Brexit - the next steps

[wigginhall]

Documents published on sectoral analyses of Brexit, there are some reports that bits of it are copied from Wikipedia. 

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/exiting-the-european-union-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/department-sectoral-analyses-17-19/publications/

[Aruntraveller]

Rioting averted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42443253

Liked this bit:

What does this new passport do?”
“It’s blue.”
“Can I use it to travel freely and work in 26 neighbouring countries?”
“No - but look, it’s blue.”


And of course, in addition, the little passport of whatever colour, spends most of its life stuck in the dark at the back of drawer.

[floo]

I preferred the maroon passport, as it meant we were part of the EU.

[Bramble]

If we’re all going to be taking the fantasy bus to Brexit heaven, why not go the whole hog (factory-farmed, chlorine-washed mutant from the US probably) and have bespoke personalised passports to go with Theresa’s bespoke deal?

Brexiters could have A4 sized, hard-backed blue passports weighing several kilos  - sorry, pounds. These would have an integrated sound bar that plays Rule Britannia when opened, and inside there’d be 3D pop-ups of suitably stirring characters from Britain’s glorious past like Bomber Harris, Queen Victoria and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

We could even design our own using government fantasy software. Mine would incorporate a wormhole for rapid escape from Brexit Britain whenever the ecstatic freedom from Europe became just too much to bear, or possibly a time machine so I could travel back to those balmy days when we were still connected to mainland Europe by a land bridge. Truly the possibilities of Brexit are endless.

[Shaker]

Brexiters could have A4 sized, hard-backed blue passports weighing several kilos  - sorry, pounds. These would have an integrated sound bar that plays Rule Britannia when opened, and inside there’d be 3D pop-ups of suitably stirring characters from Britain’s glorious past like Bomber Harris, Queen Victoria

Now you're talking! Wantwantwant one!

and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Some people always have to spoil things.

[SusanDoris]

I have just listened to Simon Calder on PM on Radio 4. He was explaining that Brits will have to give far, far more information about where they are going in Europe and the reasons  and I have to say that I can't help having a little gloat and thinking well, it just serves all those Brexiteers right if their travel is affected! Perhaps they should have thought of all this before voting out.

He also said, though, that with the new passport  the Europeans will have a long delay coming here while Brits  will sail through.  fortunately, it will not affect me, so my little gloat won't affect anything!

[jakswan]

I have just listened to Simon Calder on PM on Radio 4. He was explaining that Brits will have to give far, far more information about where they are going in Europe and the reasons  and I have to say that I can't help having a little gloat and thinking well, it just serves all those Brexiteers right if their travel is affected! Perhaps they should have thought of all this before voting out.

He also said, though, that with the new passport  the Europeans will have a long delay coming here while Brits  will sail through.  fortunately, it will not affect me, so my little gloat won't affect anything!

A gloating remaimer, who knew.

[ProfessorDavey]

A gloating remaimer, who knew.

Not denying the veracity of his comments I note.

Regardless of its colour (which, let's face it is irrelevant) a British passport will be a diminished item post-Brexit as it will no longer allow the bearer unfettered access to live, work, retire etc in the majority of European countries in the way it does now.

Due to my academic position I am often asked to sign passport application forms as a witness - recently these have been as likely to be Irish application forms for people lucky enough to qualify for dual citizenship and looking to retain the benefits of being a citizen of an EU country for themselves and their families.

[floo]

I have dual British/Irish citizenship, the latter I obtained in 2008, just for a bit of fun, having had an Irish grandmother I was entitled to it.

[jakswan]

Not denying the veracity of his comments I note.

Regardless of its colour (which, let's face it is irrelevant) a British passport will be a diminished item post-Brexit as it will no longer allow the bearer unfettered access to live, work, retire etc in the majority of European countries in the way it does now.

Due to my academic position I am often asked to sign passport application forms as a witness - recently these have been as likely to be Irish application forms for people lucky enough to qualify for dual citizenship and looking to retain the benefits of being a citizen of an EU country for themselves and their families.

Don't really care about colour of passport, care even less about engaging in another point scoring discussion with you.

[jeremyp]

Are you advocating we change policy every six months based on opinion poll?

I'll tell you what I advocate after youShaker answers the question.

[jeremyp]

Looks like it.

Do you want to answer the question?

On the current trend, Brexit no longer has a majority of people in favour of it and there's no sign of the trend abating. Is democracy served by continuing on a course that most of the people don't seem to want?

[jeremyp]

Don't really care about colour of passport, care even less about engaging in another point scoring discussion with you.

A lot of your fellow Brexiteers do seem to care. Many of them seem to be calling it a symbolic victory and dear old Nigel Farage is wetting his pants about it. It's pathetic. The country is being driven down the toilet, but, hey, we have blue passports.

[floo]

A lot of your fellow Brexiteers do seem to care. Many of them seem to be calling it a symbolic victory and dear old Nigel Farago is wetting his pants about it. It's pathetic. The country is being driven down the toilet, but, hey, we have blue passports.

Farage is a pathetic creep, and the worst sort of hypocrite taking a salary as an MEP!

[jeremyp]

Regarding the shape and size of passports, these are set in stone. We can't go back to the "Old Blue" passports because of all the machine readers that they have to fit in.

We were discussing passports at our traditional Christmas last day in the pub at work. It made me feel quite old because I worked on the first UK computerised passport system and it still had to handle extensions to "old blue" passports for children and most of the people in our company were born after old blues were completely obsolete and had never seen one.

[Stranger]

A lot of your fellow Brexiteers do seem to care. Many of them seem to be calling it a symbolic victory and dear old Nigel Farage is wetting his pants about it. It's pathetic. The country is being driven down the toilet, but, hey, we have blue passports.

Which we could have had at any time while in the EU: EU dismisses May's claim blue passports are sovereignty statement

[jeremyp]

Which we could have had at any time while in the EU: EU dismisses May's claim blue passports are sovereignty statement

The reason people like Nigel Farage are so ecstatic is that this is the only tangible consequence of Brexit that has happened so far that is not a complete screw up.

[Stranger]

The reason people like Nigel Farage are so ecstatic is that this is the only tangible consequence of Brexit that has happened so far that is not a complete screw up.

Except that it's not actually a consequence of Brexit, just something the small-minded Brexit clowns can pretend is a consequence of Brexit.

[jeremyp]

Except that it's not actually a consequence of Brexit

Well it is. Without Brexit, the colour would be the same as the existing passports. Yes there is no legal reason why they couldn't change the colour but they wouldn't have.

[jakswan]

A lot of your fellow Brexiteers do seem to care. Many of them seem to be calling it a symbolic victory and dear old Nigel Farage is wetting his pants about it. It's pathetic. The country is being driven down the toilet, but, hey, we have blue passports.

Take it up with them then, just because some people agree on one question doesn't align them on all issues.

[jeremyp]

just because some people agree on one question doesn't align them on all issues.

So you agree that the Brexiteers have no common vision for the future of this country, apart form the colour of the passports. No wonder they are screwing it up so badly.

[jeremyp]

The passport thing is getting embarrassing now.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/23/blue-passport-brexit-pr-stunt-says-former-thatcher-aide-charles-powell

Even some of the Remainers are getting in on the act.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon was another who tweeted that the episode risked further damaging UK’s reputation on the world stage, denouncing the return of the navy blue passport as “insular, inward-looking, blue passport-obsessed nonsense”

[Sebastian Toe]

Is it slightly ironic that the EU flag is also blue? 

[jakswan]

So you agree that the Brexiteers have no common vision for the future of this country, apart form the colour of the passports. No wonder they are screwing it up so badly.

Do you agree that all remainers have no common vision for the future of this country?

With regard to Brexit Remainers are split, some want it overturned, others accept the result but want a vote on the deal, others just think we should get on with it.

Drop the Tribalism.

[Aruntraveller]

Ooh look a lecture on tribalism from a Brexiteer.

Irony will never die.