an opt in/opt out individual membership, with an optional tax % contribution like NI. Determined by passport as ID https://t.co/2MNYkfb7IW
— Richard Armitage (@RCArmitage) July 6, 2016
@BBCNews it's a hypothetical impossibility but interesting to consider a way for 50% of the population to retain the rights they voted for.
— Richard Armitage (@RCArmitage) July 6, 2016
@BBCNews that's my 'hypothesis' btw..not the BBC or government lawyers.
— Richard Armitage (@RCArmitage) July 6, 2016
Armitage Agonistes 
Wishful thinking. Hypothetically impossible if one looks at the probable costs of such an arrangement.
I do understand his anger, though, because he – and other nearly 50% of those who voted – would like to retain an EU citizenship.
Who can blame him for wishing?
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This sort of thing is just prolonging the agony and creating division. We need to make peace and get on with things. Brexit can doubtless be a success if people would just stop moping. And we are still European whether in or out of the EU. I understand that moving in acting circles and living a nice life style amongst the chattering classes of London, Berlin and NYC, RA must feel frustrated. But, it seems to me that he has lost touch with what is happening in many parts of the UK and fails to understand why 52% (as opposed to 48% of the electorate) feel that they want to wash their hands of the EU.
And, Parliament has just voted by 245-2 to secure the status of EU migrants in the UK.. That should cheer him up.
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Your comments are quite dismissive of the feelings and opinions of people like RA who voted remain. You assume that because he is a famous actor and lives in cosmopolitan areas that somehow he doesn’t see “the light” and that only someone who lives outside of these circles can truly understand the scope of the decision and how to move from this divisive mess. What evidence has he given that he is less informed than you on this issue (other than the fact that you disagree with his opinions)?
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Hello Christina. Since this comment is in answer to JayDee, I’ll let her respond.
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Basically what you’re saying is be quiet and suck it up. I’m sure I can go along with that. I think they ( and he) will have to suck it up, but what’s the harm in exploring every possible, and even impossible, option to make the separation more palatable to the losers?
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This is not necessarily directed at you Mermaid, but would it make a difference if the final vote in favor of LEAVE was 55-45, 0r 60-40? A is a majority. Maybe the organizers should have considered that a supermajority, such as a margin of 2/3 was more appropriate or something. In the U.S. ( Ok, not the perfect model) the most important votes in Congress and votes to amend the Constitution require a 2/3 majority in congress and then a 3/4 vote by the individual states.,.
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Although your comment/answer is not necessarily directed at me, I’ll give it a shot 🙂 I’m sorry; this is going to be one long text, and I’m sure it could be even longer.
In a democracy as I know it (remember I’m Danish, and the Danish voting system is different from that in the States and in Britain), the majority rules (more than 50 p.c. of the votes cast).
I accept the majority vote, but it doesn’t mean I have to agree. I also realize that it’s not my country, and because of this, I should perhaps refrain from commenting, but I don’t/won’t. Why? Because to the best of my assessment, this will hurt the UK more than it will benefit.
Sovereignty is a peculiar notion. The right to decide for one self. Can one nation go it alone and prosper? The UK has perhaps better odds than a small country like Denmark, but the free market forces will become infinitely more restricted. Why should Denmark import British chocolate when it can get it from Belgium, and why should Germany want to import British goods if they are more readily available from France (theses are just examples)? The loss of British jobs will inevitably be the result, unless the trade with the US improves significantly, and the US is still experiencing the impact of the financial crisis.
With Britain leaving the EU, Denmark has lost its closest ally. Always sceptical, always looking for ways to keep this mastodon of political self-reliance on its toes. I also see this referendum as the first tangible sign of a budding swing not only towards isolation, but towards the ultra-right, which I personally find horrible.
With the UK vote, some politicians from the (sadly) influential right-wing party, Dansk Folkeparti (the Danish Peoples Party) are already voicing that Denmark should have a similar referendum. I fear what the result may be, and Denmark cannot go it alone. We export knowledge, butter and bacon, pharmaceutical products, fashion and some designer furniture, and that’s about it.
Can the EU financial centre remain in London after this? The markets don’t seem to think so. It remains to be seen. However, if operations are moved out of London and to say Berlin or Luxembourg, many British jobs are lost. The markets are disconcertingly quiet at the moment, apparently, and traders take this as quiet before the storm.
Until a few years ago, I was rather sceptical about what goes on in the EU. It’s a huge organisation; almost a living, breathing organism which seems to have a life of its own. However, some years ago I worked as an English teacher with the police force. During that time, the police was trying to build a case against money laundering and human trafficking, but because Denmark voted to stay outside negotiations on matters of national security and police – one of the opt-outs of the Maastricht Treaty – it was extremely difficult to build this case.
Since then, I’ve become convinced that if we want to “catch the big guys”, we have to cooperate fully within the realms of the EU, cooperate across borders, exchange information, thus stressing the criminals, and making it more difficult for them to hide. Each individual nation cannot stand alone in this age of globalisation. So, seen from a national security perspective this is my primary reason for being pro-EU.
Of course, there are other aspects from which a country may benefit from membership, i.e. the regulation of the financial sector (Denmark has one of the world’s most regulated financial sectors, and we can and do influence the EU policy makers on the issue. The lack of regulation of the banking industry was the primary reason for the proliferation of the sub-prime lending, which started the financial crisis in the first place), the unrestrained availability of jobs and the mobility of the work force, etc.
As I wrote in a previous comment, the UK is generally not considered attractive by my students as a place to study or work after Brexit. I hope it changes in time, but if we are to revert back to restricted periods of stay and perhaps visas, young people will rather seek towards the more exotic countries such as the US or Australia for the same opportunities.
What has been so great about availability and mobility has been that we’ve been part of the same community, it felt like one nation in which almost the same rules and regulations have applied, and many have made a life for themselves in the UK and/or set up business and employ hundreds of Britons. Some of my closest colleagues are British, and they are equally devastated about this outcome; they have easily made a life for themselves in Denmark, live with a Danish partner, have children here, and now maybe they’ll lose their ability to work here. One is even considering applying for Danish citizenship for that reason. Okay, this is an extreme scenario, but it just goes to show the uncertainty of it all.
The uncertainty for both the British living outside the UK and for EU nationals living in the UK is palpable. All we can do is wait. The result of the vote is accepted, but it doesn’t mean we do not discuss it.
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Sorry Mermaid – the comments and replies are out of order. This is in reply to your second comment ( the long one – but not too long not to worry). I agree that even though the deed is done, and it isn’t likely that the referendum will be ignored or repeated or overruled, it is certainly worth discussing – and that’s why we are, right here, and everywhere.
As an aside, I don’t know nearly as much – not even 10% of what you know about the EU, since you are a citizen of it and I’m not, so I am going to ask you this – I’ve read up on it a little – but what is the major objection to the EU and its regulations/laws (aside from immigration, which I understand completely) – what is it about EU policy and practice that makes sovereign nations believe they need to “take back their country?.” Whatever it is ( and I hope you and others will chime in,) it seems like the dissatisfaction is well-known and felt by other countries , so it seems a shame that whatever it is – whatever the problems with the EU, it would have been better all around if member states could have worked within to make those changes.
And yes – fear here also about the right, the far right, and for good reasons.
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I’ve always harboured a significant desire to go to Britain (London) to live and work. It seemed an ‘open’ option for as long as I can remember. Now, this option doesn’t seem available, and it’s something I’ve got to come to terms with.
Many of my students no longer see Britain as a viable place to go to study or work. My husband is/was interested in a position in a Danish bank in the City. This has been put on indefinite hold. The outcome of this election has a ripple effect on so many aspects.
Fortunately, with this latest vote in the Commons the future of my Danish friends based in Yorkshire seems more secure. They own a factory which employs English workers, and their jobs seem safe for now.
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It may not make a difference either way, but somehow, speaking as an onlooker, I don’t see the Brits trying to exclude the Danes. Even without an organization ike the E.U., working in a foreign country is possible. I’m glad your friends are probably not going to be uprooted. But what an irony it would be if they were forced to depart, putting a bunch of UK citizens on the unemployment line.
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Based on what I’m reading, a lot of UK citizens who voted leave didn’t have a grasp of the facts, because the leave campaign misrepresented the economic impact of leaving the EU. The ones sucking it up are going to be the ones who voted leave.
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That was certainly the party line early on. Now, one can find lots of news about how many Brexiters knew it all, but still wanted out, figuring their country could work around it and work out something better. This might also assume an unrealistic view about the how much the EU thinks it need the UK. I don’t know enough about it, but my gut tells me that it wouldn’t be a wise move for the EU to make concessions, give special favors and waivers, to the UK that it refuses to give to other outside nations – but that’s just me.
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