Hard Brexit: what consequences?

Started by TheFrighter, Fri 30/08/2019 20:58:00

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TheFrighter


As probably you already know the premier Boris Johnson is determinate to take UK out of the European Community not later than October 31, ready or not.

This "hard brexit" will certainly have political and economic effects, perhaps positive or maybe not.

And as regards what interests us most: what consequences for the videogame industry?

_

ManicMatt

As much as I love video games, I haven't given a single thought as to it being affected by brexit, there's far more important issues to be concerned about.

LimpingFish

#2
Quote from: ManicMatt on Fri 30/08/2019 22:58:18
...there's far more important issues to be concerned about.

Tell that to someone who works in the industry. Or someone whose business relies on free movement of goods across Europe. No one facet of Brexit is more important than another.

Brexit will effect everything, and not just for the UK. For instance, the latest Tory government doesn't give two brass fuckwads about the Northern Ireland situation, about the havoc Brexit will cause in our agricultural industries, about the reintroduction of bullshit borders and travel limitations. In fact, I don't think they give a toss about anything (including there own country), except sticking it to the "frogs" and the "krauts".

The British people are in for quite a shock, when they realize that, in their desire to rid themselves of the "fuzzy wuzzies" and the "muslim menace" (and let's be honest here, that is the number one reason Brexit passed in the first place), they've inadvertently flushed there own future down the toilet. Which is why opposition parties (and certain Tories) are so adamant in stopping a hard Brexit (or any Brexit, for that matter) from happening. They can see the huge, screaming mess on the horizon. Boris and his chums can see it it too, but they don't give a fuck.

For countries with close ties to Britain, if a hard Brexit does come to pass, their best option is to cut all ties, circle the wagons, and hope the current from Britain sinking into it's own shite doesn't drag them down too.

tldr: You are doomed.
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Jack

Why does it have to be a hard brexit? It seems to me that those politicians who wanted no brexit have done their best to make the exit as difficult as possible, hoping that the people will decide to stay in the EU after all.

Is there a "nice brexit" option? Or is it just hard brexit or no brexit?

Stupot

#4
I just can't get my tiny little head around the fact that the referendum was held in the first place, or at the very least it should have been made plainly clear in massive text on the polling card itself and on signs in the polling station that “THIS REFERENDUM IS ADVISORY ONLY AND IF YOU EVER SAY “WE WON” AFTER THIS DAY YOU ARE A MASSIVE BELL-END”

To add something relevant to the first post, I'm actually not completely opposed to the idea of pulling away from the EU, if that's what enough people want. Personally, I wanted The UK to remain in Europe, but if a good deal can be reached where we keep some trading ties and an element of free movement and it's all done amicably by grown-ups, without shitting all over the Good Friday Agreement, then I'm open to seeing how it might go.

But pulling out without a deal seems like nothing anyone would want. I can't fathom why so many people do actually seem to want a no deal Brexit. I mean what are their arguments?

Cassiebsg

Just to assure you Stupot... The UK will remain in Europe, unless some evil villain comes along and drags the island to the other side of the planet.  ;)  (laugh)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Ben X

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sat 31/08/2019 12:50:56
Just to assure you Stupot... The UK will remain in Europe, unless some evil villain comes along and drags the island to the other side of the planet.  ;)  (laugh)

To quote Wikipedia, "although the term 'continent' implies physical geography, the land border is somewhat arbitrary and has been redefined several times since its first conception in classical antiquity."

Apparently, Malta was considered an island of North Africa for centuries.

So it wouldn't require any donkey-wheel turning for our island to leave Europe, just some redefinition. I assume Stupot did in fact mean leaving the EU, not Europe, but honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if the next thing our idiot prime minister pushes for is to be declared our own continent.

milkanannan

Quote from: Stupot on Sat 31/08/2019 02:06:02
I just can't get my tiny little head around the fact that the referendum was held in the first place

Yeah the whole thing came on so quick. Was a referendum really the way to handle it? I mean, aren't governments elected into office to make decisions like this for the country so that it doesn't become an emotion-driven thing? I know there's no way a re-vote could happen, but you got to wonder whether the public would go the same way.

Mandle

I think the referendum was held by a confident government to make the point that everyone should just shut up about leaving the EU because obviously that's not gonna hap...

"OHHHH CRAP!!!"

milkanannan


ManicMatt

Ironically despite Limping disagreeing with me, nobody has mentioned the games industry for brexit that was the point of the thread.

And if things get really bad to the point of certain food shortages, then everything affected by brexit isn't going to be equally bad.

milkanannan

This thread will be helpful in the coming weeks to hash out what's going on.

Stupot

Just in case anyone thinks I'm an idiot for calling the EU Europe, well I am an idiot but not for that reason. “Europe” is often used to mean “The European Union”.


Crimson Wizard

Quote from: Stupot on Sun 01/09/2019 01:01:28“Europe” is often used to mean “The European Union”.

guess as "America" is used to mean "USA" :P

Ali

Quote from: Jack on Sat 31/08/2019 00:01:21
Why does it have to be a hard brexit? It seems to me that those politicians who wanted no brexit have done their best to make the exit as difficult as possible, hoping that the people will decide to stay in the EU after all.

Is there a "nice brexit" option? Or is it just hard brexit or no brexit?

Amazingly, and without precedent, Jack is utterly wrong and misinformed. Several deals were proposed and rejected. They were rejected not because a deal was impossible, but because both Leavers and Remainers in parliament were unprepared to accept the compromise the deals represented.

LimpingFish

#15
Quote from: ManicMatt on Sat 31/08/2019 18:51:45
Ironically despite Limping disagreeing with me, nobody has mentioned the games industry for brexit that was the point of the thread.

Well, to be more on topic, there are a number of ways the games industry can be effected. Europeans who work in UK-based studios, for instance, would suddenly find themselves outside the EU. Their ability to freely travel to, live in, and work in the UK would be gone. Video game retailers, who rely on the free movement of goods across Europe would have to find new avenues of import. Not to mention the possibility of newly introduced taxes on video games and consoles, impacting both consumers and retailers. Hell, selling a game on Steam will get more complicated, as blanket rules covering the EU will no longer apply to the UK.

But my point about no one aspect being worse than any other was in relation to this argument being applicable to any industry*, be it vital ones such as food or medical supplies, or peripheral ones such as fashion or technology. People will lose jobs, consumers will suffer, and nobody will gain anything.

Quote from: Ali on Sun 01/09/2019 01:23:16
They were rejected not because a deal was impossible, but because both Leavers and Remainers in parliament were unprepared to accept the compromise the deals represented.

This is true. A deal was worked out months ago, and put before parliament by former PM Theresa May (who, I'd also like to point out, took a lot of shit - unfairly, in my opinion - from within her own party), but it failed to pass on multiple occasions.

And this is where my anger over Brexit stems. I scream it at the TV every time Boris and his chums talk about reopening negotiations or the possibility of a "better" deal. The is no better deal! There will be no more negotiations! You are not going to get a better deal upon leaving the EU then you had when you were in it. It's madness to think otherwise. You are not going to come out on top in this, deal or no deal. If leaving the EU resulted in things getting better (or even staying comparably the same), every country would be doing it! Get. Fucking. Real.

To put in in plain language: You're in a union. You like the benefits this brings, but you don't like paying your dues. So you stop paying your dues. Your benefits go away. You are confused. "Can't I keep my benefits, despite not paying my dues?" you ask. "No", says the Union. "But..." "No." "But..." Repeat, ad nauseam.

You can argue the "pros" of leaving the EU, until the cows come home, but if the Tories, and, by extension, the people who put them in office, are willing to sacrifice, among other things, the Good Friday Agreement, because Europe might take away their right to boil a kettle, then...to hell with them. Let them march headlong into the depths of recession, into sweeping unemployment, and other "freedoms".

But, hey, at least that black guy who lives next door will be gone.

...

Oh, wait...


*For instance, my local comic shop can no longer process stock through Diamond UK (supplier of most, if not all, comic shops in the UK), and instead has to go through Diamond US, which brings a 20% hike in costs. Which means less incoming stock, which leads to less profits for publishers, which mean less jobs, etc.
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ManicMatt

Boy are we screwed.

I can only apologise for voting to leave. I was on the fence the entire time. I had to make a choice, but despite trying to research it, I still didn't fully grasp everything. I also feel misled. I didn't know they wouldn't have a clue how to deal with this. They seemed so confident.

Ben X

My mum is a smart person, and she was duped into voting Leave too. She feels awful about it now. They tricked a lot of people. They lied, cheated, broke laws, and they still only managed a 52% result in a non-binding referendum, yet here we are.

But yeah, LimpingFish sums it up well. The UK games industry will be affected in the ways that the entirety of UK industry will be. Furthermore, there may be grants and funds for the arts coming from Europe that are lost - I know some people whose place of work have had to shut down certain projects because of this already.

ManicMatt

Yeah I agree with you both.

Thanks Ben, it's nice to hear that other people regret it too and feel duped. I do wonder just how many people wish they had voted to remain.

Another awful thing is when I hear people calling all brexit voters racist, and doubtless there would likely have been a number of racist people who voted to leave, but they are wrong to assume everyone is.



Ali

I think it would be wrong and unconstructive to say that all Brexit voters are racist*, but I think some people would prefer our analysis of Brexit to leave out the question of race altogether. Which would be a bigger mistake, because it's obvious that Islamophobia and other forms of racism were significant factors.

I think it's fair to acknowledge that the people who voted to leave did so in the knowledge that they were voting with racist right-wing nationalists? Or were people so misinformed that they just didn't know?

(*Or indeed, that Remainers aren't racist.)

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