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Brexit: Government Rejects Petition Signed By 4.1 Million Calling For Second EU Referendum (independent.co.uk)
An anonymous reader shares an Independent report: The Government has rejected a call for a second referendum on European Union membership in a petition that was signed by more than 4.1 million people following the Brexit vote. It was the most-signed Government petition since the process was introduced in 2011. However in an official reply, the Foreign Office said 33 million people had had their say and "the decision must be respected. [...] We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU," it said. The petition, which was set up by a Brexit supporter before the referendum was held, had called for the Government to annul the results if the Remain or Leave vote won by less than 60 per cent on a turnout of less than 75 per cent. Government petitions which reach over 100,000 signatures must be considered for debate in parliament.
Alot of those were bots so hardly a representative petition result
In theory part of the point of a non-binding referendum is that it's, you know, non-binding. I agree that if you're going to hold a binding referendum, on something of that degree of significance, you should set a higher threshold (possibly including turnout stipulations, not that it likely would matter here). The problem here is that everyone seems to treat the referendum as if it were actually binding, mostly because the politicians seem to scared to explain why they're not going to treat it that way (and scared to go through with it too).
What Britain really needs to do is treat this as the political issue it is. Make it part of the next election - do you vote for MPs that want to exit the EU, or ones who don't? The Tories don't want to, though, because they're afraid they'll bleed support to UKIP. That's the entire reason Cameron held this vote in the first place, because he foolishly thought he could put the issue to rest with a 'Remain' victory.
Whose, not who's.
Let's start with your mention of Iceland. I live in Iceland. So let's just say that I know a little something about countries whose currencies have crashed. Yeah, it's good for the bottom lines of businesses that don't have to import anything. It's terrible for regular people and for businesses that have to buy things form overseas. Because the price of all imported goods skyrockets when your currency crashes. Which directly hits your pocketbook every time you go to the store or buy gas at the pump. It also means your savings crash. And the government funds such as retirement funds crash as well.
But hey, some fish magnate can sell their fish cheaper, so that makes everything just wonderful, right? :P
Seriously? Do you really need this explained to you? Is this how you think that investors think?
"Hey, the country is considering doing something a couple years from now that could have profoundly reduce the value of my British investments. I think I'll do absolutely nothing and just hope that it doesn't pass!"
Of course it doesn't work that way. Markets take into account the risk of adverse events happening in the future - which is why as Brexit support rose in polls, the markets fell, and as it declined the markets rose. When it passed, the sudden drop became the difference between the "possibility of brexit" and "the actuality of brexit".
This is really, really basic stuff here. People don't wait until some prospective bad event happens to price it in; they price it in relative to the risk of it actually happening.
The EU made it quite clear that Greece was more than free to leave. They chose to remain. Even their populist, anti-EU government couldn't stomach the potential aftereffects of leaving.
Furthermore, the UK always has been able to float its currency. Are you not aware that the UK is on the pound, not the euro?
By and large, no, no, and no. 1) The biggest groups looking to relocate are British banks. 2) Most companies in the UK, whether British or not, employ British workers. 3) Non-British workers living and working in the UK pay taxes to the UK, not their home countries, and local corporate offices in the UK pay taxes to the UK.
Yes, both were in the common market, so one expects their GDP growth to have historically tracked each other. However, the Euro has been going up majorly with respect to the pound. Currency exchange rates react to adverse news immediately. Figures like GDP growth and unemployment lag behind.
The EU is not stagnant. And most of its troubles of late that aren't part of global slowdowns has been due to stupid, completely avoidable nonsense like the Brexit and Grexit crises.
We also have a halon fire extinguisher. Its always nice to have a fire extinguisher that kills people around.
GO did not tell lies
Yes they did and it's a lie or wilful ignorance to claim otherwise.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
GO did not tell lies
Wow! Like WTF. Nigel Farage admitted to a string of lies critical in their campaign pretty much immediately after polling closed, stuttering like an idiot as he went.
Thanks for your comment. You have framed every comment of yours I read in the future with a different light. You are a true hero for telling all of us nothing you say is worth a damn.