Thread: UK votes to leave the European Union

Very sad day; I believe we were better together.

52% voted leave to 48% remain on a 72% turnout of voters.

David Cameron has now announced that he will step down as PM.

We live in interesting times.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/e...rendum/results

I just saw that on CNN. I don't know what to think about it.

This morning:

UK has dropped from fifth to sixth largest economy (after France), PM has resigned, Scotland is making new bid for independence, and Labour (2nd biggest political party) has called for a vote of no confidence in its leader.

What do you think were the main motivations for voting in favor of Brexit ?

Immigration, and the belief that we spend more money on the EU than we earn from it. People want to see "the good old days" again and only hear the negative things about what the EU does for us.

One of the popular slogans was that we "spend £350m/week on the EU - we could spend that money on the NHS instead!" RUBBISH. But people believe it.

I heard something about corrupt government. Is the preservation of national identity or culture a big part of it ? Preservation of national identity was a big part of the reason why Norway voted to stay out back in 94.

Originally Posted by Monkfish

Immigration, and the belief that we spend more money on the EU than we earn from it. People want to see "the good old days" again and only hear the negative things about what the EU does for us.

One of the popular slogans was that we "spend £350m/week on the EU - we could spend that money on the NHS instead!" RUBBISH. But people believe it.

I also don't know what to make of the vote, but perhaps the nations of Europe need to experiment with different organizational structures, as the US did when it was founded. (We were first organized as a loose confederacy but then switched to a more centralized federation.)

One great accomplishment of the EU: an end to the endless stream of wars that had plagued the region for centuries!!!

The Folks of the UK got tired of being ruled over by technocrats in Brussels, the vote is a repudiation of Central Government.

It is a step towards sovereignty, dignity, borders, liberty.

The EU is and will remain far more fragmented in terms of national identities than the US. I've been to all European countries except Belarus.

Originally Posted by John

The Folks of the UK got tired of being ruled over by technocrats in Brussels, the vote is a repudiation of Central Government.

It is a step towards sovereignty, dignity, borders, liberty.

That sounds right, and would explain the desire among some people within Britain for greater (decentralized) sovereignty in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.