31-03-2017, 06:13 PM
1
Brexit divorce bill
There is bound to be a financial liability as we leave the EU and many figures are being bandied around, the most common one being around £50 billion but is that so bad? As an individual I would fully expect to honour any commitments made to others during a business relationship so I would expect no less of us as a country.No doubt though, there will be credits as well as debits to our account, but if it does end up around the £50 billion, equivalent to just three year's membership fees, isn't that a price worth paying to grease the wheels of our departure and indicate goodwill to our neighbours and bolster our future trading relationship?
After all, who would want to trade with someone who breaks their word and reneges on their bills, I certainly wouldn't.
31-03-2017, 06:59 PM
4
Re: Brexit divorce bill
Isn't the UK's annual net contribution more like 9 bn?So in other words more like 7 years worth?
Any divorce can get messy and this looks like the other 27 countries are out to shaft us .. and make an example of us to deter any other members who think of leaving.
Nor am I sure May is up to it. I don't think she has the mettle. She's not tough enough.
Short of telling the EU to take a hike and do their worst... if push comes to shove I'd suspend the foreign aid budget for the next 5 to 10 years (apart from natural disasters aid like earthquakes). That'd bring in 60 to 120 bn.
Which we will need to buffer the transition period... re-establish our place in the world and inject some much needed cash into our currently ailing NHS and Welfare services, and industrial base.
31-03-2017, 07:12 PM
5
Re: Brexit divorce bill
Originally Posted by Morticia
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Isn't the UK's annual net contribution more like 9 bn?So in other words more like 7 years worth?
Any divorce can get messy and this looks like the other 27 countries are out to shaft us .. and make an example of us to deter any other members who think of leaving.
Nor am I sure May is up to it. I don't think she has the mettle. She's not tough enough.
Short of telling the EU to take a hike and do their worst... if push comes to shove I'd suspend the foreign aid budget for the next 5 to 10 years (apart from natural disasters aid like earthquakes). That'd bring in 60 to 120 bn.
Which we will need to buffer the transition period... re-establish our place in the world and inject some much needed cash into our currently ailing NHS and Welfare services, and industrial base.
P.S. I doubt there's anybody other than politicians who couldn't put the foreign aid budget to much better use, but then again the Bank of England created over £350 billion in quantitive easing after the 2008 crash, so what's another 50 between friends...
31-03-2017, 08:06 PM
7
Re: Brexit divorce bill
Originally Posted by AnnieS
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That's nearly half the cost of running the NHS for a year. Prepare for more austerity 
We also knew it was not going to be easy and that it would hurt for a while.
More tax is the answer, not more austerity.
31-03-2017, 09:09 PM
9
Re: Brexit divorce bill
HiWell we can't claim back roads etc, but we can and should claim back our share of the EU's own buildings etc.
We also own a big slice of the European Bank and it's loan book.
That should come back to us as well.
It would appear that before we had the referendum we signed up to finance some major expenditure up to 2020.
It will be interesting to find out exactly what we did agree to pay.
31-03-2017, 09:31 PM
10
Re: Brexit divorce bill
Originally Posted by Julie1962
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But what about the infrastructure we've paid in for ? No one seems to be making any allowance for that !
The assets have been mentioned and none of this is legally enforceable, but it's a negotiation stance being taken by the EU. So the bill may well come down, but then our demands have to come down with it. Of course the longer trading uncertainty lasts the more money we lose from lost revenues.
So it's in Britain's interest not to draw out such matters. You have to look at the other costs as a result from arguing about it. Not just reputation, but each grain of sand through that hourglass = more companies leaving here. They are talking of gaming companies leaving because they need access to easily available talent and they plan to relocate to where there is free movement.
I read a report today that the most likely outcome will be that we will get something like Norway. But a colleague thought we will be lucky to get that.
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