[sambe]

Lots of people commenting to say "of course not, article is stupid". Ignoring the fact that the article doesn't really say it will, that view seems unnecessarily dismissive. At the very least, finance is massively important to London and many firms are considering their options. Of course, we don't know yet how that will play out.

Having recently moved back after 10 years, the country seems massively behind the times in most ways. Everything is slower and less efficient than in Europe; more bureaucratic, worse technology & infrastructure. Half the service at twice the price and takes three weeks to do anything. I don't feel farming subsidies are going to cut it going forward.

[Boothroid]

Depends on which part of Europe you are talking about. Europe is huge and diverse - kind of like the UK. Apart from your personal view, I doubt you can find the facts to back up your assertions. Example: France is famously mired in bureaucracy, with law that discourages scaling up a business beyond a certain size due to the tower of rules and regulations you have to comply with beyond that size. Another example: Crossrail, one of if not the largest infrastructure project in Europe just now, and it's in the UK.

Takes three weeks to do anything? BT are crap, granted, but Amazon Prime takes care of many things I need the next day, and apart from getting a mortgage banking is pretty swift these days. Healthcare? I call the doctor and get a triage callback the same day, and often an appointment the same day, with nothing paid. I remember telling colleagues in the Netherlands that we paid nothing, which punctured their idea of superiority a little given their compulsory health insurance charges, plus extra per visit costs.

You're not the only one that's lived abroad.

[sambe]

The places I've lived. Not just BT; literally every company I've dealt with since getting back has been somehow ragingly incompetent. How about a welcome letter with account number asking you to sign up online, followed by support call saying that won't actually work because it takes 10 business days to move your details from one computer to another?

The Netherlands is one such country: not perfect but vastly better - definitely including the health service. You certainly don't pay nothing for the NHS.