How would our willingness to trade with the EU be getting more out of it than them ????

He really isn't very bright.

Were it a case that we were prepared to adopt an "arms length" relationship and confine ourselves to trading with the EU as though we were, let's say, Chile, then no one could have grounds for complaint about our request.

The reports though would seem to indicate that the government, or at least Mr Davis, is operating on the basis that we can have our cake and eat it. And as posters here have pointed out the other member states aren't going to give us all the benefits of club membership (which cover more than just trade btw) if we are not members of the club and/or paying our club membership fees (and I include EEA membership in that since it too embraces the four freedoms of which FoM is one).

Perhaps you could ask the person who posted the comment I was replying to?


I repeat why should one country, the country leaving the union, get more out of the EU than the countries who are not leaving?

I imagine you would rather sand-paper the nose off your face, than see May get anything like a reasonable deal.

Are you having ostrich for Christmas dinner this year?

I was asking you. Do you have an answer ?

So you DO think we should get special treatment?

I have not said any such thing about not wanting May to get a reasonable deal,

my entire point is that so many people clearly believe that the EU MUST give us a great deal,
I am simply pointing out that they will almost certainly avoid at all costs giving us any sort of deal which might look as though we are having our cake and eating it (thread title relevance) because if they do then it will encourage even more member states to leave and demand the same 'great deal', it's not rocket surgery.

But as ever, it appears that simply pointing out human nature and the fact that many here quite obviously DO buy into the propaganda that 'us Brits' should be treated better than any other country for no other reason than the fact we are British.

My position is one of being 'fair minded and reasonable' and not one of thinking that we are somehow more important than others, which, as ever, leads to me being told that I am "anti British" which, ironically enough, only proves my point.

Its importance to EU exports and as a recipient of part of its population.

Only read that line and that is wrong, I will get back to you shortly.

I said reasonable and meant reasonable. How hard is that?

YOU are 'special'.

Pugnacious and confrontational. Not a man to be handling tricky negotiations.

My answer, in the context of the post I was answering, was perfectly clear,

He implied that someone thought that Europe would get more out of these negotiations than us, and that it was in some way wrong to think that.

I simply pointed out that we are one nation, they are many nations, and that to expect them to give us a better deal than the one we had, or one even close to it, or better than or close to the ones that the other members have is totally unrealistic,

yet STILL some people seem to think it's perfectly right to expect such things..... because they believe we are special.

What is the point in asking a question and then admitting that you didn't read the full answer but having a 'dig' anyway?

don't want an answer, don't ask a question,

lol.

Maybe if people vote for the worst possible deal, they shouldn't be surprised when they get what they voted for, then start blaming others.

Ask any member state and they would almost all say exactly that about themselves.

We (the UK) are special. Too many people seem to talk us down nowadays.

We are an Island unlike European Countries. We helped fight to save most of the European countries from Germany not just once but twice.

For the Europeans to sulk and punish us for daring to leave their corrupt EU, and EU that allowed thousands of illegal immigrants into their area knowing that we would also have to let them in.

They don't have to give us good terms of trade, but it hurts them as much as us for them to not to.

And in the end that is all it is about for them. Trade, not people's quality of life.

It was an update on how far I had got.

You would rather see more misery in the country than the tories escaping from this bollocks with any dignity intact. That is my opinion.

So is there a sniff of who leaked the memo, was it the government or the corporation or one of the peons thereof? The differing perspective will rather colour the flavour of the notes.

It's not really simply an opinion when you are telling someone what you think they think, some would say it's rude or even offensive, I would say something else but I don't think it would be wise.

You can say anything, I wouldn't be offended. I see you didn't deny I was reflecting your view.

Well the one thing we can take away from all of this Brexit malarkey is that pretty much everyone thinks being in the EU as it is - is a bad deal or at least not the best deal and if the only reason to stick with the deal we have is the likelihood of getting a worse deal then i think you should question who you're in business with.

It depends on what you consider to be a better deal. Personally, if we have a decent trading agreement with the EU without being involved in their political project then I'd consider that a better deal than we currently have. I don't expect a tariff-free trading agreement with the EU so in that sense it would be a worse arrangement but we'd have significant more trading freedom which would, in my opinion, result in a better overall deal than we have now.

The UK has the exact same deal that the other member states have ie. full access to the 28 nation Single Market without any restrictions whatsoever. If Britain has a 'bad deal', then everyone has a bad deal.

Having a trading only relationship and nothing else with EU states would be incompatible with EU membership as it exists in 2016 for any European country and in fact would be incompatible with membership of the Single Market. If a European country wants to be outside the EU and outside the Single Market, that's absolutely fine but it means having to make do with a very basic trade deal and one that would be inferior to what would be on offer with membership of the Single Market.

We are not asking for a better deal. We just want to trade freely with them. Is restricted movement a better deal ? If it was, the whole of the EU would want it.

Did I mention Single Market membership? I don't expect the UK to be in the Single Market after Brexit, nor would I want it for the exact reasons you mention (and other reasons). I'd expect a trading agreement with the EU and nothing more, probably in the form of a Free Trade agreement as that benefits us and them.