this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2023
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UK Politics

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57% of Britons said the decision to leave the European Union in 2016 was the wrong one, compared with 32% who thought it was correct.

More than half - 55% - said they would vote to remain in the EU, against 31% who said they would stay out, if the referendum were to be held again.

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[–] mannycalavera 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Under the EU each nation has the options to limit entry in an emergency.

Forgive me but that's not the same as having fair and equal immigration rules for all nations.

The UK: We want to make it so that Peruvian computer programmers go through the same process of immigration as French ones.

The EU: That's not an emergency, non.

So any more control over that is nothing but a mythical idea we as a nation will not use.

Hasn't Sunak just exactly done this? He's exercised control over immigration for the purpose of allowing more construction workers into the country to respond to demand. It doesn't matter where they are from as lonyas it is on an equal basis and demand based. You couldn't do that in the EU.

The UK: We want to increase construction workers by 2000 but that's it.

The EU: Our citizens are free to move as they please, non.

So while leaving the EU and EFTA may give us the option to make perminant rules. Doing so is no more realistic than the need to defend ourselves from Dragons.

Hey you leave the Welsh out of this! 😄

But my point was, I am willing to accept your original point that the issue is not leaving the EU. But EFTA. If you can prove, we gain it some way as an EEA member

Oh sorry I wasn't arguing about this. I was merely providing an example about your challenge with sovereignty. I agree leaving the EU and joining EFTA won't achieve this.

[–] HumanPenguin 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hasn’t Sunak just exactly done this? He’s exercised control over immigration for the purpose of allowing more construction workers into the country to respond to demand. It doesn’t matter where they are from as lonyas it is on an equal basis and demand based. You couldn’t do that in the EU.

No under the EU we had the same legal right to police our borders. We just had to allow EU citizens through.

So EU citizens were not dumb enough to risk their lives. But even now, if you can take a privrate boat from France. You have a right to enter the UK. You just have to radio the coast guard for customs, etc. Nothing Sunak is doing now was more of an issue during EU membership. We were just able to convince France to do some of the work.

We were never part of the Schengen Agreement. How you are legally allowed to enter the nation has always been under UK control.

[–] mannycalavera 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No under the EU we had the same legal right to police our borders. We just had to allow EU citizens through.

We were never part of the Schengen Agreement. How you are legally allowed to enter the nation has always been under UK control.

Again, forgive me I think you're conflating immigration (staying in the country) with entering the country.

My main point is, to your point about what can the UK do outside the EU that it couldn't inside, that it can apply an immigration system equally to all applicants that flexs with the demands of the UK at the time. By your own replies you acknowledge that it couldn't do that because it had to give special treatment to EU citizens.

[–] HumanPenguin 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And the small boats are entirely about entering the country.

People on small boats are not EU citizens. So we are entirely in control of the immigration part. And were during our EU membership.

My point was No to your question that leaving the EU allowed Sunak to act on it. He already had all the rights he does now with relation to his actions.

[–] mannycalavera 0 points 1 year ago

No to your question that leaving the EU allowed Sunak to act on it. He already had all the rights

Sorry I'm lost now are we talking about the same thing still? I'm specifically talking about creating an immigration system that doesn't discriminate between EU / other and that can flex depending on demand.

It sounds like you're talking about small boat crossing which isn't immigration.