I've been in a whirlwind of end-of-year and holiday preparation. And we don't even have that much to do, all things considered. I'm not exchanging presents with most of my relatives -- just my nieces -- and even Dave and I aren't giving each other much, if anything. We're focused mainly on our Florida trip. I think just getting ourselves on a plane and across the ocean is holiday enough!
I waffled on our end-of-year charity donations, but as in years past I eventually decided to go ahead and give to the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Planned Parenthood. So that's done.
I also renewed my membership to the Royal Photographic Society, though to be completely honest I'm not sure why. I never have the time to participate in any of their events. I suppose I feel like I should support them, given the tough economic climate in Britain.
A senior official at the Bank of England recently said that Brexit had "permanently damaged" the UK economy. Apparently the value of stocks traded in London has now been eclipsed by Paris, meaning we're no longer the center of European finance.
And now comes news that the National Health Service is suffering, because about 4,300 European doctors who would normally have come to Britain to work are staying home or going elsewhere. (The NHS in England alone is short more than 10,000 doctors.)
There's even a term for this slow realization that Brexit has been a disaster -- "Bregret." A recent poll showed that only 32 percent of respondents thought leaving the EU was a good idea. Brexit has also added extra fuel to a campaign by some of Scotland's leaders for a new independence vote, though that's been stymied by recent court rulings.
I really think if we had the Brexit referendum now the results would be different. There have been enough demographic changes since 2016 -- older voters dying, younger ones joining the rolls -- that the tide might have turned. I know at least one older Brexit voter who's no longer with us, and I suspect his wife wouldn't have voted for Brexit if he hadn't pushed for it.
A huge part of the pro-Brexit momentum in 2016 came from a fear of illegal immigration, and as we're seeing, leaving the EU did nothing to stem the tide of immigrants and asylum seekers crossing the channel in small boats to get to the UK. According to the government, 28,526 people arrived on small boats in 2021. (And those are only the ones we know about.) In 2019, the number was 1,843. Illegal immigration has exploded.
So, yeah, that's where we are. Facing a whole lot of Bregret.
Great choices for charitable giving. Bregret is a perfect name and that meme is excellent. Plenty of unhappy expats here. Two English acquaintances, who are usually here a few times a year, voted for Brexit. Now, they’re complaining about how much more complicated Spain has made everything. But Brexit was needed because “they” were going to make “us” sell only unbent bananas. Not easy to listen to them.
ReplyDeleteBrexit was and is the most ridiculous example of self-harm seen in Britain's modern history. The 32% who claimed that leaving the EU was good for us need to remove their rose-tinted spectacles before having their heads examined. If you add together the 48.1% who voted Remain and the 28% who did not vote at all, we were by far in the majority. The vote to Leave was hardly overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteI initially read your headline as beget and thought you may have had some special news for us, which I thought is rather unlikely at your age.
ReplyDeleteI blame the EU. There was much it could have done to ameliorate the issues Britain had with being in the EU before it got to the stage where the British people voted to leave. What a disaster! Perhaps with inadequate knowledge, the French.
The nose was bitten off to spite the face for sure and certain in this case.
ReplyDeleteIt seems you can't stop people from making stupid mistakes, case in point, trump. And here at home, Danielle Smith.
ReplyDeleteMy family has had a Christmas present truce for many years. If anything, we generally just give food preserves to each other. It certainly makes Christmas shopping much easier.
ReplyDeleteI'm a pretty optimistic guy but I'm not optimistic that if Brexit were held again the results would be different. As here in America, there would be a vocal minority standing on their chairs shouting false statements and whipping up hysteria making it much closer than it would have been otherwise.
I have always enjoyed Christmas season from afar. Having never celebrated makes life so much easier.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Brexit story is so crazy. I never understood why it happened in the first place.
There continues to be suspicion of Russian interference in the brexit vote, given how close it was. Boris, recipient of a lot of Russian funding, choked it off. It was originally supposed only to be a recommendation, remanded to Parliament for debate, but ended up being taken as a decision. Lunacy.
ReplyDeleteBrits have always been suspicious of immigrants, probably since before 1066. You'd think they'd have adjusted by now.
I grew up there and remember the fury about people who escaped from Iron curtain countries in the late forties (!) "taking all our jobs!"
The unicorn/donkey is excellent.
ReplyDeleteBoud's comment reminds me of the US. People will scream about immigrants taking our jobs in the very same breath that they complain that Americans are too lazy to work because their McDonalds can't find people willing to work hard for little money.
It didn't take long for the effects of Brexit to kick in. Your shortage of doctors is pretty scary. I hadn't heard that one. Immigration is only going to get worse as our planet warms and oceans rise. That's another situation that our leaders haven't properly addressed. We appear to be living in the era of stupidity.
ReplyDeleteI always wish I could donate to more needy organizations. I use to always help Heifer International, but tend to focus on local charities more now.
ReplyDeleteI think the trip to FL is a good present for you and Dave to give each other! Be sure to bring Olga back a little something. 😉
You chose great charities! I've given to those too.
ReplyDeleteBregret seems to be true.
ReplyDeleteAs I frequently say, repeating myself, it does seem like the wheels have come off the entire planet. Stupidity runs rampant.
ReplyDeleteFor the life of me I will never understand the drive for England to leave the EU. To be sure there are a large number of regulations that EU member nations must follow. But there was no way that England was going to survive economically as a standalone country. It simply was not going to happen. The loss of doctors alone is terrifying, and the continuing loss of business and financial sectors does not bode well for the future. Brexit will go down as one of the worst decisions in the history of England.
ReplyDeleteAnd just under ten times that number arrived with the "correct" papers...they don't say much about that!
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought things here were tight with doctors - The UK is in tough shape.
ReplyDeleteI thanked my dermatologist today just for being there. It took months to find a new primary care for my husband, and he still hasn't actually seen him, outside of a Zoom call. He reminds me of the Great and Powerful Oz.
I'm no political or economic expert, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how Brexit could be beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting pretty excited about your Florida trip. Now that we live near our families our Christmas road trips are a thing of the past. I'll have to live vicariously through you & Dave :)
Is it possible to rejoin the EU?
ReplyDeleteI think holiday gift giving is totally out of control. How much is really genuine and how much is feeling obligated? We stopped giving holiday gifts long ago. Didn't have the money or the time. And it freed people from having to buy us presents. We just told the kids and grandkids after they reached a certain age that they had aged out of gift giving. I prefer giving a gift spontaneously when I see something I think the person would like and have the funds available.
All the right-wing stuff across the world is mind-boggling at best and terrifying at worst.
ReplyDeleteYP: I suspect that 32 percent are simply standing by their decision out of stubbornness rather than clear-eyed evaluation. Brexit should never have been put to a referendum. It was too harmful a decision to entrust to voters who didn't understand all the issues and ramifications.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: "Beget" -- there's a word I haven't heard since Sunday School! I don't blame the EU at all. Why should Britain be treated differently than any other member state?
Ms Moon: Absolutely. It was a case of self-destructive nationalism if ever there was one.
Pixie: Oh, now I have to look up Danielle Smith!
Ed: There will always be people who defy all reason to push their cause, but I think it would be like Trump's defeat in 2020. I think enough people would cross over, having realized their first vote was a mistake.
Robin: You are so fortunate you don't have to engage in all this holiday craziness!
Boud: I wouldn't doubt the Russian interference. Britain (particularly England) has a lot wrapped up in its identity as an "island nation." They believe that sets them apart, but of course in today's globalized world being an island means nothing.
Debby: Yeah, who can blame people for not wanting crap jobs at terrible pay? If these companies want to hire people they have to pay living wages!
Sharon: Ironically, Brexit was supposed to BENEFIT the NHS. That's how it was sold to the British public. It's done nothing but harm it.
Kelly: I did Heifer International for a couple of years. I bought cows and pigs for people. But now supposedly livestock is harmful to the planet, so we can't win!
Margaret: They seem to embody my concerns most closely.
Bob: Definitely. I wish my Brexit-voting friend was still alive because I'd love to hear what he thinks about how it's all turned out. I suspect a lot of Brexit voters would blame the government for executing it poorly, but it doesn't seem to me they had much choice.
Allison: It does seem that way sometimes. I think this populist disdain for education and good information means that stupidity is literally winning!
Jim: I couldn't agree more. Older Britons, in particular, seemed to chafe at the idea that they had to answer to policies backed by Germany in the European Parliament. They saw it as capitulation to a onetime enemy. It's all very archaic thinking.
GZ: I didn't know that myself!
Marty: Yeah, I've heard there are doctor shortages in parts of the USA, too.
Bug: It was supposed to free us from all those annoying rules about the shape of bananas and stuff like that. Instead it isolated our markets and left us out in the cold.
Ellen: The consensus seems to be no, though I'm not sure why. As for gift-giving, I think a lot of it is definitely out of obligation. People just don't need more stuff.
Elizabeth: It is, but I hope the pendulum is swinging back a bit. Between the effects of Brexit and the Jan. 6 riot in the USA, I think more centrist people have seen how damaging populism can be.
"Why should Britain be treated differently than any other member state?" Because it is a practical thing to do. Surely the EU doesn't have one rule for every country in the EU without taking local conditions and concerns into account.
ReplyDeleteI haven't talked with Jenny much lately about the Brexit fall, though we do talk economy and such, but she had mentioned the National Health issues before. But I didn't realize the reason and how that connected. Yikes. Looks like a rough winter to come, too. I'm cutting down on Christmas, too. Not going overboard anywhere. It's just tough enough this year as it is.
ReplyDeleteWow I did not really understand the Brexit movement and still really don't, but I have read of the issues. Covid didn't help anything either and change is never easy for anyone or any country, but I bet that a lot of people are regretting it. If it is all to do over again, I am sure that your correct in saying that the vote would have been different.
ReplyDeleteSo sad for so many. My hope that things get better sooner rather than later because Brexit sounds more and more like a huge mistake.