No .. The UK would have more influence … Basically going from 0 % influence to 10% as a full member ..
I actually think the opposite would be the case.
If there were no rebates or special deals there would no longer be the “them and us” kind of feeling.
We would be the 2nd biggest contributor and the 2nd largest armed forces.
There would also no longer be the feeling that the EU was something that somehow slowly crept up on us. We would have made a positive choice to rejoin, warts and all, so I think that would make the dynamics and collaboration much better than before.
Not to mention worldwide threats have increased significantly since Brexit and that would also mean closer collaboration.
Politics on that level and scale has no time for grudges, plus many of the individual country leaders would have changed so I think if and once it was agreed we would have a huge influence.
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Agree but don’t have to be an EU member to cooperate. Even Canada. Australia. New Zealand.
I think the UK should look forward now and plough its own furrow. The EU has structural problems they’re not fixing that the UK is way ahead of them in fixing. The UK could leave the EU behind in a decade if they look forward positively. Frankly it’s possible the UK has had a lucky escape.
I’d view an EFTA-type arrangement - or some mutual trading arrangements - as the maximum to consider.
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Rejoin asap and dismantle these ludicrous hurdles introduced over the past couple of years.
I would also be in favour of fully embracing the metric system at the same time - something which may make some heads explode!
To me - fully rejoin EU, embrace the Euro, be part of Schengen and even drive on the right (perhaps a step too far!!)
No more partial joining with various opt outs……..
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Adopting the Euro would be a step too far, it would never happen under that condition.
It’s also not needed.
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The Swedes made the switch.
I think the DoT has also plans. It’d be phased, cars one week and trucks two weeks later.
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That’ll be fun, it’ll be carnage.
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I was wondering who would be first with that one.
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What is also missing here is the “Made in Europe” debate and moves that way. Yes the EU is getting somewhat more protectionist but not in the orange lunatic way its a bit more sophisticated. Hence the price tag of being outside is going up potentially quite strongly.
What is left of Uk manufacturing risks being left outside the door as we will not be in any “bloc” in some way. So you can write off what is left of the car industry and probably quite a bit else as well.
Farage would have people believe in Singapore on Thames. Its more likely Argentina on hyperinflation.
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Although I would like to see the UK back in the EU for all sorts of both selfish and altruistic reasons I think there are some jinni’s that cannot be put back in their flask.
For one thing we need to demonstrate some commitment to the project if we are to go back in - the last thing that either the EU or the UK needs is for us to be the “hokey-cokey” member, in one year, out the next. A referendum with a convincing super-majority needs to be held. Ideally I would argue it should be set at 75% of the electorate, not merely the voters. However I very much doubt that hurdle would be surmountable.
Secondly - as has been pointed out - one does not put one’s foot in the same river twice. The UK has learnt to manage without close ties to the EU. Many firms have either gone to the wall or stopped trading with the EU at all. Clearly the former cannot be reinvented trivially but neither will the latter want to immediately resume trading with the EU - thus the economic benefit of membership is diluted. It used to be that the benefits outweighed the costs but, like @George1 's mum I am no longer sure the equation is that simple.
I was never that convinced that switching to the € was right for the UK - being in the Eurozone can be a millstone, ask Greece or Spain, to predicate membership on going the full EU hog is tempting but not necessarily the best fit.
I suspect (reluctantly as I am a Europhile) that now that we are out, it is actually best that we stay out. That does not mean I think that leaving was a good idea and, as I said, concrete benefits are hard to spot and usually “small beer”.
Possibly single market membership could be negotiated. Even that is fraught with difficulty and carries the distinct disadvantage that we would have to abide by EU rules without a seat in the EU parliament. Actually that might not be terrible - the EFTA nations lobby, often successfully, and EU parliamentary decisions were always about lobbying and soft power anyway. But there is a big downer which is that, realistically, the EU would have to come up with some sort of special deal just for the UK because EFTA membership doesn’t necessarily fit the UK that well either and it is not clear the EFTA nations would want the UK in their club.
The EU has always been against special deals and has said for many years that it does not want another Switzerland.
So, I am pleased that Burnham has tried to open the debate. I’m not sure it is going to make a fundamental difference to the UK and EU membership which I still do not think is a) on the cards this side of 2040 nor b) actually desirable for either party.
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Here is a thoughtful, informed piece on how the EU that the UK left post Brexit is fundamentally different now, and how rejoining might not necessarily be in the UK’s interests.
The EU that the UK left no longer exists | Mujtaba Rahman The EU that the UK left no longer exists | Mujtaba Rahman | The Guardian
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As a passionate remainer now 10 years on I see that after flipping the UK is now flopping to rejoin the EU.
I suspect there could be another flipping in 10 years time. Who wants a flip flopper in their club?
so I (living inside the EU and now a duel citizen) don’t really want the UK to rejoin. This would weaken the EU as it would be an example to others that you can leave and then rejoin without any consequences. Yes I know the UK would have to loose all the special privileges it had.
Most other countries do not have any special privileges so they could leave and rejoin on the same terms. Making it an easy decision to leave if they understood it’s easy to rejoin.
Good old fashioned Crime and Punishment thing there …Obvious no belief in redemption
Whatever is decided, closer ties to the EU can only be a win win for all, not just Britain. The faster it happens the better imo.
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OK. Having put on my tin hat, my answer is Yes.
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I’d get more body armour but you really are going to need to explain why.
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The only possible reason for saying “Yes” is that you live in Dordogneshire and Brexit has reduced the number of Tarquins and Bunnys floating around the place year round.
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Leaving was anything but easy and I am sure rejoining will be just as difficult!
The EU is going to demand that the UK accepts the Euro which is going to be a very sell.