Friday 24 June 2016

£200 billion gone overnight


Here we go - I don't know where, but we're off.

You know the worst thing about Britain's exit from the European Union is not so much the financial impact (which has already begun to happen in a big way), it is the mandate given to the far-right nationalists - not only here in Britain, but all over Europe, if not the entire world.

One good reason why Germany and the other strong three will not make things easy for the U.K. now that it has decided to leave, is the worry that if they do, then many of the remaining 27 will be queuing up to get the same trade deals and concessions, causing the total collapse of the E.U. We are definitely in for a very rough ride indeed.

David Cameron has resigned, leaving the job open to hard nationalists like Boris Johnson and Gove. Can you imagine?!

Already, a Polish ambassador has been on British radio, trying to calm down all the Poles who currently work here, and he will not be the last - we have many other nationalities doing good work in this country.

The Governor of the Bank of England has been trying to calm the markets down as well at 8.30 this morning. They have contingency plans in place apparently, and these include more 'fiscal easing' or bail-outs, but I bet they don't include the protection of private pensions.

I was just thinking about what Europe would feel like if it reverted back to individual countries with tight borders. Safer? I don't think so.

I have to go to the Post Office to pick up a parcel today. I think I will cash in our Euros at the same time. You can get 1.25 to the pound today - 25% more than yesterday.

Or should I wait? It could get worse.

P.S. Boris Johnson is one quarter Turkish.

18 comments:

  1. I asked Cro how best to get you (and the ever tender yet not to be dismissed Rachel) to draw into discussion over at my blog. If kindly inclined, Tom, please do read my offering posted the day before the day - and this morning's.I need all the tissues freely offered to me.

    U

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    1. I have read it, and I would have left a comment if it were not for your insistence on anyone commenting leaving too much personal information. You show me yours, and I'll show you mine, etc.

      What I was going to say was that the reason Cameron gave us a referendum was because he would not have stayed Prime Minister for long if he did not. He wanted to keep his job, rather than any altruistic motives about the good of the country.

      He was reasonably confident of a REMAIN outcome at the time, but - as they say - 5 years is a long time in politics, let alone a week.

      Now he has to move out and let some horrible nationalist take over. What a mess - for everyone.

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    2. Thanks for taking the time, Tom.

      I don't know what you mean by "insistence on anyone commenting leaving too much personal information". Maybe it's one of wordpress's many quirks - which, usually, I am not aware of until it's too late. Or maybe Wordpress and Blogspot don't see eye to eye. Not for the first time. My apologies. On my blog anyone is welcome. No barriers in place. Free market. Come and trade the good, the bad and sometimes the amusing.

      Your second paragraph: If Cameron's reasoning, and I am sure you are right, was to stay Prime Minister he sure scored an own goal. And was supremely selfish into the bargain.

      In other bad news: Caught a clip of Trump arriving in Scotland this morning. I am totally non violent (physically that is) person. But, by golly, and may the fairies forgive me, I could punch that guy in the face. He is revolting. Not least aesthetically. And so "eloquent".

      U

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    3. I stopped using Wordpress a while ago, because I didn't like its style. No offence meant to you.

      Cameron was in tears at his own goal this morning.

      Trump will be most heartened, but everyone in Scotland voted REMAIN. This means that Scotland will probably break away from England and Wales, and there will be no such thing as the U.K. or Great Britain any longer. Back to the dark ages, tribe against tribe.

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  2. I think I may be wrong about this being a good day to convert euros into £s, but - like when the clocks go back or forward - I cannot work out if I will get more or less. I got zero for my maths O-level.

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  3. Yep, the nationalists will be taking over little by little - we'll probably be following suit in November. I cannot quite put my head around it all.

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    1. It's all started by financial crisis - as the rise of National Socialism was in Germany in the 1930s.

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  4. Just woke up and the news is all about how to protect your savings, investments and on and on. Seems like a global house of cards. I do hope it won't be on the backs of the middle class.

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    1. Everything is on the backs of the ever-increasing middle class, except that the middle class is going to take a drop in status in the next year or so. They will still be paying for it, though.

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  5. You know what the general atmosphere reminds me of in Britain today?

    It is like when a child kills a living creature for no reason, or just to see what it feels like, then is immediately filled with remorse for what it has done, and how the deed cannot be undone.

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    1. I saw the headline today and thought of a child having a temper tantrum, and fully expecting to be loved and soothed again when it ended. On the other hand, folks were having the tantrum because no one listened to them.

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  6. I read that the younger generation voted 'stay' because they are the ones who travel, study, do research or work, both in the UK and in Europe.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Everyone has - no, had - their own reasons for voting the way they did, but some were more reasoned than others.

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  7. Tom, that atmosphere you describe is exactly right...and sickening.

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  8. Tom, that atmosphere you describe is exactly right...and sickening.

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  9. It is a mess and a frightening reminder to be careful what you wish for. Not too many days ago, when a couple of bloggers said they had decided for Remain, I was feeling pretty good about the vote. I just don't see how anyone benefits from this.

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