Wasn't sure if it was best to necro an old brexit thread or start a new one, but it's kind of a big development, so let's start fresh.
Brexit: Chancellor Philip Hammond announces Britain will quit EU single marketAt least on the plus side they've dropped their asinine "have our cake and eat it" approach, which was clearly never going to fly. If it has to happen, I suppose it's better being realistic about it, even if it means the Tories have to
breach yet another one of 2015 manifesto pledges. I'm still not convinced the average person in the UK will see an improvement in their standards of living as a result. Particularly considering it has the potential to make things worse in that regard.
People seem to naturally assume that all of Europe's regulations are bad for the average person. But, if anything, this will result in the type of deregulation that mainly benefits big business and makes things worse for the average person. Expect corners to be drastically cut on things like consumer protections, employment rights and even your civil and human rights. Plus they've already admitted that immigration won't see much, if any, reduction if that's something you care about. Plus we'll probably end up with TTIP, or something even worse, when we start getting desperate the clinch a trade deal with anyone who will listen.
It's still not entirely clear what's happening with the Pound Sterling. Some news agencies claim it's "surging" after this announcement, while others are pointing out this is only after it has "slumped" at a fresh 31-year-low against the dollar, excluding last October’s flash crash. It's either great or terrible depending on which source you decide to trust.
