So much for all those promises. Leading politicians in the campaign to pull the U.K. out of the European Union are back-pedaling fast on a number of pledges, particularly over extra money for health care.
Here are three pledges that are crumbling days after the historic Brexit vote:
Campaign promise #1: We'll give EU cash to the National Health Service
Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party and who campaigned for Brexit said implying that money sent to the EU could be spent on the health service in the future was a mistake.
Campaign promise #2: We'll take control of the UK's borders
Leave campaigner and lawmaker Nigel Evans told BBC radio that there had been "some misunderstanding" over the Leave campaign's position on reducing immigration.
When asked if the number of people coming into the country would fall significantly, Evans said that a new Australian-style points system for EU migrants meant the U.K. would be able to control immigration-- but he didn't say it would fall.
Campaign promise #3: The economy will be fine
Those warnings were dubbed "Project Fear" by Brexiteers, who said the U.K. would thrive outside the EU.
Since the results of the vote became known early Friday, the pound has crashed 12% against the U.S. dollar to its lowest level in decades, U.K. bank stocks have collapsed, and growth forecasts for the British economy have been slashed.
Companies are putting investments on hold, and warning of lower profits. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Monday the economy and government finances will suffer, but an emergency budget won't happen until a new prime minister is chosen in October.
S&P strips UK of top-notch rating. Cuts UK by 2 notches to AA, outlook negative.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's hit Britain with a two-notch downgrade to its credit rating on Monday and warned it could cut it further after Britons voted to leave the European Union on Thursday.
EDIT: Saw this going around, lol.
Last edited by chemgear; 06-27-2016 at 12:38 PM.
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Leading Brexit campaigner Iain Duncan Smith has admitted to his wife that their wedding vows, solemnly pledged to each other in 1982, were just “a series of possibilities”.
Are these bond rating drops punishment from the financial world rather then rational predictions of the UKs ability to repay debt?
The business world makes profit through open trade and needs to discourage others from leaving. And did Britains ability to pay debt substantively change with this vote?
Are these bond rating drops punishment from the financial world rather then rational predictions of the UKs ability to repay debt?
The business world makes profit through open trade and needs to discourage others from leaving. And did Britains ability to pay debt substantively change with this vote?
No they have their own currency. Technically speaking they could just print more money and pay the debts (obviously that causes other issues). Its not a lot different from when they cut the US rating a few years ago because of political wrangling.