Working people did not want brexit. Business owners did not want it. The numbers were tipped by old retirees who had died by the time it actually happened.
No, but the only two people that I personally know who voted for Brexit, my partner’s parents, were both retired. They did it as a protest because they never thought that it would pass.
They immediately regretted it once my partner explained how it would fuck up her/our future.
Ah yes I remember in 2001 reading on Slashdot how only old Christians voted for Republicans/Bush, and they will soon die and George W Bush will not get re-elected.
It was even said on HN/Twitter during Covid 2021, how Trump supporters were dying in great numbers from refusing face masks and it was again Game OVER for Republicans, only for him to get elected again in 2024.
Brexit does seem to have been a general loss for Britain.
But I'm very distracted by Germany - what happened/is happening there that they're faring so much worse than, say, France? (And in several of the cited measures, worse than the UK too?)
One factor I think is the early EU days German growth was artificially high, juiced by cheap credit from German banks to peripheral countries which was then cycled into purchasing German industrial goods.
Previously peripheral countries had more indigenous industries protected by FX rate as well as some trade barriers.
The GFC broke this cycle, though it couldn't have gone on forever with or without the GFC.
Then Germany also kneecapped themselves in terms of energy policy, shutting down cheap nuclear power supplies and becoming dependent on Russian energy exports.
> Then Germany also kneecapped themselves in terms of energy policy, shutting down cheap nuclear power supplies and becoming dependent on Russian energy exports.
The only thin about this I wonder is when they'll turn around on that decision. It WILL happen, it's only a question of when. Nuclear is vital to the human future, even if environmentalists don't understand that yet.
Energy prices for Gas play a role as do influx of refugess feom Ukraine for metrics such as GDP per person, but the key thing is China having reached the level of manufacturing prowess to eat into the German main industries (cars, machinery).
I've generally heard it as manufacturing woes due to competition with China. in particular germany used to sell a significant number of cars to china, and now is being outcompeted (both in china and many other locations) by chinese cards. plausibly true in other manufacturing areas, I don't know.
Looking at Brexit is picking up the story halfway through.
About 18 years ago now the Tories thought, incorrectly, that budgetary austerity was the prescription for responding to the global financial crisis. Eight years of indulging conspiracist nonsense later, their PM decided to hold the Brexit referendum as a means of jangling some keys in front of their voting base and then, perhaps even more dumbly, the party decided to treat the result of a 52-48 referendum as more than advisory.
This 1-2 punch has locked in two lost decades in which the UK's GDP will have stagnated in real terms. Most of their politics in the last decade has been make-believe that what obviously happened somehow didn't, with various scapegoating and culture-war distraction attempts tossed in. Not helping is that they have first-past-the-post individual districts (and way too many parties to be sustainable in that electoral system) that result in their self-defeating hinterlands being over-represented.
The country is a complete mess - cost of living has gone up massively, wages have gone up significantly slower, no increase in income tax bands mean any increase in wages are eaten by taxes, soon to be 7 prime ministers in 10yrs. Opportunities squandered in energy policy. Right wing rising, with reform no doubt winning the next election. I despair at my kids future - I’m not sure what there is to be optimistic about.
To elect a PM with such a huge mandate only for them to turn around and embrace the rank racism and transphobia of the very worst was such a slap in the face. Starmer had some very good progressive politics, but his desire to keep trying to appease to the deplorables, to socially throw vulnerable people under the bus, was such gross misgovernance. Completely threw away the massive win he had to pander low, just such a deflation of the role and hope that had been vested in him.
Democracy is having really rough days with finding candidates that are willing to represent their constituents.
An alternative view is here:
https://thenationalpulse.com/2026/06/23/farage-blasts-politi...
Working people did not want brexit. Business owners did not want it. The numbers were tipped by old retirees who had died by the time it actually happened.
Are you saying that 52% of British people are retired?
A majority of those working full-time or part-time voted to remain in the EU; most of those not working voted to leave.
https://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/how-the-united-kingdom...
No, but the only two people that I personally know who voted for Brexit, my partner’s parents, were both retired. They did it as a protest because they never thought that it would pass.
They immediately regretted it once my partner explained how it would fuck up her/our future.
They have subsequently both died.
Ah yes I remember in 2001 reading on Slashdot how only old Christians voted for Republicans/Bush, and they will soon die and George W Bush will not get re-elected.
It was even said on HN/Twitter during Covid 2021, how Trump supporters were dying in great numbers from refusing face masks and it was again Game OVER for Republicans, only for him to get elected again in 2024.
9/11 massively changed bushes popularity.
It’s telling that Farage is polling around 25%. So much for mass Brexit aupoort. Maybe Johnson didn’t hold it the right way.
Brexit does seem to have been a general loss for Britain.
But I'm very distracted by Germany - what happened/is happening there that they're faring so much worse than, say, France? (And in several of the cited measures, worse than the UK too?)
Germany is an interesting one.
One factor I think is the early EU days German growth was artificially high, juiced by cheap credit from German banks to peripheral countries which was then cycled into purchasing German industrial goods.
Previously peripheral countries had more indigenous industries protected by FX rate as well as some trade barriers.
The GFC broke this cycle, though it couldn't have gone on forever with or without the GFC.
Then Germany also kneecapped themselves in terms of energy policy, shutting down cheap nuclear power supplies and becoming dependent on Russian energy exports.
> Then Germany also kneecapped themselves in terms of energy policy, shutting down cheap nuclear power supplies and becoming dependent on Russian energy exports.
The only thin about this I wonder is when they'll turn around on that decision. It WILL happen, it's only a question of when. Nuclear is vital to the human future, even if environmentalists don't understand that yet.
Energy prices for Gas play a role as do influx of refugess feom Ukraine for metrics such as GDP per person, but the key thing is China having reached the level of manufacturing prowess to eat into the German main industries (cars, machinery).
I've generally heard it as manufacturing woes due to competition with China. in particular germany used to sell a significant number of cars to china, and now is being outcompeted (both in china and many other locations) by chinese cards. plausibly true in other manufacturing areas, I don't know.
I'm not sure what's happening to Germany, but I suspect fax machines are involved.
Looking at Brexit is picking up the story halfway through.
About 18 years ago now the Tories thought, incorrectly, that budgetary austerity was the prescription for responding to the global financial crisis. Eight years of indulging conspiracist nonsense later, their PM decided to hold the Brexit referendum as a means of jangling some keys in front of their voting base and then, perhaps even more dumbly, the party decided to treat the result of a 52-48 referendum as more than advisory.
This 1-2 punch has locked in two lost decades in which the UK's GDP will have stagnated in real terms. Most of their politics in the last decade has been make-believe that what obviously happened somehow didn't, with various scapegoating and culture-war distraction attempts tossed in. Not helping is that they have first-past-the-post individual districts (and way too many parties to be sustainable in that electoral system) that result in their self-defeating hinterlands being over-represented.
The country is a complete mess - cost of living has gone up massively, wages have gone up significantly slower, no increase in income tax bands mean any increase in wages are eaten by taxes, soon to be 7 prime ministers in 10yrs. Opportunities squandered in energy policy. Right wing rising, with reform no doubt winning the next election. I despair at my kids future - I’m not sure what there is to be optimistic about.
To elect a PM with such a huge mandate only for them to turn around and embrace the rank racism and transphobia of the very worst was such a slap in the face. Starmer had some very good progressive politics, but his desire to keep trying to appease to the deplorables, to socially throw vulnerable people under the bus, was such gross misgovernance. Completely threw away the massive win he had to pander low, just such a deflation of the role and hope that had been vested in him.
Democracy is having really rough days with finding candidates that are willing to represent their constituents.
I've got a great idea, let's elect the architect of this brilliant money-losing plan to be our PM!
Nigerian Prince scam 101. Just send another payment to cover disbursement costs and the money will be with you real soon now.