Perhaps if someone just reads a headline you could say that. But it was clear to me and I could see it for what it was anyway.

There won't be 350 million....that's a maximum inflated figure anyway. The real figure will probably be in the region of 80 to 100 million.....Lots of different policy areas will have their hands out.

Edited by Stirlingsays (20 Jun 2017 5.41pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Well part of the "bill" relates to contingent liabilities relating to loans which may (or may not) go bad, to which we are, in effect, a guarantor, so legally we would have to pay in these circumstances.

The budget requirement I imagine is negotiable and may end up depending in part of what kind of future relationship is envisaged.

It is likely to include a range of clawbacks on both sides.

For me, the benefits of Brexit are a generational thing. I have always expected it to make the country poorer in the short term. It will be a rocky five years....things won't get better till around 2025.

I say this but in truth the extent of this all depends upon the deal anyway.

That's if the EU actually stays together.....which is probably an evens bet. If it breaks up we will suffer less than we would if we were in...even though we would still suffer.

The capacity to make our own deals will be an extremely important factor and will eventually start to see us doing a little better around 2030.

That's how I see it objectively....in terms of the country's finances. For me this was always a long term decision in terms of economics.

Immigration and population control was the biggest factor for me. We are yet to really know how this is going to pan out.

Edited by Stirlingsays (20 Jun 2017 5.51pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

James O'Brien made a really good point on LBC today. The reason that May is still in office, despite evidently being in a position of such weakness that anyone who wanted the job could surely oust her, is because all the top Tories realise what a sh*tstorm Brexit's going to be and don't want to be in charge when that particular turd inevitably hits the fan.

And I'm not even saying this gleefully. Leaving the EU was always primarily a hobby horse for the libertarian wing of the Tory party, where people like Farage, Carswell etc all originate. Obviously the Farage camp realised the only way they could win the referendum was by tapping in to the anti-migrant sentiment in this country. People like Carswell stayed away from it and tried to make the arguments around cutting red tape and getting control of our laws back, arguments which resonated far less with the public.

And now look where we are. We're leaving the EU, mainly thanks to those who were worried about immigration. But even ending freedom of movement ain't gonna bring numbers down to 5 figures. And of course most leavers don't care about Spanish waiters or Danish doctors coming here, primarily they care about Muslims, a group who move in tiny numbers to us from the Eu. So anti-migrant voters won't win here. Then there's the libertarians, who after the election and Grenfell are in a historically weak position, as there is very little public desire to move towards some ultra free market state.

In fact, the only leavers I see who are in a strong position atm are the so called 'Lexiteers' like Corbyn, who can now argue for leaving the EU because it is oppressively neo-liberal, and argue for building the UK post-Brexit as a country which guarantees state securities and worker's rights.

Funny how things work out eh?

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4

You are always telling us how immigration is an unmitigated blessing and that entire economy and the NHS would collapse without it and that there are absolutely no drawbacks to it whatsoever. No doubt you want more immigration to increase these great benefits. So why are you bemoaning continuing mass immigration?

We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. [Orwell]

But you must be pleased if your belief that mass immigration will continue is correct?

We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. [Orwell]