Originally Posted by
Steve6443
Harry, please, they brought it on themselves. They should have negotiated in good faith with David Cameron. My proposal would have been: 1) no benefit for benefits tourists for at least 6 months 2) all benefits payments made to EU citizens in a foreign country can be recouped from their home country. 3) Convicted criminals can be deported and refused entry for a period equal to 5 times the duration of the prison sentence they received.
Had the EU made an offer like that, then Brexit would have never happened, instead they decided to tell the Brits 'take it or leave it' - so, are you still claiming the Brits brought this upon themselves? It takes two to Tango....
The EU went out of their way to please the UK, but it wasn't enough. There's a limit to how far you can push the boundaries of a union, and Cameron was pushing for things the EU couldn't give him. The negotiations were very much in good faith as far as the EU goes, which is far more than can be said for the Cameron government who put EU membership to the vote. That was certainly not part of the negotiations and, right or wrong, seriously pissed off a lot of the EU.
Originally Posted by
Steve6443
The irony is that certain people still believe Britain had any power and influence in the EU. Britain didn't. It just had to shut up and pay ever more cash for dubious projects.
That is absolute bovine manure. The UK regularly formed a block of like-minded countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, and thus had enough votes to sway the day on numerous occasions. Obviously the bloc didn't get their way all of the time; that's not how a coalition driven democracy works. But to say the UK just payed and never had say is factually incorrect.