The International Schools Review Forum

Dave, I smile when you reveal how little you know about education, but your comments about UK politics make me shudder. Please don't embarrass yourself. Change the topic. Give us a monologue on how to become certified in Chad.

@Ifyousayso

Couldnt forget the Welsh they gave the world "The Valleys", loved that show. No it isnt, Westminster the seat of the UK is like saying the Crown is the head of state of Australia and Canada. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have there own parliament, MPs, and PMs. Those governmental bodies are the government.

No they wont, Scotland will declare independence, and likely so will northern Ireland, and they will stay in the EU.
If they leave, and its highly likely that at least Scotland will, it will be a two year process, about as long as England is allowed to exit the EU. It will take an afternoon, thats how long it will take Scotland to create the legislation. There will be a lot of work and discussion over assets and liabilities but the process of separation will be very quick.

Brexit potentially put the mockers on my family's longterm plans. We planned to relocate to the EU/EEA in the mid-term future for my pension run and for better prospects for our kids. Post-Brexit England doesn't seem to be a place we want to return to. I don't want to have to give up British citizenship to live and work in the EU but I'll take Scottish citizenship if necessary to keep the option of living and working in the EU/EEA. Just when, after years of mulling, we finally had a family plan, Brexit ballsed it up.

@Nomad68

GB hasnt actually pushed the article 50 button yet from my understanding, and as of now there is no Brexit?

Aye, you are right there but Cameron the dozy pillock, settled what is essentially, a matter of internal . discipline by an ill-conceived referendum. Instead of having the wit to require a two-thirds majority he called the referendum on a simple majority. The wild-eyed populists can now frame the hairsbreadth decision to leave as the "will of the people". The only reason we haven't formally and irrevocably invoked article 50 is that the government was challenged on their attempt to subvert parliamentary sovereignty and repeal the domestic UK legislation enacting our membership of the EU without parliamentary oversight. Once the House of Lords/Supreme Court rules that invoking article 50 needs parliamentary scrutiny, parliament will most likely, enact article 50 and the whole sorry story will continue.

Why should they need a 2/3rds majority? Because the side you wanted to win lost?

Get over it. Brexit was the will of the people.

Personally I'm loving it. The fall in the pound has made all Brits working overseas effectively have a 15% payrise if they need to pay bills back home.

@Amusing User Name

The people may have expressed their will, but the government doesnt seem particularly motivated to execute the will of the people. They appear quite content to mull it over in committee over a spot of tea, and then pass it on to another political body, more like a game of hot potato "we dont want to do it, let someone else push the button". Cameron specifically resigned because he specifically wasnt the guy who wanted to be known for enacting Brexit, and the new PM May specifically came to office on a platform of "we are doing Brexit", and yet here we are X months later and theres no Brexit. GB doesnt want to Brexit until they have their trade deals negotiated since negotiating them while part of the EU is to GBs advantage, and none of the EU partner states want to negotiate until GB is out, because that gives them a better negotiating position. Article 50 could take 50 years if ever, someone could come along in a century and dust off that Brexit referendum, shrug, and move it to the bottom of the stack for another century.

@Joe30. I, wanted Britain to remain in the EU, for several reasons not least of which being that to have Britain punching above its weight on the world stage, is on balance a good thing. The reason I wanted a 2/3 majority requirement is that unpicking an agreement as momentous as membership of the EU is not a decision that should be entered into on the back of populism, deliberate misinformation, and xenophobia. There is a reason that the US requires a 2/3s majority to amend the constitution. The depreciation in the fall in the value of the pound aids me personally too. I think you may want to dial back the cynicism, this kind of drawbridge up populism doesn't bode well for any1

@ "Amusing User Name"

A simpler problem nowadays is that many do not have the ability to accept defeat. When you lose, instead of name-calling, maybe some self-reflection could be useful. It is entirely sensible for citizens around the world to want a society whereby they can go about their business without the threat of being beheaded, having their bus blown up or being run down by a truck. I find it incredible in light of recent events that despite these weekly atrocities, many still direct their scorn, not on the terrorists, but the evil populists who have the audacity to cast a peaceful vote for a safer society.

@PsyGuy

Perhaps my post should have begun, The prospect of Brexit... given that the break hasn't occurred yet.
Regardless, if the UK does break from the EU (especially as a so-called 'hard' Brexit), moving into the EU/EEA area as a UK passport holder (with non-EU family member(s)) is likely to become very difficult. I am currently in the ME, expecting to be here for the next 5 years, but was hoping to transition to WE/NE after that.

Returning to live/work in the UK for us would be already difficult given the scarcity of jobs and low salaries (for a school LMS the positions where available are often poorly paid and term-time only). With a non-EU spouse I face the added difficulty of meeting the new family requirements and face a potentially lengthy family split during the visa process. A move to the EU/EEA seemed to offer the best opportunity for us - other options being to either stay in the ME to retirement (ghastly) or move to Asia.

Although sympathetic to many of the concerns of the Brexiters, I think Brexit (especially a hard Brexit) is an ill-advised move. Hopefully it will either drag on for years or clearer heads will prevail once the full implications are known.

@AUN

I couldn't care less about the people of Britain despite growing up there. All they've ever brought me is misery so if all the doom and gloom of the remoaners come to pass - then good, let them suffer.

My salary for next year will now be worth 15% more, and the slowed economic growth should hopefully put a lid on the totally ridiculous house prices in the UK. And as far as the ivory tower millionaires in London who work in the investment banks are concerned- if you want to relocate to Frankfurt, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Good riddance. And that does for anyone who doesn't like it - feel free to take all the so-called economic value you bring and leave.

The status quo in Britain brings nothing but hardship to ordinary people. Something had to change. Whether this is the right 'something' remains to be seen but the widening gap between rich and poor and ordinary houses costing $1M in the South just cannot be allowed to last. The people have spoken, it was a clear majority, end of story.

Well said @joe30, especially the part about the "economic value" the wealthy claim they bring.

It would appear that Brexit is moving forward, HM gave her accent to the bills to withdraw from the EU and the PM has indicated she will enact that process at the end of the month (March).

HM gave her accent to the bills to withdraw from the EU...
Ah Dave...you do start my day well. Did she do this in a foreign accent?

@Walter

HM provided her assent by written decree, there wasnt a verbal component to have had an accent.