taking that position because they're a bunch of xenophobic racists. I mean, it seemed pretty uncontroversial to me.
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I don't think that you can compare the UK/EU and Canada/US quite the same though. A lot of Canadians feel as though an economic union with the US is basically a slippery slope into political union (rightly or wrongly), whereas that appears entirely different in Europe. Also comparing NAFTA which is a pure trade agreement to being a member of an economic union is quite different. If NAFTA ended tomorrow Canada and the US would still do business (I guess depending on why it ended, but lets say it was just amicable), and they would do that business with different ground rules regarding trade and tariffs.
The EU/UK would also continue doing business, but the fact is that the UK would still have to meet the EU standards and regulations that they are taking issue with today. It doesn't appear to change any of that?
Much of the EU is a political union, as well as an economic union, but I hear you, Canadians think manifest destiny rather than a central government for two nations, such as the EU endeavours to do... but I think the sentiment is still similar enough. I think we would both agree that slippery slope arguments are typically based on emotion, rather than reason.
Part of NAFTA compliance is also standards and regulations (ie: products sold in Canada need to be in English and French), so while not as onerous as the EU regulations, there are similar compromises. You're right though that life would go on if UK leaves the EU or Canada left NAFTA trade wise, albeit differently, but I think many Britons think it can secure a better deal on the outside rather than the inside.
The UK seems to have always maintained a island mentality, compared to "the continent", and I think "manifest destiny" and "no foreign rule since William the Conqueror" congers up similar sentiments against union or the perception of same.
I think its very interesting that Canadian sentiment seems to be overwhelmingly in favour of the UK staying in the EU, and discount their concerns over autonomy and immigration policies as being a small price to pay for the economic advantages, while most Canadians are overwhelmingly opposed to an economic union/shared border with the United States because of all the required compromises that would entail, and many even think NAFTA is a bad idea for the same reasons.
Now the UK is about 50% larger than Canada population wise and has a bit more of a voice than Canada might in a NAU, but it is still a case of being a small part of a union of 400 million people who don't see things your way very often.
Not that I am in favor of Brexit, I think the UK actually negotiated the best of both worlds, but it will be an interesting day nonetheless.
we are?
and we have an economic union?
NAFTA is indisputably advantageous for Canada. Their increasing border challenges are security related, and would be the same regardless of the status of our trade relations (in fact, they would only be worse I would imagine)
Brexit- Update: Britain has voted to leave the EU
