It's 1 v 27

If you fancy the UKs chances of wriggling out of pre-accepted financial agreements on our terms then good luck to you still living in cloud-cuckoo land

Big chest and massive boobs

[Link]

Here is where I am obviously missing a major point. Why are the EU seemingly asking the UK to make an offer? If this is a bill to settle up funds already committed to (which I totally agree we should pay) surely it is easy to just present us with a bill "roads in Italy, 30m, Spanish hospital 10m" etc. Is the EU paperwork really in such a shocking state that they don't know what we actually owe?

Anyone know why this isn't as easy as I think it should be?

Did you read that George Monbiot article?

I would like to see something along the lines of a Swiss system of more civic involvement in policy.

I would also like to see more state involvement in areas that were difficult under EU. Better regulation of environment, working practices, more investment in the economy. I'd like close cooperation with Europe on security and environment, but an ability to go further and invest in R&D in both areas. I'd like to see a state run VC business investing public money in start ups and tech companies providing them with capital, expertise in return for a public stake (small) when these companies grow and become successful (risky but gives public a buy in and is successful in private sphere). I'd like to see us look at data generating and storing companies such as Google and Facebook and treat them more like utilities and place greater responsibility on them in the way they use our data. I don't want to see us signing up to stuff like TTIP or TISA which the EU want. I'd like to see the way farming and land use is subsidised by CAP overhauled so that wealthy landowners don't cream off the top and instead farmers achieve fair prices for their produce. I'd like to see our waters protected from pollution and overfishing.

I don't want to see the UK turning into a tax haven off the shores of Europe, devoid of environmental and employee protections.

It's not simply projects but potentially bad loans to which we are a legal guarantor. In terms of the projects it's like a Sky subscriptions where you sign up for 18 months and want out after 6. You still have to pay for the rest of the contract even if you don't watch the TV.

For them it's a matter of principal and commitments made and signed up to, not simply a bargaining chip.

It's also something that will be important with their own citizens who don't want to end up with a bigger bill because we've not paid for what we said we would.

A lot of this is political sadly. In business this would have been done as shareholders don't worry to much about the spin, more about the bottom line and future cash flows. The future for politicians often never comes.

Sticks and stones dear boy.

I didn't advocate a referendum at all. Irrespective, there was only ever going to be one and all you say is just the witterings of someone on the losing side who will now have to sit back powerless an see how the cards fall.

Suck it up.

And you'd get deported from Cloud-Cuckoo Land for ongoing absurdity

Big chest and massive boobs

[Link]