Independence Day

[paul g]

A happy Independence Day to all.

[mouche]

I bid you farewell and wish you good luck!

[Kilkis]

I don't know anybody who is going anywhere. Perhaps you are heading back to Norway? If so have a good trip.

Warwick

[mouche]

Thanks!

[Cruc]

Goodbye-ee, goodbye-ee,
Wipe the tear, Europe dear, from your eye-ee!
Tho' it's hard to part I know,
I'll be tickled to death to go.
Don't cry-ee, don't sigh-ee,
There's a silver lining in the sky-ee,

[peebee]

I think it is a great opportunity for the UK. The one thing I really object to, is the accusation by some people, that 52% of the UK electorate is racist.

[filippos]

Was the referendum result binding on the government? I do note that in his resignation announcement that Cameron has already managed a delay, saying that he will not start any negotiations but will leave that for his successor. Can kicked down the road until about October. I wonder how the other EU countries will react. Offer a few fig leaves and suggest another referendum much as they've done with other countries previously?

[peebee]

Well, it's certainly increased the sales of Pampers, in Brussels.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3657852/What-doesn-t-kill-makes-stronger-European-Council-leader-Donald-Tusk-leads-stunned-continent-s-reaction-politicians-media-declare-bad-day-Europe.html

[Kilkis]

Was the referendum result binding on the government? I do note that in his resignation announcement that Cameron has already managed a delay, saying that he will not start any negotiations but will leave that for his successor. Can kicked down the road until about October. I wonder how the other EU countries will react. Offer a few fig leaves and suggest another referendum much as they've done with other countries previously?

Do you think it would be better to have a person who is totally committed to remaining in the EU negotiating the leave deal? It is pretty obvious that whoever replaces him will probably be a member of the leave side of the party. They are likely to stack their cabinet with committed leavers, at the very least as far as the people involved in the leave negotiation is concerned. Surely that is what you would want?

Also he did not say it would delay it until October. He said he wanted a new leader in place by the party conference. It is a deadline not an objective. It is purely down to how fast the Conservative party can organise a leadership election. I don't see why that should take until October? Once the new leader is in place he/she can invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty immediately. I also think it is important that someone who has promoted leaving accepts responsibility for whatever deal they eventually achieve. They've made the claims. They've won the vote on the basis of those claims. They should now deliver on those claims. I can't wait to benefit from the improvement in the UK's economic position. I've already started looking at Ferraris.

Warwick

[mouche]

I think it is a great opportunity for the UK. The one thing I really object to, is the accusation by some people, that 52% of the UK electorate is racist.

I tend to agree with, the figure is more like higher than lower, unfortunately!

[peebee]

I think it is a great opportunity for the UK. The one thing I really object to, is the accusation by some people, that 52% of the UK electorate is racist.

I tend to agree with, the figure is more like higher than lower, unfortunately!

The point that I was trying to make, is that some people are implying that everyone who voted leave is a racist.
I am sure there are lots of Asians, blacks (can I say that without facing prosecution?) and people from other minority groups, that had the right to vote on the matter, voted out.

[Kilkis]

While there is racism in all countries, including Greece, I see most of the illogical attitude to migration during the referendum as xenophobia rather than racism. Obviously there are also logical concerns about stress on infrastructure, e.g. schools, health care etc. It's interesting that the highest level of concern about migration amongst voters is found in areas where there are few or no migrants. Concern tends to be lowest in the areas with the biggest proportion of immigrants. If the concerns were primarily logical then this would be reversed.

Personally, I would prefer to see markets determine migration rather than a command and control government with a points system. If I was laid on a gurney in a hospital awaiting treatment I would like to think that an Hungarian doctor or a Romanian nurse had managed to enter the country because there was a market demand for their services rather than being excluded by some arbitrary points system or income threshold so a Chinese oligarch billionaire could come in and buy up huge swathes of housing only to leave them empty.

Warwick

[peebee]

Personally, I would prefer to see markets determine migration rather than a command and control government with a points system. Warwick

If you mean that the best qualified people are hired, rather than filling a vacancy, just because there is no-one else available, then I agree.

[bobscott]

I can't wait to benefit from the improvement in the UK's economic position. I've already started looking at Ferraris.

Warwick

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/holidaymaker-hit-cash-drought-greek-105956390.html

Go for it Warwick! Bob.

[Kilkis]

Banks and any organisation undertaking currency exchange, including through machines, tend to use the previous night's closing rate each day. When rates are moving rapidly suspending transactions is a pretty normal action. Small differences get absorbed in the buy/sell split but that is quite small in Greece so big moves won't. I would have thought that they should still be able to pay directly with a debit/credit card since that will be billed in Euro and the card processor will use whatever rate it deems appropriate when the transaction is processed. Osborne had even considered suspending trading on the FTSE today if the outcome had created massive volatility. I do like the comment that “You know you’re screwed when Greece does not accept your money.”