Since I have A PILE OF WORK to do, take this as a standing reply: There is a pro-EU contingent in the UK for whom anything other than "REJOIN NOW" is unpalatable. As I've said many times, it is an honourable position and useful, as it opens up the debate. It's the strategy that delivered Brexit. 1/
End the imperialist UK first. Establish a British Confederation and statehood for each of the British nations. All founded with written constitutions incorporating universal human rights. Then the EU might consider us as grown ups and ready to return.
There's also an equally understandable grassroots contingent in the EU that says "NOT ON YOUR NELLY, YOU EXCEPTIONALIST TWATS". Again, as an EU migrant that never got a vote in this but is suffering the consequences, I feel much affinity to it. BUT There are bigger threats we face in common. 2/
I think there is a small group of people on here, claiming to be "pro EU" or "European" that cherry pick comments or sentences from others to frame that argument & punch down Alex. "Something, something..exceptionalist twats." It's a form of bullying and not an EU or European view widely shared.
McSweeneys Place is Labours Tufton Street and deserves major critique not pimlicat.bsky.social or BfB. bylinetimes.com/2025/06/17/l...
what's curious about those who seek out those "exceptionalist twats" is some of them actually supported "getting more within labours red lines" recently. Which is no different to rejoiners who want more, like a special 90/180 waiver, before re-joining the SM or other.
We should try to bridge the gap, instead of picking on each other. Constantly arguing with folks on the same side effectively, (not just on EU-UK relations, but SO many issues) who agree on direction and destination, but suggest a different route or pace, while ACTUAL FASCISM is rising, is daft. 3/3
Omg yes Alex x
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There don't seem to be any Brexiters on Bluesky so who else are you going to argue with 🤷♂️😉
Thank you for your attention on this matter, as the toxic wotsit would say. Now, back to Medusa.
Don't forget to take a shiny shield!
I hope your Medusa storytellings weave & ponder the stone hearts of men standing like pillars on the battlefield frozen in their positions! (In relation to those you refer to & those of myth 😉)
No, Ohi...'Thank you for your attention on this matter' μια χαρα Medusa... pró̱ti̱s táxi̱s
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Looking forward to Medusa! And had you thought of an episode on Penelope? (If you already did and I missed it , shame on me!)
It is slated for next season.
This is what turned up. Still trying to fathom what she's telling me #Penelope? This place is a place of unweaving Spider spun and autumnal; End of days The hero will not be returning any time soon
Brilliant. She's much more fun (?) than Odysseus, forever labouring to overprove his geezerishness. She turned up for me this week unannounced in a poem which prompted me asking...
Appreciate you Alex Me dusa a lot of work too but nothing near the amount you dusa on @alexpodyssey.bsky.social and @quietriotpod.bsky.social and whatnot!
If these two groups could meet half-way, that would go a long way 🤔
That closing remark sounds like the punchline to a Bernard Manning joke. :D
I hope, for all our sakes, that you’re referring to the Gorgon and not MED-USA, the new Medical research arm set up by RFK jr. where all serious conditions are treated by the application of activated charcoal, pigeon entrails, and thoughts and prayers
Well said Alex. I wish the left would stop eating itself. We have Trump 2 looming large on our democracy. Now is not the time for infighting. It should be the UK vs fascism
I can never hear Medusa without thinking of the extremely unsettling film "The Medusa Touch" which scared the bejesus out of me as a kid.
Seems to me you guys are, essentially, on the same pro-EU/European liberal slate. Get yourselves all to a warm friendly pub, have a Guiness/whiskey, in front of a crackling fire, with a dog sleeping in front of it. Only after the first Guiness let a good natured debate/discussion begin. #podcast
Bridging the gap is indeed something we should support . I understand the wish to defend the EU; the UK led by a Brexit dogma shattered trust but the threat from Farage and populists & fascists across Europe is something that should bring us closer together . Rather than dogma be pragmatic & unite .
It is in the interests of the EU and the UK to compromise and show the benefits of close co-operation & liberal mobility .Long stay travel opens doors, creates opportunity and encourages growth .
In terms of Bluesky I am sure this is a consequence of most people on here having broadly the same outlook on life, standards and morals, and since there are no right wingers or brexit fanatics, we have to find someone to argue with, because that’s all we did for the last 7 or so years on Twitter.
Spot on. I catch myself doing it and try to persuade myself not to. Having said that, when folks seem to have decided that the Labour government is responsible for all that's bad, someone has to say "hold on a minute..."
Leaving the EU was one of the stupidest things we as a nation have done in our long history ,but we are where we are and no amount of wishful thinking will change that any time soon.The belief in itself that we can just ask to rejoin and we will be welcomed back with open arms is as deluded as the …
..”they need us more than we need them….” Bollox we heard pre and post referendum.Starmer is not anti EU he is a pragmatist and understands that regaining trust and gradual realignment is the only option at the moment.He has done good work and I think he has the respect of many European leaders.
If only this had been the attitude following 2016's far from decisive referendum result, where the will of almost half the people was completely ignored in favour of some ex post facto BS that the ref had been a an all-or-nothing rather than advisory affair then perhaps we wouldn't be in this mess.
And that is so irritating. We’re doing our best to find solutions to the disaster that Brexit caused and people scream “exceptionalism” at those of us who never wanted Brexit in the first place. ….it makes me want to give up tbh.
For me, it is full rejoin with Euro, Schengen, EU Army and converting to LHD. We need to show the racists that they lost.
I'd be happy with that. Never wanted to leave in 1st place. And they'd better get a fucking move on. I'm nrly 60. it's no use to me if I'm dead or decrepit. Wd welcome civil war or invasion from mainland EU.
Same👍
LHD!? You mean ... ANTI CLOCKWISE ROUNDABOUTS!?!? Just think of the carnage....
I want kilometres rather than miles please too :)
Of course, that's a given. I want their every waking moment to remind them that they lost. As an aside, I arrived in Spain today, been coming here since the 70's. Picked up some ingredients from the local Lidl and the quality is astounding. Everything so fresh. We are the 3rd world country now.
It's ok, like HS2, we won't do it all at once and will probably end up cancelling the Northern bits...
Everyone has to navigate some Shibuya-Scramble-type-thing in their cars at Watford Gap
What about 3 pin plugs? Will we have to give them up too?
We have them in Ireland and they are superior but we'll all converge onto USB 5.0 insha'Allah 🇪🇺
Genuine question; do you drive on the left?
Yes, at the moment, well, most of the time, but I am sure AI will be able to organise the transition
Oh please! They’re so clunky and horrible.
They may be but that third pin stops you getting electrocuted and the top pin pointing a different way from the bottom two stops the plug from falling out of the socket. And now you can have folding pins they are neither clunky nor horrible.
The Earth connection in an EU plug works exactly the same way as the UK one and EU plugs don’t fall out of the socket.
No, they don’t. The UK Earth pin is longer than the others, as a safety feature. Most EU pins are two pin, round, and they are much easier to push in and out.
The UK 3 pin plug is a masterpiece of design.
As someone who has extensively experienced both, I have to agree. The square elements are much more stable. Greek plugs fall apart.
And in some EU countries they fall out with an adapter and plug in because of the weight!
EU sockets have an earth connection, either pin in the socket (type F) or side clips (type E). As in UK, earthed appliances use all three, unearthed only two. The earth pin on UK unearthed appliances is either plastic or not connected - pointless. EU sockets deeper so impossible to touch hot pin.
I've got some adapters that do and the EU pins are quite spindly as well
3 pin plugs are the superior plugs and I will die on this hill.
They'll have to repaint the flags! 🤣
2016 may have been 9 years ago, but: We’ve only got rid of the nutter right wing government 1 year ago. The long road to rejoining the EU didn’t start getting built in 2016, it was 2024. Now we lay the sub-base before moving onto the tarmac, it’s gonna take a while.
I don’t see why the EU would entertain the idea while progressives and liberals in the UK sit by idly while Farage and his band of fascists and genuine idiots carries on radicalising and poisoning. Unless and until they’re banned from holding office, the country is f*cked
Banned from office? Germany doesn’t ban AfD, France doesn’t ban FN… need I go on? What we need to do is banish them from office through the ballot box and on that, I am deeply concerned that Labour doesn’t have a clue. I think they are drunk on power.
Unless PR is brought in (and Labour would rather lose and condemn us all than share power) you can’t count on the electorate, given that 30% under FPTP are stupid and happy enough to vote in Fascists. At some point you have to do something radical. The stakes are far too high.
You’re not debating which football team is best here. It’s “climate change denying, pro Putin fascists who want to deport millions and remove our rights” versus everyone else. One side is wrong and demonstrably dangerous. The other isn’t.
However, we are 4 years from an election, 3 until Trump is out of office or finalises his military coup, and Reform may well have imploded by then. So all is not lost, but Labour isn’t helping itself. Lisa Nandy is completely fucking useless, for instance. Pardon my French.
Labour is cooked if they don’t remove Starmer and bring in someone with an actual backbone. He’s done so many resets no one cares any more - there needs to be a huge, huge change in personnel to genuinely reset and regain control of the narrative
Agree The slight problem I have is that many in Labour take the Blue Labour view that outside is best, to retain sovereignty and that decisions for UK (NB they don't like devolution either) should be totally made in UK All this despite the evidence that we are £s down outside of the EU
In 2024 a Brexit party came in to power so in what sense did the process start? Starmer has embraced brexit just as much as any right wing nutters. "Not in my lifetime" were the words he used.
A Brexit party no, shit scared of their own shadow, probably.
Brexit is their policy so what else would you call them?
Reconsideration of the advantages and disadvantages of EFTA and the EEA needs to be done. A thorough assessment done by a government commission, complete with facts and including dissenting voices as well as recommendations around potential next steps. That would be the start of the debate.
I guess that's an understandable position if you have an EU passport. I don't have one and want my EU rights back -Labour's excruciatingly slow progress is in no way good enough for me.
I live in the EU and as happy as they are that we have better relations with them and that we’re all standing together against Putin, they haven’t forgotten who Nigel Farage is, and they are not going to welcome with open arms a country that might elect Reform.
Sure, but I'm not convinced the way to beat Farage is for Labour to try and become a far right party and ramp up their performative cruelty to foreigners.
You think Brexit has affected me LESS because I am an EU migrant living in the UK, do you? You have said some abrasive things to me, recently, Andrew, but this takes the cake. Heading for a block.
I share your indignation, Alex. Solidarity.
We cannot rejoin now. So what next, then?
Maybe we can't re join right now but we should certainly make the case for it. That's the difference between a leader and a follower. Good civil servants, like Starmer, are natural followers whereas Farage is happy to race ahead and hope people are following him.
Before all that people need to make the case for rejoining the custom's union, for instance.
I agree EU SM+CU is absolutely the right starting place and essential to enable our SMEs to get exporting again and contribute to GDP growth.
I really want our EU citizenship back too, but there are far more urgent things to sort out in the UK and the wider world than regaining our membership right now IMO.
But was the referendum fair. It was only supposed to see if people were in favour of it. 2/3 majority is normally the case not rush it through because someone rich tories didn't want to pay taxes.
It was a crime-scene. Gerrymandered electorate (Commonwealth citizens had vote but not EU ones), & wd have been annulled if it hadn't been billed as 'advisory'.