[gibba999]

Even without the crisis, what upside does the UK have over the EU proper?

I feel like the UK was competitive when it was competing with European countries. Competing with countries in the EU? I just have no idea why anyone would invest in businesses there. It just feels like an inferior option, unless labor costs fall like a rock.

I think over time, the deals the UK gets will get worse and worse, not just on investment, but on everything.

It doesn't help that China still thinks of opium wars when the UK comes up, India things of the British Empire, and much of the rest of the world feels the same way. The UK was always respected, but never loved. If that respect goes away...