Congratulations UK!!

Your borders are now your own. So are your laws.

No longer do you have to jump through hoops to please the 10 kings of the north.

Like Trump, Johnson too sets his people first.

The filthy muslims and all other undesirables are now denied access.

One of four countries left to stand against the New World Order and all its perversions.

Well done, Boris!

Congratulations UK on inflicting the most egregious case of national self harm in over 60 years.

Did you notice several EU states close their borders to the UK a week or so ago to try to keep out the more virulent strain of Corona virus that's in the UK. Or when EU states closed their borders last year to each in response to Corona virus or that time the EU states closed their borders to try to stop a terrorist cell passing through them in 2015. You probably didn't notice the many years when EU member states kicked out thousands of foreign EU citizens after 3 months expired and they could they could not provide evidence they could support themselves?

The UK's law have always been their own. The UK parliament has said this themselves.

10 Kings in the North, that a Game of Thrones reference?

Like Trump, Johnson is an buffoonish incompetent populist with slightly better bedside manners but is actually capable of doing more damage to his country as the checks on his power in the UK are more limited than the checks on the power of the Presidency in the US.

Filthy Muslims? charming man you are. Now pray tell which EU members state's are Muslim states?. I'll save you the bother, none of them are. They overwhelming majority of Muslims entering the UK are from outside the EU. Brexit will actually increase the numbers of Muslims arriving as immigration from countries outside the EU will increase to offset the decrease in immigration from the EU, some of those will be Muslim states or states with higher percentage of Muslims in their populations.

Undesirables?, if your talking about criminals, nothing changes here, criminals where denied access before Brexit assuming they where known about when they tried to gain access. If they entered the country illegally well Brexit does nothing to curb illegal immigration.

NWO...oh lord, Picard face palm meme time.

Well done Boris...the UK is literally the worst performing advanced country in the world for handling the corona virus in terms of public health and the economy combined.

At least he had the sense to avoid a no deal Brexit, even he wasn't that mad.

Stav, Klown (aka CleanCut aka Ku Klux Klown) is a confirmed racist (and proud of it) as well as one of the stupidest posters we have here. No-one takes him seriously at all.

The only good thing about Klown is the fact that he's very thin-skinned so he never lasts very long before bursting into tears and running away for a long sulk.

Rooi's list of stupid people...

Me

Moz

Mike

Draad

CC

Denny

DA

...shall I go on?

The list of cowards is even longer.

Some call it projecting. I agree.

Time will tell if the UK is better off, and that also depends what better of is.

The U.K. is massively better off...who wants your country to be run by foreigners who deny you a cup of tea.

Not a very comprehensive list there, ButtPlug, I can think of several more you could have added but note that while I call Denny "Dense", that's just an old nickname that has stuck. I still use the name but I've got renewed respect for him in recent times and he shouldn't be on your list.

A fox always smells his own hole first...hahaha...be careful now who climbs on board the ruckers rattle trap...this might be a trick because DA, Beeno and Plum have often had the last laugh...haha even me...Red Neck actually thought someone could believe the BEES Gees were around in 1941....that's hilarious...what a blunder...RIP Dumbass, hahahaha.

So they weren’t trying to regulate electric kettles?

So Peeper with your renewed respect for Denny.....do you now believe his move to Australia was warranted based on personal risk, that he isn’t ugly and that you posted an image of his dead brother, not Denny himself?

It seems to me an apology is in order.

How does regulating electric kettle wattage amo unt to denying UK citizens a cup of tea?

@Stavanger, initial signs are that it will be bad for the UK, but no one can be sure what the future will bring now that the UK can arrange their own international deals. 

The UK has certainly lost benefits from access to the single market, but it will take some time to be sure that new deals are not a better option.  

The world gets more global each day, and there could be advantages for countries to have their own deals. Taking the EU route is just one approach to not going alone. 

If more companies followed standard WTO terms, it would just be equal for all countries- without having to be tied to one bloc. 

This may also put the UK and Ireland into direct competition to gain investment from the US.
The EU is pushing for higher standard rates of corporate tax across the EU to ensure a level playing field between countries, but it can't force the UK to do this. 

If Ireland was to remain a member of the EU, they may be forced to increase tax rates for corporates too much. The Irish economy is built on US investment. Some US companies have like 20,000 employees each in Ireland. Big in the context of a population of around 5 million. 

The Celtic tiger could become the rangers tiger...

So the African free trade agreement which came into effect yesterday will automatically be a good thing?

Oh dear it looks as if Brexit is now an issue that replaces Trump...should we rename Beeno's Trumpet to Brexit Blast. Issues,issues,issues and more issues. 

I was hoping the New Year would usher in a little more palatable input than 2020 but it seems there are always those that enjoy controversies that they cannot have any effect on. Maybe their lives lack excitement and stimuli.

Free trade is not necessarily a great thing. It favours the seller (in the case of Big Tech - America). 

palatable input? The joke of 2021 so far. 

No not really, I suppose you cannot please all the people all of the time, in normal societies (which I believe hardly exist today) you could perhaps please some of the people some of the time.

I believe that there was an element of truth in what French writer and philosopher, known as Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet) wrote ..."would rather obey one lion than 200 rats of his own species. There are myriads of rats  in this world as opposed to a relatively few lions.

I guess this proves "democracy" is a farce and does not really work in the world. Idealistically a benevolent despot would be better, more economical and faster moving in decision making.

But in reality, how many despots were benevolent. There were a few but today they are like "hens teeth".

But democracy  also does not exist in the true sense, it's a delusion.

The concept of globalism would exacerbate the sovereignty and individual qualities of society even more ungovernable and end in utter confusion and chaos. The lumpen-proletariat cannot rule...they do not have the brains or work ethic to govern.

@Stav,

Part of the reason for leaving the EU was that the Irish were offering ridiculously low corporate tax rates- much lower than what the UK offered (or anyone else in the EU, except perhaps Luxemburg). This is not a level playing field between 2 English speaking countries. Many sales made in the UK and other EU countries are declared in Ireland.
Once there is a consistent tax rate, these US companies could just as easily have a call centre in each EU country - instead of Ireland- which has teams for the main EU countries from those countries (The management team any of the EU countries will all be proficient in English). 
Currently, many people from the EU working in Ireland applied for jobs in their own country but were offered the job in Ireland. 

Currently, Ireland is cannibalising the income streams of these other countries. If there was a consistent tax rate there would no benefit of having a French team not based in France etc. 

America has said if there is an international standard tax rate instead of free trade, they would follow it. The EU will get it through at some point, that is certain. One way or another, it is likely that a standard will be agreed that will level the playing field. 

It seems Nigel Farage, Boris and the boys have plans to attract lower corporate tax rates than the EU. 

I would not be too sure about Biden favouring the Irish just because he supported the border dispute and not breaking out of international laws etc.

Also, take away the factor of the Ireland tax break, and each country will have its own call centres locally. For the English speaking market, it would the UK and Ireland competing, but most of the customers would be in the UK- making it more sense to base in the UK. 

Ireland and Luxemburg did vote against a consistent tax rate, however, how can a few small members dominate the majority. This will happen sooner than later. 

@sharkbok

Your quite simply 100% wrong on this. Ireland's corporate tax rate had nothing to do with Brexit, it was never brought up once by the politicians and media who pushed Brexit either before or after the referendum. God help me I've kept enough of an eye on Brexit backing media like The Sun, Daily Express and the Daily Mail and its simply never come up and believe me those publications have been highly critical of Ireland's Brexit stance and if was an issue they would be harping it to the skies. Its a complete red herring.

Sure the backers of Brexit would like the UK to become a tax haven but that's not was sold to the public that voted for it.

Tax rates are the competency of each member state and in fact Brexiteers would be horrified if the EU did control the tax rate of member states. As it stands every single member state could lower their corporate tax rate to match or beat Ireland's if they so choose too.

What the EU is against and actually do can do something about is illegal state aid which apparently allowed the likes of Apple to funnel non-US based profits through Ireland shielding it from tax in the country where the profit was initially made. However this was only exposed after the Brexit referendum so wouldn't have been a factor influences the Brexit vote. The kicker is the EU order them to pay back €13 billion, possibly up to €20 billion with fines back in 2016. Ireland subsequently appealed the decision and this year the European general court ruled in Ireland's favor meaning for now Ireland/Apple don't have to pay that fine.

As William Wallace said....’freedom’. The European Union reminds me most of the old Nationalist Party regimes. No not the racism aspect, but the rules and controls impulse. No electric kettles comes from the same control freak minds as the guys who used measuring tapes at South African swimming pools, ensuring males and females were a proper distance apart.

Both regimes were/are  steeped in Calvinistic logic. Rules are the order of the day. But in the new Europe Man is substituted for God, Scientists are high priests, the unpersuaded are ‘deniers’ and group think is enforced. 

Perhaps one has to have experienced control to truly value freedom. The young people in the West haven’t experienced a threat to their freedoms. But talk to Eastern European and Cuban immigrants to the US and you sense their appreciation of basic liberties.

England will be much better off without these narrow European bureaucrats. Much of core European industry  is threatened by China and American technology.....Musk is coming and the European automobile industry will suffer.

In the early 20th century allies of Austria Hungary were said to be chained to a corpse. The Poms were chained to the EU corpse....now free. I look for great things.

Thank you Mozart ! 

Who knows becs  perhaps even London will become truly British again and 80% of the homes in  Belgravia will have lights on at night,  not 20% as in recent years.

I think London is a lost cause, Mozart. 

It seems those who can leave are heading for the hills as a result of COVID ! 

I think it’s a shame that so many properties are not occupied as often as they deserve to be these days. But that’s just the way of things, I suppose. 

"As William Wallace said....’freedom’. The European Union reminds me most of the old Nationalist Party regimes. No not the racism aspect, but the rules and controls impulse. No electric kettles comes from the same control freak minds as the guys who used measuring tapes at South African swimming pools, ensuring males and females were a proper distance apart.

Both regimes were/are  steeped in Calvinistic logic. Rules are the order of the day. But in the new Europe Man is substituted for God, Scientists are high priests, the unpersuaded are ‘deniers’ and group think is enforced. 

Perhaps one has to have experienced control to truly value freedom. The young people in the West haven’t experienced a threat to their freedoms. But talk to Eastern European and Cuban immigrants to the US and you sense their appreciation of basic liberties.

England will be much better off without these narrow European bureaucrats. Much of core European industry  is threatened by China and American technology.....Musk is coming and the European automobile industry will suffer.

In the early 20th century allies of Austria Hungary were said to be chained to a corpse. The Poms were chained to the EU corpse....now free. I look for great things."

Even by your standards Moz that's some unadulterated rubbish you're spouting here.

Still you attributing a quote from a Mel Gibson movie to the real William Wallace gave me a good laugh.

Even myths have directly or indirectly stumbled upon some truths....the collective mind has a tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water. It appears that mankind is somewhat lacking in level-headedness and balance...fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Hollywood has hidden agendas.

Ayn Rand was almost right in what she projected, indeed "Atlas Shrugged"...only those who have read her books will understand this.

It is good when we have independent thought patterns but intellect and wisdom are often opposed.

Life teaches us wisdom but fools never learn from it and repeat the same mistakes over and over again. The majority of humans are negatively programmed or in the minority positively inspired.

Youth has very little wisdom but often over-stuffed with intellectual gobbl edygook. They cannot see the wood for the trees

The black dot on the blank sheet of paper is noticed first not the vast white sheet.

Well if you don’t like the Braveheart quote, which I admittedly thought was plausible but can’t verify, here are some attributions:

Incompetence is often highly regarded in governmental circles.

Freedom is best, I tell thee true, of all things to be won.

tell ye true, liberty is the best of all things; never live beneath the noose of a servile halter.

Somehow I don’t think Wallace would have liked a bespectacled accountant from Brussels....bereft of muscles. There, name the song.

@Stav,

The UK is also involved like the US in offshore taxing, so this was not the biggest issue for the richest ones who supported Brexit. 
It is thought to be a reason for the richest 2%, but they did not overplay this point- as it did not appeal to the masses. 

However, Bloomberg.com list some possibilities where the UK could be stronger without the "shackles of the EU Versailles ". 

Rules and taxes

The UK will have more power to shape its regulatory environment and cut taxes. It already has one of the lowest rates of company tax in Europe, but the country could go further. The government could also expand the “patent box”, which reduces taxes on profit from patented inventions to foster research & development. It was constrained by EU rules on state aid.

“Europe is worried the UK will set up near-shore competition to the continent,” said Mark Price, former deputy chair of retailer John Lewis Partnership and a former trade minister. The right tax regime would make the UK a lot more attractive as a base to export into the EU, he said.

In emerging industries, such as genetically modified foods and genome technology, Britain can take a more permissive approach than the EU, according to Julian Jessop, former chief economist and now a fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. He noted data protection and regulation of the internet as other areas where the UK would be able to diverge.

In aviation, Britain would have the ability to cut air passenger duty on the return leg of domestic flights, which is at present prevented by a European Commission ruling. Reducing the levy has long been a demand of airlines, which say it would mean cheaper flights.

Financial services

Insurers may soon fall outside European rules known as Solvency II if a government review started earlier in October is implemented. Companies such as Aviva and Legal & General would benefit from potential changes permitting them to invest in a broader range of assets while allowing them to take more risk, according to Steven Findlay, head of prudential regulation for the Association of British Insurers.

Brexit could also boost the market for initial public offerings by removing the €8m EU ceiling on the amount companies can raise from individual investors without having to issue a prospectus, said Andrew Chapman, head of investment banking at Peel Hunt. “The UK government could look to raise that threshold so that we have a much more liquid and free-moving market,” he said.

Outside the EU’s customs union, the UK can sign its own trade agreements. Its biggest deal to date is an accord with Japan. While Britain already benefited from a pact with Japan through EU membership, it says the new agreement is superior in areas such as financial services and data.

Fintech firms such as TransferWise and Revolut will no longer be restricted by data localisation rules, meaning they could expand operations into Japan without needing to build servers in the country. The trade pact will help TransferWise “support Japanese customers with cheaper, faster and more convenient services”, said Venkatesh Saha, the company’s head of expansion for Asia-Pacific.

Fishing

The UK will control its fishing waters post-Brexit and British fishing firms will be able to expand their catch. Though it accounts for only 0.12% of Britain’s economy and employs 24,000 people, the industry is symbolic after membership of Europe’s single market precipitated its demise.

For a sense of how Britain could make the most of its fishing gains, Iceland provides a model. Fish and associated industries make up 6% of the Nordic country’s GDP, with fish leftovers being used in pharmaceutical and beauty products while fish skin is used to treat injuries.

Food and footwear

A trade agreement with the US could cut tariffs on products such as Scotch whisky, cars and ceramics, and also create more opportunities for exporting services, which make up 80% of Britain’s economy. It could also lead to greater variety and cheaper food by opening up the domestic market to US agricultural products. 

The UK could choose to drop World Trade Organisation tariffs on products that are currently taxed to protect the interests of EU countries. Citrus fruit, wine, footwear and clothing would be candidates.

“There are so many products where we currently pay import duties to protect industries in other parts of Europe,” said Simon Wolfson, CEO of retailer Next. “There is very little point having tariffs on these.”

Domestic industry

Extra costs when trading with the EU will encourage UK manufacturers to source more of their inputs locally, said Andrew Underwood, a Brexit supply chain and procurement consultant at KPMG. That will particularly apply to just-in-time manufacturing, he said.

“It’s clearly something organisations are starting to think more about because of the potential impact of delays,” he said. “They can’t afford to wait.”

To help develop domestic production, the UK will be able to set its own state-aid rules, meaning it could expand the amount of financial support it gives to promote specific industries. Increasing government intervention in the economy could also help Johnson fulfil his goal of rejuvenating poorer parts of Britain and “level up” the economy.

Red tape

One industry that’s about to flourish is bureaucracy. From 2021, companies will need to comply with a wave of new red tape to move goods between the UK and EU. An extra 400-million customs declarations are expected to be required annually, at a cost of about £13bn, even if the two sides agree a trade deal.

As well as customs brokers  and logistics specialists, providers of warehousing may benefit as companies stockpile goods in anticipation of border disruption — if they can find the space. The vacancy rate in Greater London is already below 3%, with low levels of availability across the southeast, Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol because of demand for online retail sales, according to a report by Knight Frank on October 8.

Regional ports also may see a boost. With the government warning of 7,000-truck-long queues towards the Channel in a reasonable worst-case scenario, goods could be rerouted through Plymouth, Hull and Grimsby.

Unshackling investment

Whatever happens, at least there will be clarity. That could prompt some companies to ditch investment plans for good. Others may revive them.  

“Simply getting Brexit done is going to be a positive because it will lift some of the uncertainty that’s been hanging over the economy and investment in particular,” said Jessop at the Institute of Economic Affairs. “Having independence over trade policy and regulatory policy is a good thing.”

Bloomberg 

On rules and taxes.

In the Brexit agreement reached, UK has signed up to leveling playing field rules. If they try to undercut the EU they will find themselves up in court or the EU will start restricting what the UK can export into the EU.

On financial services and trade. Check this out

There will be some benefits to the financial service sector but they will be far outweighed by the downside

As for trade arrangements, yes their is some benefit in that the trade deal could be better tailored to suit the UK economy as opposed to the EU deal's that are general to benefit all economies. However the UK economy no longer has complete and easy access to the EU market which significantly weakens the UK's negotiating position, this will likely more than offset any advantage the UK gains from being outside the EU.

So far the trade deals its negotiated are roll overs of EU deals or inferior to them, the Japanese-UK trade deal was overwhelming in Japan's favor and what benefits Japan is giving to the UK in its trade agreement have to be given to the EU as well because in the EU-Japan trade deal there is a stipulation that any benefits of another trade agreement signed by either party has to be automatically given to the other party.

Finishing is a joke, as pointed out it only makes 0.12% of the UK economy. If you look at the figures and subtract where the UK losses access to EU water, the net gain in fishing catches to the UK is around 2-3% over 5 years. The expense of the additional paper work of selling these fish into the EU will mean over all for the UK fishing industry its a net loss for them.

Food and footwear.

Well if they sign up to a trade deal with America they can expect lower food standards as a result and its a big if that they can get a trade deal with America. The EU is also trying to secure a trade deal with the US and they are virtually equal to America in terms of economy so they will be able to get a much more balanced deal than the UK can achieve, the EU won't compromise food standards to achieve a deal. As the EU is the bigger market America would prefer to get a deal with them before the UK.

Might be some benefits in getting rid of tarrifs on certain food and products alright.

Domestic industry. Yes some local supply chains will need to be created as a supply chain from the EU will no longer be viable. However in some causes it simply won't be possible to set up local supply chains, due to lack of access to materials or workers skilled in the requirements. Overall its going be a net loss in jobs here as industry simply shut down because they can't obtain the supplies needed.

Red tape.

How da f*** is this a benefit of Brexit. Hurrah say the brexiteers we have created thousands of jobs in bureaucracy and huge demand for warehousing and the need for significant diversions for the haulage industry...only at the cost of £13 billion to the economy!

The last point, yeah sure its good that Brexit is done so companies now can plan to what to do in the future. But many companies have already left the UK or scaled back operations and they will continue to do so over the coming years. Yes the rate will reduce now that a trade deal is done but still its all a needlessly inflicted own goal.