[nanna]

Honestly what we need in the UK is a Back to the EU campaign that formulates a long term strategy for returning. In two decades England's Baby Boomer generation will no longer hold the reigns of power in the country (please God) and those in charge will have come from a generation that overwhelmingly voted Remain.

[nickd2001]

Why would the EU ever want us back? Really? By the time England's population becomes strongly in favour of rejoining, our economy will have been fairly trashed, we won't be a significant player, the EU will have done just fine without us for ages, why would they ever let a former member that caused a bunch of trouble, back in? What's in it for them? Also I'm not convinced England's population ever will be in strong favour of rejoining, with the deluge of anti-EU propaganda we're exposed to, that everything that's going wrong in this country is someone else's fault. I'd love to be proved wrong of course....

[nanna]

Twenty years is a long time, the way things will pan out is an open game.

I think more realistic than a trashed economy will be a hyper-neoliberal free market economy with even huger discrepancies between the rich few and the vast majority of poor, with GM crops, terrible workers rights, masses of migrant workers without access to the welfare state, meaningless digital rights, housing and offices in London owned by the world's rich who extract rent from those who live here, and so on. A sorry situation from the perspective of EU rights, but not necessarily a catastrophe from a hardcore-neoliberal perspective.

I'd bet on the UK becoming a low-punching competitor to EU economies, and one they'd perhaps be keen to have on their side.

The question is how we in the UK are transformed by the whole affair.

[nickd2001]

Sadly all you list sounds very plausible. Maybe in addition to a trashed economy!

[pjc50]

> Why would the EU ever want us back?

It solves a lot of problems for Ireland, assuming Northern Ireland hasn't rejoined the Republic first.

[nickd2001]

My guess would be, a fair chance NI will join with the Republic. That'd solve a lot of problems really, wouldn't it? Perhaps a permanently more peaceful Ireland may result from Brexit, while a less peaceful Britain....

[akmarinov]

Hey, the EU is talking with Albania and North Macedonia at the moment and even with a thousand Brexits, the UK won't get down to their level.

Point being - every bit helps!

[secondcoming]

$$$ and fish.

[volta83]

Step 0: start driving on the right side of the road

Step 1: adopt the euro

Step 2: improve education for all ages and groups about misinformation, propaganda, etc. to reduce the chances of a bus driving around london from making you change your minds again in 4 years

Step 3: apply to enter as an equal into the EU, instead of trying to cut some half assed deal for half the rights and half the benefits

[boyband6666]

Step -1: Metric. Everywhere - no more miles!

[dboreham]

The horror. It'd be like....Canada.

[rebolek]

I have no problem with Canada joining EU.

[mrlonglong]

That's got my vote for sure

[nivenkos]

The EU has a lot of downsides too though (e.g. the link tax, video age verification laws, mandatory high sales tax, mass immigration).

The UK should try to push to become a high-skilled, high-wage society like Norway and California.

[refurb]

Not sure why you’d assume that those who voted “remain” don’t change their thinking by then.

As other have mentioned the status quo is now something entirely different and “remain” won’t mean much in a decade.

[nanna]

> Not sure why you’d assume that those who voted “remain” don’t change their thinking by then.

Didn't assume that. All I said was that 'those in charge will have come from a generation that overwhelmingly voted Remain', which will be true regardless. The kind of strategic thinking needed would be how to maintain their sentiments towards the EU.

It's also of note that this generation is overwhelmingly progressive in their politics, is being denied radical action on climate change, denied the ability to buy a house, laden with university debt, and so on. The conditions are ripe for a generation who wants radical social change, and maybe rejoining the EU will be part of that.

[refurb]

Every generation is “overwhelmingly progressive” in it’s youth. But move to be more conservative when they age.

Look at the US in the 1960’s. Those same hippies and radicals own $1M plus homes in CA and oppose any change to zoning laws that might let undesirable live near them.

[Zenst]

Worth noting that the generation that was the majority of leave voters were the children of the voters that joined the EU in the first place.

So I'd not count that children vote with any certainty, let alone use the "think of the children" logic given how that actually panned out.

But if the UK was to rejoin - I'd expect it will be with a clear majority who will embrace the EU beyond seeing it as easy holidays to Spain and day trips to France for cheap booze and fags - As that is how the majority treated it.

[tonyedgecombe]

I can't see it happening but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a Norway type deal (which was promised by many of the Brexiteers).

[akmarinov]

But that'll enable EU people to go live and work in the UK with no restrictions, that's way worse than what the UK had before.

[tonyedgecombe]

>that's way worse than what the UK had before

But better than what we have now.

[zz865]

You make it sound as if the EU will want the UK back.

[akmarinov]

It will, no questions asked. But at standard rules for joining - no rebates, adopting the Euro, etc

[blibble]

in ten years the drama will have settled down and the new status quo will have bedded in and the "fight" for the EU will be a distant memory