Brexit Wipes Out UK’s BIGGEST Steelworks. Decimates Wales. Media Covered It Up.

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Why is the Port Talbot steelworks really closing its blast furnaces at the cost of 3000 jobs? Is it because of net zero green policies, like the right wing media says? Byline TV's Caolan Robertson went to Port Talbot and spoke to locals, steelworkers, economists and politicians to expose the truth about the end of British steel.
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[@tofu_golem]

Gosh, if only millions of Brits warned millions of other Brits that Brexit was a really dumb idea. Oh, wait. They did.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Your soy based diet explains a lot

[@mrbadguysan]

@@HarryFlashmanVCit must hurt, being owned by a person whose eating habits you irrationally hate.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

@mrbadguysan you're appearing to confuse me with someone who gives an aeronautical copulation for your opinions.

[@liamereiam]

@@HarryFlashmanVC But you do seem to have attacked someone for no reason. Did you vote to leave or stay? Real question.

[@elishmuel1976]

I feel the same is happening right now in America. Some Americans would gladly vote in a fascist dictatorship not realizing that all of their protections, freedoms and rights just disappear within a few years.Only to later crying "They are not hurting the people they are supposed to be hurting" (just like a MAGA grandmother complained on national tv)

[@mrniceguy6050]

The problem wasn't with the people lying. It was with the people that wanted to believe the lies.

[@helentonkin3348]

Of corse they did, lol easier to blame the others.

[@user-fc7is6jo2e]

Precisely, Mrniceguy6050! Well said!

[@matthewyabsley]

That’s if you believe these people were motivated by lies; as opposed to an opportunity to stick it to foreigners and people with different skin colours to them.

[@user-fc7is6jo2e]

​@@matthewyabsleylike all cults, sadly they do actually believe lies that are very obvious to those of us who are not in a cult. You know if they are in a cult if they are able to watch more than a few seconds of any right-wing media outlet without becoming physically ill - literally. The very reason that they are bigots is because they are prone to such thoughts in the first place and why they seek-out whichever cult in their region that supports their bigoted beliefs. For example, if a person with similar damage to their prefrontal cortex is born in the Middle East, then they might be attracted to one of the major right-wing extremist cults like ISIS. If they are born in the USA, then they will be able to watch Fox "news" and right-wing podcasts... which leads them to the world's most vile cult: Treasonous Trump's Chumps (formerly known as the "Republican Party"). In the UK, they are able to watch Rupert Murdock's media misinformation networks and are part of the Tory cult. All those people are the same in the way that matters most about what defines them as bigots: their local right-wing extremist cult.

[@mrniceguy6050]

@@matthewyabsley honestly I think they were just giving people what they wanted. We want somebody to tell us that the countries problems are not our fault. What better than to blame immigrant or the eu for the issues we caused ourselves. And this is not just happening in the Uk

[@jabezhane]

Liars the lot of them. "I didn't know what I was voting for!"..or "I was lied to!" No, you all knew what you were voting for..."getting rid of all the people from abroard!" And the chef's kiss is you won't ever get that either.

[@mqiqkqer5750]

That is 100% why most people voted to leave the EU I believe

[@mathieuphilippe6549]

Well t be fair Eu is quiet complicated to understand, And politician in Eu make a guilty pleasure to said sometimes "its EU faults if we have to do this or that" even if its not true. So the problems is there, lies sleeping for 20 40 years. Then people realised that the problem was not EU but leaving Eu made new problems appears, without solving old ones.

[@jamesread4469]

​@@mathieuphilippe6549yes the EU was the government escape goat, but when we finaly left they no longer had the EU to blame for all there shit aweful ideas and plans.

[@kisshereful]

Funny part is, they already worked for Tata. India is just getting the jobs home to make ot's voters happy Brexit style :)

[@prplt]

getting rid of black and brown people to be more exact 😂

[@igypop.]

Worked around South Wales for over 3 years as a contractor for scientific Company, steel works of Port Talbot was one of my many customers, all I ever heard was Brexit, Brexit and Brexit, all there is now is Brexshit, Brexshit and Brexshit, have no sympathy for this at all..

[@simonparfitt8]

I’m from South Wales and I have no sympathy whatsoever. The number of people I know who revealed themselves to be xenophobic was shocking. They deserve everything that’s coming and I’m leaving.

[@ajvanmarle]

It's always the same. Nothing is ever their fault. First it was the fault of the EU, now it's the fault of politicians. But it's never the fault of xenophobes who vote against their own best interest.

[@davidpryle3935]

The Redcar steelworks closed in 2015, when Britain was a member of the European Union 🤔

[@igypop.]

@@davidpryle3935 in vew of Brexshit talks gaining serious momentum, it's called; having a strategic foresight..

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

@@davidpryle3935 And your point is....?

[@CliveBarnesMusic]

This is just the beginning of Britain's brutal demise. Its arrogance, xenophobia, and false sense of worth has caused one of the most stunning and unnecessary cases of self sabotage in human history.

[@roberta9833]

Yes!

[@blue_jay31]

Wow well said! Yes it w ell take years to get back what you lost ,if ever ! 😢

[@franswiggers601]

And that would be an under-statement.

[@bujin1977]

​@@blue_jay31 We're getting exactly what we deserve after a very long period of arrogance. Hopefully in a few decades time the British public will have learned that the Empire no longer exists and we need to work together with other nations rather than think we're above them. I've become so ashamed of the UK over the past 8 years that I cannot refer to myself as British anymore.

[@MrDanisve]

@@iaincochrane8741 I dont see why Scotland would want to remain. Scotland is much more alligned with EU politically than Westminister anyways. Westminister is not a democracy. Scotland should go independent, join the EU and charge ahead in economic growth. Scotland economy is so intertwined with England, that borders will hurt. But considering they gain the free market of the EU, and freedom of movement. I doubt the transition would be very hard, atleast compared to this hard brexit. The EU has alot of economic might to help out. My country of Norway is not in EU, but we are a special case who has so much natural resources that it actually would be a net loss to join EU due to how wealthy we are. And kinda why we do not join. But most economies do not work like Norway. If Norway did not have all the oil, we would certainly be in the EU aswell. Anything else would be economic stupid. Alltho you could argue staying out of the EU is bad for us longterm, cause the oil will end. And we will be late to carve out our share of the EU market. But dutch disease makes running competitive businesses very hard in Norway. Oil sector pushes up the salaries, making steel work etc unprofitable. As they need to compete with the oil sector for workers. Aka pushing wages up. Thats why most of Norways industry died or moved to other countries.

[@peterhill8398]

One British comedian said that voting for Brexit was akin to showing your dislike of a motel by taking a shit in the bed but then realising you now have to spend a night in a shitted bed.

[@matthewrice3432]

Rather, realising you now have to spend the rest of your life in a shitted bed.......

[@ianh1504]

Its the first time in history that a country imposed economic sanctions on itself

[@danielward7008]

That's why he's a comedian and not a serious person.

[@sauermaischeyahoo7834]

... and anyone which at least a modicum of good sense knows that comedians are not to be taken seriously. Leaving the EU was about abandoning unresponsive and unaccountable governance by persons the public cannot remove from office and replacing it with representative democracy. During the referendum campaign, the "Remain" side played a blinder. It kept the debate firmly focused on the putative economic consequences of leaving the EU. However, this wasn't successful, because it was the political consequences of continued membership which was the important issue. The "Leave" campaign gained traction because unrestricted immigration from eastern Europe was undermining the workman's collective bargaining position and the tradesman's pricing power. When these persons appealed to government for protection, the government replied that it could do nothing because the EU wouldn't let it. So those being impoverished by the immigration demanded that the government get the EU to change its rules. David Cameron went to Brussels asking for this to happen. He was told to "go forth and multiply". This left only one course of action for those seeking redress of their grievance... for the UK to leave the EU. The taxpayers pay the government's salaries. The taxpayers expect the government to do as it is told by the electorate. Now that the political class is answerable to the public once more, that should not be an unreasonable expectation. The political class, not unnaturally, don't want to be answerable to the public, and many resent losing access to a trough that is significantly deeper and richer than is the UK's trough. Consequently, we are being exposed to all this authoritarian nonsense about leaving the EU having been a bad thing. Change always brings winners and losers. That is the nature of change. In this particular case the losers are a highly vocal minority. That's why everyone is being bombarded with false claims.

[@ianh1504]

@@sauermaischeyahoo7834 anyone with a modicum of common sense knows the jester was the only one allowed to speak freely in the king's court

[@jacobmurray61]

The irony is that the Welsh voted to leave more than any other area in the UK whilst at the same time being the UKs biggest recipient of EU investment. You cant make it up....what exactly did these people expect. The idea that people are only just now are waking up to the ramifications of the their idiotic choices is absurd when it was crystal clear at the time what would happen. And now we here and we will be dealing with these choices for generations.

[@BalefulBunyip]

For generations? Forever. The UK will never rejoin the EU unfortunately. 😢

[@rifelaw]

The Welsh didn't vote to leave. Wales voted Leave 52-48, and what tipped the scale was the English vote, especially the pensioners. Leave won by 82,000, there are twice that many English pensioners in Wales, and their districts overwhelmingly voted Leave. The more Welsh a district was, the more likely it voted Remain.

[@_PatrickO]

@@BalefulBunyip The UK will never be economically eligible to join. They are going to collapse fast. The UK way of life is going to become more similar to india, but worse due to having less resources.

[@_PatrickO]

@@rifelaw The brexit vote was always nonsense. The way they did the Yes/No would have grouped soft brexiters with hard brexiters. Soft brexiters have nothing in common with hard brexiters. Soft brexiters should have counted as remainers. The poll was designed to mislead people and fake more support for hard brexit.

[@nicholasdickens2801]

Indeed. Modern Wales was built by the EU. It’s like Monty Python, “What did the EU ever did for us in Wales?” The EU, “Everything. We just checked the invoices. We bank rolled you.”

[@belizarius_997]

UK 2016 - "I am divorcing my billionaire husband, even though we don't have a prenup, because there are hundreds of young and rich men out there, standing in line for me."

[@martinschmidt1652]

Don't forget that UK 2016 is old and unattractive full of weird beliefs that they are sexy...

[@Exodon2020]

Pretty much. "We only need to ditch the Europeans, then the Empire will come back all by itself..."

[@benjaminmadrigalperez9010]

It changes from country to country. But divorsing without a prenup would mostly mean marital assets (50-50) so it would be better than a prenup.

[@sinsyder]

"They lied to us! Blah, blah, blah." Half the population was telling you they were lying and what the consequences would be.

[@qweqwe9678]

they still can't admit like an adult that it is their fault. They always have to blame someone else. Never their fault. The UK have a problem of adults not growing up and acting like proper adults. Aged children I say.

[@Stan_55UK]

@@qweqwe9678 Agreed.

[@user-xk2ig4tc3f]

Vote leave lied to everyone, we all heard the lies, some of us saw through the lies, sone believed them becauae they confirmed their bigotry thats why i have no sympathy with these people they didnt just destroy themselves they destroyed all of us. Unforgiveable

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

This is it. This is why I'm so furious.

[@Rob_1472]

😂😂😂 well people supported BoJo because he was the only one promising a hard Brexit. Now the Brexiteers are the loudest Remouners. Maybe the harder things get, the less propensity for stupid decisions in the future. No doctors, no nurses, no truck drivers, no fruit pickers, no shop staff, no care home workers, no steel, no coal, no £300m.

[@MaartenOtto]

Remember the days when people who pointed this out were called “scaremongers” and promoting “project fear”. Well, I hope you’re happy with your purchase.

[@Andremarkjohnson]

@MaartenOtto. I agree for the most part. It's just another chapter in the managed decline of the UK. People were deliberately sold a good lie. If it's too good to be true, then it's a con. It's always someone else's fault with these Tories, the UK needs to take power back from Brussels, then we can have nice things. OK, you got Brexit. Things are still crap. A lack of accessible and affordable housing. A crumbling public sector to name a few things. Who else can they blame? I know, migrants. progressives, It's tiresome. I'm old enough to have lived through their cycle and smell their BS from a mile off. I'm tired, it's pathetic how these people think they have credibility and an authority on what this country needs to thrive. The past 15 years and the Thatcher reverberations are evidence enough that this form of government just doesn't work for the majority. These people are liars, crooks, thieves and any other nasty thing you can think of to describe them.

[@damianbutterworth2434]

And remember when we told you lot illegal migration was bad and you called us racist. I hope your happy with your mess.

[@markperrin8098]

Four years on after Brexit, and that supposed exodus of talent from Britain is yet to emerge. The UK’s capital has been attracting talent instead. Last week, oil and gas company Exxon Mobil asked traders in Brussels to cross the Channel and relocate to London, writing in an email that they had to either up sticks from the bloc’s HQ or leave the company. The statement won’t be music to Remoaners’ ears: “As we continue to strengthen our trading community, London provides better proximity to trading activities, trading talent pool, and will support our evolution as a trading organization.” Exxon has already made the savvy move of transferring its UK traders from commuter town Leatherhead to the capital, all to allure top-tier talent. Fuelling yet another win for Brexit Britain…

[@Ffinity]

@@markperrin8098 So it's good for the parasitic bankers? Go tell a steel worker that, I'll call the ambulance!

[@markperrin8098]

@@Ffinity 1) Modern arc furnaces can produce high quality steel. 2) Port Talbot will produce approximately the same amount of steel as with its existing furnaces, with less workers. 3) Other than A.merica the UK exports more scrap metal than any other country in the world, some 8 million tons, often to those cheap foreign steelworks the EU is so terrified of. 4) Investing in new arc furnaces is a significant commitment to UK steel for at least 20-30 years. 5) The new furnaces will cut carbon emissions by 50 million tons over a decade, or the equivalent of 2 million homes. If this is because of Brexit, then hallelujah for another brilliant Brexit benefit.

[@alis49281]

The biggest irony: they didn't want foreigners to take the jobs in steel industry and the vote to leave caused exactly that.

[@BalefulBunyip]

Mission accomplished. No more jobs for foreigners to take 😂

[@doktoroptimo]

exactly

[@gamingweasel4633]

Brexit, one of the biggest self-inflicted wounds in the history of the UK.

[@FFM0594]

On par with the Mughal Uprising.

[@FFM0594]

@@ThorstenKreutzenberger"Self-inflcted wounds" is a key part of the statement.

[@Nemoticon]

@@ThorstenKreutzenberger You didn't understand what was said... wihch is why your rsponse has zero context to the conversation.

[@rayRay-pw6gz]

They wanted to have a British first empire. MBGA . Me. Me. Me. No man is an island.

[@astralclub5964]

They took your job!

[@perryx7103]

Very difficult to feel sorry for anyone who voted to leave and lost their job because of it.

[@lewisg7614]

I don't either, they was told what would happen but hey project fear...

[@1971zephyr]

I was just think8ng the same thing,I'm sorry but you reap what you sow

[@IndySidhu88]

I agree, I don't like being an 'I Told You So' person but it is ultimately their own fault.

[@californiadreamin8423]

They have lost their jobs because the Tory government are not prepared to have a U.K. which makes its own steel. Sunak orders the RAF to fly from Cyprus to attack Yemen because shipping is being attacked….but the ships are owned by people who registered them in the Marshall Islands or Barbados to avoid paying U.K. tax !!! These ships weren’t even built in the U.K. and the steel for the Royal Navy will come 100% from overseas. People need to wake up and engage their brains.

[@ancaoraathasach]

Indeed. "It's fine but only when other people bear the consequences".

[@MISSYGful]

The economist nailed it. "Take back control? we've just given it away"

[@TheEvertw]

However, the slogan was completely true. It is just that the people were mistaken when they thought they were included in the "we" implied in "take back control". Tories always intended the "we" to mean ONLY the Tory politicians themselves and their rich donors. And they have taken back control alright. Until the house of cards collapses...

[@blue_jay31]

For sure,you had more control in the E.U. ! 😢

[@gen_x_dad]

No, you did in fact, take back control. Problem is, now nobody wants to deal with you anymore and everybody's leaving for better shores.

[@dickyt1318]

a disingenuous statement as I suspect you realise, trying to support your politically motivated anti Brexit stance. "Take back control? referred to our boarders, laws & customs. And our economic 'controls' would have been significantly improved had the Westminster political classes not tried to prevent, then obstruct & delay rather than impliment the clear democratic decision of the majority of thoses who were eligible to vote which was to leave.. Having said that despite the prediction of Remainers & the likes of the CBI our London Financial Markets which provide 30% of our GDP have held their own & done well in comparison to the Germans & French - sorry about that !

[@aleph8888]

Socialists quoting The Economist? What a joke. What kind of socialist is a fan of the EU?

[@hyuxion]

They voted for this, start taking responsibility once in the life!

[@Progressivegenius]

Independence? From who? From what? Lack of humility and lack of gratitude will get us all in the end

[@Comm0ut]

Independence from Brussels.

[@GholaTleilaxu]

@@Comm0ut Brussels...come on! It's FRANCE. They wanted "independence" from the French speakers.

[@qweqwe9678]

independent from money, from economic growth, from jobs, from living a decent life. They want independent from all good things. Well they got it.

[@theant9821]

@@qweqwe9678 ignoring the fact they didnt have many good things left already, their vote is understandable, they were already knee deep in shit, and were desperate, now its up to their neck. which would have happened anyway, brexit has just brought the invitable forward by 20 years or so. Scunthorpe steel works has been on the brink of collapse for 25 years, it was already shitshow before brexit, and ime sure this place was little different.

[@dimiathan]

@@Comm0ut In which way? Most of the laws the European parliament passed (which had British MEPs) were drafted by British lawmakers.

[@mr2bmw]

As a Canadian, I am still shocked who in their right mind would vote for Brexit!!!! I wish Canada was in the EU. You guys had gold, and gave it away!!!!

[@strykenine7902]

Like it there? Move.

[@larstenfaelt1859]

​@@strykenine7902 An open minded and productive person from Canadia is always welcome in Europe. However we don't appreciate gaslighting Brexiteers. They don't see the value in collaboration and defend their rhetoric as the truth instead of understanding the reality...

[@GManWrites]

​@@strykenine7902Okay one subscriber 😂🤣

[@strykenine7902]

@@larstenfaelt1859 My comment was really reflexive, directed at people who want to 'Move to Europe' as a way to solve problems they perceive in North America but I will try to justify. Relocating won't solve problems. Part of Europe is at war with itself right now, and quite a few countries are hemorrhaging working-age folks to retirement. Also, European security has been backstopped by the United States for almost three generations which allowed nations on the continent to spend money on social issues and less on defense and industry. The US is too self-interested to be relied upon for something as serious as national security at the present time, and perhaps for many years to come. Things are going to change so fast it will make your head spin. Cheers!

[@strykenine7902]

@@GManWritesTo be honest I'm surprised I have one, but not as shocked as I was when you replied to me.

[@MathaeusHairdressing]

What annoys me the most is the argument "I didn't know," "We were promised this or that," "I wasn't aware of the consequences," "We were deceived!" Nonsense! We all had the same access to the same news, daily newspapers, interviews. 49% of people eligible to vote understood the consequences. We knew it was a disaster on approach. We knew these were lies and empty promises. You, leave voters consciously chose this path, for yourselves and for the entire country. I didn't have the right to vote in the referendum as an EU citizen, even though I lived in the UK for 12 years at the time of the referendum. I was angry for the first 2-3 years, now the emotions have subsided and somehow I enjoy the 'show'. I only really feel for those who voted to stay and and got screwed by by 'not so clever' leavers...

[@StatEple]

Amen!

[@briancampbell7569]

Exactly! All you had to do was look at who was supporting brexit: Nigel Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Digby Jones, David Davis, Daniel Hannan, Boris Johnson, the Tufton Street crowd, etc. The reasons to stay in the EU were there for anyone who took the time to look.

[@milesblue638]

I'm tired of Brexiteer voters never having to accept responsibility for their folly. Byline and other anti-Brexit outlets feel the need to provide those voters face saving excuses about having been conned. Those voters eagerly and militantly embraced easily demonstrable lies from known liars.

[@istvanbus5021]

I hear you. I worked in Wales only one year, well before the referendum. I remember that we, EU migrants, were not welcome by many because we took the jobs. Now the irony is that apparently the jobs finish themselves without any Eastern Europeans taking them away. All in all, this is sad because Europe as a whole and NATO in particular would benefit from a strong UK economy.

[@theimpatientbrewer]

It was them calling us traitors and I remember seeing their little leaflets about hanging us. They now want us to forgive them for ruining our lives. That's one thing I can't do!

[@matthewyabsley]

I find half of these people detestable. Not one person admits that they voted leave to get rid of foreigners; all hiding behind broken promises like financial promises etc.

[@davidpryle3935]

That’s not really true. People voted leave to control the oversupply of cheap labour from the EU.

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

@@davidpryle3935 Well now they're going to be oversupplied with cheap labour from everywhere else. It's called "free" market capitalism and the Brexit project was all about firming it up.

[@davidpryle3935]

@@oldishandwoke-ish1181 No, it’s not called free market capitalism. It’s called globalism, and its a very recent invention, and can be reversed, depending on who the people elect. My own opinion is that the nation state with it’s natural own citizen preference is in for a big revival.

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

@@davidpryle3935 The "free" market IS globalisation, please educate yourself. Brexit was one of its projects. Agree that greater protectionism and promotion of local interests is a good idea, but that will require a change of economic direction...

[@davidpryle3935]

@@oldishandwoke-ish1181 The European Union is basically a bourgeois liberal project. The working class have never liked it. That’s why trade unions like the RMT campaigned to leave the EU. No true left wing person could ever be in favour of membership of the neoliberal EU. Mick Lynch’s legendary predecessor at the RMT, the late Bob Crowe, used to describe the EU as “a neoliberal capitalist nightmare”, and he was correct. It’s not me, its you, who needs to “educate” yourself, and learn the history of the British left. You can start with Tony Benn.

[@TurfShifter]

They voted for it; those who voted against it knew this would happen. Zero sympathy as that area voted massively to leave the EU.

[@davidpryle3935]

Have you any sympathy for the people on Teesside ? Of course, their Redcar steelworks closed in 2015, when Britain was a member of the EU.

[@teesman61]

​@@davidpryle3935All down to government policy.

[@malahammer]

Most of us outside of the UK could see what was coming.

[@TheWirewitch]

Plenty of us here could too. We were ignored.

[@Me0wish]

@@TheWirewitch weren't ignored. Actively dismissed as project fear

[@ganrimmonim]

A little under half of us in the UK could see it coming too.

[@octavianpopescu4776]

@@Me0wish Worse still: mocked as "remoaners" and condescendingly told "you need to believe harder", as if personal conviction can overcome mathematics. Brexiteers neve understood this simple thing: that no matter how hard they believe in their Brexit, people like myself, part of the EU and those in the rest of the world, didn't. They could do quadruple flips, their enthusiasm would be met by a cold, indifferent world which wouldn't be impressed. I mean, ok, I'm European, but did they really expect to get some parade from countries like Brazil or Canada or India? That they'd immediately jump to sign some trade deal heavily favouring the UK? They already have arrangements on their side of the world... it's not like they were waiting for Brexit with baited breath. I think they were legitimately stunned to see the collective "meh" to their Brexit, the world being underwhelmed by the buccaneering UK... btw... did they ever consider that references to piracy and contraband as descriptors of trade policy would not really inspire trust in other people?

[@robertklein1497]

Indeed. Sadly, many in at least The Netherlands just voted for a party that wants a so called Nexit. This party became the biggest in most recent elections. Ignorance and thinking with fear and feelings sadly still is widespread and wins from thinking with knowledge, foresight and reality. Even as we see British decline, many Dutch feel it is a great idea to leave the eu

[@Ritte13]

Blows my mind that Bojo 🤡 and Farage 🤥 still have loyal supporters 🤪

[@poulhenne]

Some still believe it is "the foreigners" that is ruining the economy.

[@patrickporter1864]

They are not affected by this. It will take a while more.

[@yieyie4262]

Willfully blind maybe?

[@peterebel7899]

There are a lot of supporters still queuing to get the money to build a cosy estate on a tropical island ....

[@theplasmawolf]

Once they're down the rabbit hole of lies its nearly impossible to get out. I read in the early stages of covid about a Trump supporter who would still vote for Trump *after* getting covid and recovering from it in hospital. This was at the stage that the orange one denied it was a big deal.

[@samuelfawell9159]

Brexit is the best example of “actions have consequences”

[@rayRay-pw6gz]

Even inaction could have consequences. Complex world and change is difficult. ✌️🫶

[@samuelfawell9159]

@@rayRay-pw6gz well everything about Brexit was going to be a disaster, there was no preparation, they wanted the UK to be self sustaining agin but they didn’t do anything to do that, so they severed all support lines and THEN tried to get their legs under themselves, while still trying to avoid actually doing anything to provide the support they would need. No one was prepared to actually do the work that Brexit needed so when it came to the finish no one was ready.

[@rayRay-pw6gz]

@@samuelfawell9159 not true ! Once Britain decided to go it alone. They lost all the benefits of being in the European Union. You can’t refuse to be in the union and then demand all the benefits. The voters were played by using their feelings of entitlement and negative feelings towards others. This same action is being used in the USA by republicans. Fear and hate are powerful allies. The lack of knowledge and the disinformation system work well together. Also humans tend to blame others for their mistakes. Just read all the comments, very rarely do they blame themselves for the state of affairs they voted for.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Enough virtue signalling and ship YOUR industry to CHINA NOW.

[@bagster001]

The guy finding a way to blame THATCHER for the impacts of Brexit rather than his own decisions is insane

[@theant9821]

No its not insane, she set the ball rolling, that created a powder keg in working class communities, which exploded in 2016. there were unforeseen consequences, what she did served the country well, for a short period of time but ultimately became self destuctive, because we didnt change course just carried on. Like what was done after the war carried on for too long and became self destructive, Thatcherism has done the same. we transformed our economy into a pyramid scheme. and it worked great, until we couldn't recruit new members so is now collapsing.

[@kallekas8551]

@@theant9821🫵🤡👍

[@mikethomas9551]

It all started with her Free Market Trickle Down illusion and ended in this.

[@mihaicraciun8678]

He meant that the policies that are currently taking place are a continuation of her policies, which is objectively true. Privatization of everything, selling out to foreign markets.

[@madinkan]

I am from Brazil, I never been to the UK before, and even i could see the Brexit was a shot in the foot.

[@pobinr]

Really? How do you prefer Brazil. As an independent country or if it were to be subordinated to a supra national entity like EU?

[@madinkan]

@@pobinr , what a misconceiving question. That is the whole concept behind the United States. All 50 states recognize that they are much more powerful united, working under a single banner than being totally independent. That has been the overwhelming consensus since the Civil War. If I were British, I would prefer a strong UK, united with Europe over total independence but still having to bow to China, India, the US and Europe because we are too weak to compete with them.

[@dxd42]

​@@pobinrBut, Brazil is working to get the EU&Mercosur trade deal done ... Because it opens markets etc. For example Brazil would never separate from Mercosur, in fact, we welcomed Bolivia last year 😂

[@pobinr]

@@dxd42 yes a free trade deal. EU membership is different. It's not free trade. It's insidious political union by stealth. It's not just about 1 or 2% GDP. What about 80% of fish in our waters given away, sovereignty, £12bn/yr, not permitted to do our own trade deals, mass immigration of unskilled taking jobs, driving down wages, filling up housing etc Remaintards thought this was a good deal🤔🙄

[@pobinr]

@@madinkan OK try this. A residents association that tells you to leave your front door open & can override any decisions you make regarding how you must run your household. The big benefit for you being, you participate in some small way in how other people run their households & you gain the right to wander into their houses 🤔🙄 Great Fine you don't really believe in separate nations. You want more & more centralised control. But the British people value democracy & independence sacrificed for a pathetic bad trade deal on EU trade that's only 10% of UK economy, over globalism & the EU.

[@ecki74]

"People didnt see it..." - WE TOLD YOU!!! its so frustrating. The gullibility...

[@patrickporter1864]

Peopled I'd not want to see it.

[@JA-qi1fb]

I have someone very dear to me who now denies ever wanting & voting for brexit. A close friend apologised re voting for brexit. Someone else spoke endlessly re wanting brexit but now denies it .. he was the dimmest by far. What an @ss he is & I will not take his calls. Bring on the GE, let's start fixing something for a change.

[@socialmoon]

Yes, we did see it! We saw it so fucking clearly & we tried to warn the Leave voters, only to be mocked & silenced at every turn. And now we're all in the shit. Honestly, anyone that voted Leave should have to pay some form of reparations to the rest of us for fucking us over.

[@sauermaischeyahoo7834]

You couldn't have made it up... 16 million people, almost half the electorate, actually voted for unresponsive and unaccountable governance by persons the public cannot remove from office.

[@ricardosmythe2548]

The reality is that none of the potential opportunities have been capitalised upon. The dribbling masses have been divided and conquered and the elites can quite literally do what they like

[@kain0m]

I visited the area on a business trip a few weeks ago, shortly after the steel works closure was announced (I am from the continent). People seemed to be lazer-focused on immigrants as the source of the problem. The reality is everybody treats the place like a trash dump. Litter everywhere, lots of broken things, everything dirty. They are talking so highly of their place, and yet they treat it like shit, and then try to blame othery for what they are doing. Brexit mentality is still strong in that area.

[@kaasis85]

I see this everywhere. Brits have been condition to punch down. This deflects the blame from those who have been in power and who are responsible for this mess.

[@jivkoyanchev1998]

Back in the day, the sun never set on the British Empire. Now, the sun never shines on Britain.

[@petermizon4344]

YOU SAW WHAT TORIES DID UNDER THATCHER YET YOU STILL WENT AND TRUSTED THEM ON BREXIT, UNBELIEVABLE

[@scoates9910]

Couldn't agree more.

[@a.r.stellmacher8709]

@@scoates9910 And I bet most of them will vote for them again.

[@scoates9910]

@@a.r.stellmacher8709 I think it might have dawned on them now,

[@mikw1809]

They played to their xenophobic instincts.

[@pobinr]

Brexit's nothing to do with the Tories. It was a people's vote to decide whether we wanted our parliament to continue subordinated to an EU bureacracy accountable to no one. And on whether we wished to take back sovereignty given away by our MPs to foreign powers treaty by treaty without our consent. Sovereignty that they had no right to give away. Because in a democracy sovereignty belongs to the people. If our politicians give it away in treaties like Lisbon & laws are made & those laws can't be changed. Then this is a theft of public rights. Genuine free trade deals don't expect this. Nor do they expect member country to fling its borders open to all & sundry resulting in massive over supply of unskilled workers, over burdenned housing, schools & wage compression. Nor to give away 80% of fish that swam in its waters. It was the worst deal on the planet because it wasn't a free trade deal, it was insidious political union by stealth. Something the British people never voted for. So anyone with half a brain cell decided it was time to GTF out of it. Remainers are too shallow & poorly informed to understand anything about Brexit.

[@TheWirewitch]

I have genuine sympathy for all affected by this, but I also can't help but feel extremely angry at them for doing this, for voting for this hell... as someone who was shouted down and branded a 'remoaner', this is all deeply, deeply depressing.

[@ukwerna]

EXACTLY

[@user-PuppyDan]

What i found interesting was after the sheep farmers voted to leave they then turned round and still expected to be subsadised by the EU. It's like divorcing your partner but still expecting them to help pay your bills. Thats not how it works. I think because no one in government explained what would happen and all we heard from may was "Brexit means Brexit" wityhout actually explaing what it meant. Reason being they didn't know they just had buzz words and fear tactics. They used people's predejices against them. Fun fact alot of the laws that people moaned about were actually written by England and was adopted by the EU. As well as the fact a lot of the EU "laws" were not actually laws more of suggestions which the government put into law. So yet again blaming the EU for something our own government chose to do.

[@christinepayne5206]

going green labour want it to

[@tisFrancesfault]

If it would make you feel any better, Port Talbot's steel closure has very little to do with the EU. If anything Being out of the EU, on a commercial point helped Port Talbot.

[@TheWirewitch]

@@christinepayne5206 They're not labour anymore.

[@GWills-ys6rd]

Didn't the majority of Wales vote for Brexit? Ignorance is no excuse!

[@paulevans7742]

Wales was one of the biggest recipients of EU grants in the UK but voters there were too focused on getting rid of the foreigners. Its like watching the UK and the USA playing a game of "whatever you can do i can do better", or a game of "here, hold my beer".

[@G4lip0li]

"hold my beer" made me giggle. Thank you sir.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

And what have those grants done for the poor child of the UK? Absolutely. NOTHING!

[@Angela-en6oh]

As someone who worked on EU projects carried out in the UK for nearly 20 years, every time I hear someone say they voted for brexit, based solely on what they were told by those promoting leave, without checking how truthful these statements were, make me want to scream. Now not only they, but those of us who didn’t vote for it, have to live with it the consequences of their action.

[@roberta9833]

😔so true

[@JupiterThunder]

But this has nothing to do with Brexit.

[@NickHobbs]

Learn to read, the comment is 100% about Brexit. What don't you understand? @@JupiterThunder

[@ebbonfly]

All those EU 'projects' were funded by UK money as we were a net contributor to the EU

[@lesleyrobertson5465]

Me too. Lazy voting. Should have been an IQ test before voting

[@alexcharlton7561]

The sad thing is, the people who really need to see this film - those who voted for Brexit - are too busy watching GB News and reading The Sun.

[@matthewrice3432]

I think you might be over-doing it by saying they read....

[@PuddingXXL]

@@matthewrice3432lmao trueeeee our Sun equivalent is the bild and we have a similiar joke phrase about readers of that supposed "newspaper"

[@matthewrice3432]

​@@PuddingXXL 👍👍....If i remember, ours goes something like; Question; "why do Sun readers have black willies?" Answer; "the print comes off on their hands"...😂

[@enter4none]

Can only assume both outlets just keep passing the blame on past figures for the present and doubling down on even more Xenophobia... AKA the hate classics

[@Demetri450]

It's going to spread, but by then, it will be to late.

[@ForelliBoy]

You made your bed in 2016 and fluffed the sheets in 2019. You get what you vote for.

[@barking_mad6649]

We all get what they voted for.

[@ForelliBoy]

@@barking_mad6649 And now they're about to turn to Nigel fucking Farage to finish the job.

[@wnose]

​@@ForelliBoyI thought he effed off with his cushy EU pension

[@mgm8822]

When you decide to put a stick in the spokes, you can’t be surprised when you go flying off your bike.

[@RandomJane104]

Well put!

[@maartenaalsmeer]

Tata Steel in the Netherlands is still doing well. Why would that be? Something about being in a certain club, maybe?

[@BigHenFor]

Of course.

[@Paul_C]

That 'steel' in the NL version is Aluminium, not steel.

[@RealConstructor]

Not entirely true, 880 jobs, almost 10% are laid off this year to keep profits on €100 million a year and another 2 cokes factories have to close within a few years because of environmental reasons. But as said, it is still a profitable steel factory and furnace. They’re profitable because they diversified a very long time ago (about 40 years ago), from raw steel to stainless steel, metal cladding, band metal for the car industry. India can produce raw steel cheaper than European factories.

[@socialgadfly5305]

For how long though? Wilders?

[@JupiterThunder]

Yes but it's EAF and DR, not blast furnaces. So far fewer workers per unit output. Port Talbot will have EAF, and EAF may well account for almost all steel in future. There will only be a small market for the very highest-quality steel, so the worldwide capacity for virgin steel will decrease.

[@rubentadema4824]

I asked my British friend the day of the vote, Is being alone making you stronger or weaker? His answer was, weaker. He then still proceeded too vote leave..

[@pewex114]

Is it better now after brexit?😅

[@Ronnet]

Part of me feels bad for these folk. But everytime they cry about being lied to I remember that half the nation was telling them they're being lied to... But the promise of gold which they didnt have to share with foreigners was too great to resist. They were lied to yes, but it was greed that motivated their decision. The lies just made it easy for them to pretend their reasons were noble in nature.

[@deansmith4752]

I left the UK to work abroad in the summer of 2011, In the times that I have been in the UK since then the atmosphere is no welcoming anymore. While the debate was happening and my colleagues asked my opinion, at no time did I believe that leaving the EU was a good thing - where is the benefit of becoming SMALLER and INSIGNIFICANT ? I wanted the UK to form closer ties with the EU, ditch the British pound and adopt the Euro and remove even more of the barriers which we face. Too many have an insular opinion and chose to believe the lies , and these lies were blatant but the populace ate them up en-mass. I am now asked if I want to return to the UK, and despite the fact that my family is there , I will only return for a visit. The damage caused is not likely to be undone in my life time, even if we manage to be accepted back into the EU we will still be derided - whereas we were co-signers of the Maastrict treaty that started it off and the 50p coin commemorates that.

[@kizzmiaz]

Brexit the most unsatisfying I told you so since a soldier on the walls of Troy said "there's something wrong with that horse."

[@flitsertheo]

Then a second soldier laughed his words away with "Are you afraid of a wooden horse ? Project fear again ? "

[@gtvgranberg]

And the third said, its a happy horse!

[@lost_boy]

Amazing how there were consequences to voting to impose trade sanctions on ourselves.

[@rayc9539]

To be honest, people voted not to be an EU member, only... Brexit only related to EU membership. Nothing else. People even voted to ease being an EU member so that we could remain an EEA member - granting us access to the single market. Not everyone who voted leave wanted to impose trade sanctions on themselves. That was a Tory decision. People had various reasons for voting leave. The EEA option was even proposed to us during negotiations, but Theresa May rejected it... The tory government is the issue in this scenario. It was their interpretation and enactment of the vote that placed us in this predicament.

[@lost_boy]

@@rayc9539 very true - like most problems in the UK, it's 100% the tories fault.

[@peterandersson1230]

Dont profit om things you dont want to be a part of. If you don't want immigrants just fight för it in EU

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

Exactly!! Who'da thunk it, eh?

[@matthenley3886]

⁠@@rayc9539Single market membership would mean continued freedom of movement and given that immigration was the single biggest issue why people voted brexit that was never gonna happen. The majority of brexit voters would’ve seen that as a massive betrayal so it was never gonna happen.

[@astrologerdawn1200]

Just like with Donald Trump here in the US.

[@GizmoMaltese]

Trump supported Brexit

[@carleewalsh5502]

Facts 💯

[@phillipjclay5817]

Yes trump the wall street guy who was part of the deindustrialization of america now has morons who lost their jobs in deindustrialization voting for him and try to overthrow the government. Brilliant. Proof that not everyone is born equal some people are morons

[@Daniel-wn5ye]

@@GizmoMaltese Of course! He loved / loves a weaker EU / Europe!

[@jrodri14ii]

I used to be a tradesman here in the US. I'm hispanic, but I worked around many white and asian americans. The story people were sold was just so compelling given the struggles of the average person. The reality is that we're reeling from the effects of 2008 and that our lives, of any cultural background, are just monetized from birth. We're all struggling under the same system, but in our ignorance, we are all just so willing to believe our framing of it if only it is presented in the right way.

[@TheNefastor]

Can you smell the SOVEREIGNTY... now that the steelworks fumes have gone away ?

[@funmilolaogunsola2989]

Maybe if the MILLIONS of European scroungers were deported the NHS would function again and native British people able to find an affordable home and have a good quality of life in their own land.

[@russmarkham2197]

actually no. Can't smell any sovereignty because Brexit actually took that away also.

[@funmilolaogunsola2989]

The traitors sold off British steel to foreigners

[@funmilolaogunsola2989]

@@russmarkham2197 can you define sovereignty? The traitors don't serve the native population

[@snorkypigny1]

No but hoping my kids will.

[@Azrael.the.fourth.horseman]

Port Talbot overwhelming voted to leave the EU, this is what they voted for, even if they didn’t realise it at the time.

[@crintondux]

They didn’t vote for this though, they simply wanted to believe the lies. It was easier for the likes of us to see through it, because the internet is part of our day to day lives. We can research, look at both sides of every debate and make an informed decision. If the residents of Port Talbot and places like it, who are middle aged and older, not very well educated, and who get most of their information from the tabloids and don’t know any better, see Boris and Nigel driving round in a bus emblazoned with messages like “we give x amount of millions to the EU, let’s spend it on the NHS instead”, they are obviously going to buy into it. We should blame the liars; blatant, criminal liars - not the victims of their lies.

[@malpalmer3269]

They refused to realise it

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Port Talbot didn't realize the WORLD HAS OWNERS. You can never vote to leave or remain. Your vote in the WORLD OF OWNERS is utterly meaningless. This argument is nothing but a distraction.

[@klausschroiff4405]

The amusing part is - these people believed what POLITICIANS told them. Now find the ERROR. ;-)

[@Prestonesfpv]

This is exactly what happends when common people gets to vote with their feelings, and its bad

[@nolansdavid]

I'm a Port Talbot resident and I voted remain because I knew what we were being peddled was utter rubbish. As for the steelworks, however we got here we are now in a position where it's not a viable (profitable) business. Obviously nobody wants to see thousands lose jobs but the seeds were sown a long time ago IMO. British Gas isn't British, British Rail doesn't exist and nor does British Steel. Tories don't want to run business, they just want to profit from them. Once the profits dry up, they walk away.

[@anshumansahu1087]

That what you have just described is the behaviour of a parasite.

[@dm2060]

Well, y'all stole shit from India for 200 years so Tata owning all your steel production is fair enough.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

We have Fossil Fuel Climate Change Green Party bloody targets to thank for the closure of the steelworks. Port Talbot is dead, and they are REFUSING to allow us to turn Margam back into a massive marshalling rail yard and container shipping dock. The powers that be, want this town to die. Those who voted to leave, never wanted to see this happen.

[@Believe-you-me-]

You chose to believe Boris over experts. You get what you deserve.

[@noelfleming3567]

👍

[@davidpryle3935]

So why did the Redcar steelworks close in 2015, when Britain was in the EU ?

[@Believe-you-me-]

@@davidpryle3935 Global steel prices dropped causing it to become unsustainable. But the other steelworks were fine.

[@MishMash22]

@@davidpryle3935Kevin, just stop. You’re looking desperate mate

[@simosino6763]

​@@Believe-you-me-no they were dying just at a different rate. It is policy to end all heavy industry l

[@ZenioDovgj]

I'm glad that "smart" people are now paying for their "smart" choice.

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

The Tories sold off the silver in the 80s - now they are back to knock down the supporting walls.

Blair gave it a lick of paint and new double glazed windows. Cameron ripped the copper out of the walls and sold the mantlepiece.

[@terryj50]

Yet it’s Labour that run wales can’t make it up

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

Don't pretend not to understand National vs Devolved government and the role of the DTI - it just make you look like a bigger fool @@terryj50

[@myview5840]

Who sold all the gold

[@DJB01]

@@terryj50says someone who apparently has no understanding of the limited powers that the Welsh government has, and the overarching power that Westminster has over all four countries of the uk. The only thing the Welsh executive could do was request a meeting with Sunak to discuss options for avoiding this catastrophe, and Sunak denied the request. The blame for this lies squarely at the feet of the Conservatives and those who misled the UK population leading up to the 2016 referendum.

[@eekamoose]

Voting to leave the European Union and then losing your job at the Port Talbot steelworks is unbelievably sad. Seeing yourself and the community around you thrown from thriving activity into poverty and despair is simply devastating. And the fact that these people are in many ways responsible for their own misery is even sadder.

[@BigHenFor]

Sympathy for the conned, and anger at those who conned them is not enough. We need to look at our country as it really is, and work with that first. Thatcherism was a social experiment as well as an economical one, abd the indictrination has ill-served Wales. They might say it was false hope, but I think they wanted to believe what they were told. They wanted to believe that after their pain under Thatcher that those with power cared. Well, that was naive, and ahistorical. But, we are where we are.

[@toi_techno]

Ignorance in the first-world is always wilful Feel sorry for people who deserve it

[@alkaholic4848]

@@BigHenFor It only took a little bit of research and objective thinking to see through the con. I have no sympathy for anyone who voted for it. People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming someone else. They made their bed and now they have to lay in it.

[@ulihanel7078]

no it is not sad it is satisfying😂😂😂...you pay for your mistakes...

[@qweqwe9678]

Some people actually ... have fun being ... poor I guess 🤣😂🤣😂

[@ubaldobezoari8652]

The turkeys voted for Christmas. And now they say they regret it.

[@mortenthorpe]

Brexit reminds me of my favorite quote of all time… “There are two tragedies in life - wanting something you don’t have, and then getting it”… Brexit is a prime example of this!

[@heliotropezzz333]

The man who voted Tory because he thought that they were pro business must not have heard the warnings from business over Brexit or that Boris Johnson in reply said 'fuck business'. In any case the Tories' interest in business has been interest in profits, not in workers or jobs.

[@hadrianbird2645]

People who voted Brexit should have voted for independence instead, Westminster is the problem not the EU. The heads of the valleys was paid for by the EU not Westminster, the EU didn’t stop investing in Wales, Westminster did. Wales is the second poorest region of the UK and that is thanks to Westminster. Thanks to Westminster Wales qualified for objective one funding from the EU, objective one funding is for economic development in the poorest areas of the EU, thank you WESTMINSTER! Thank you for nothing. BREXIT… you voted for it, now you’re reaping the rewards. For all those that say we’re taking back our sovereignty, read about the democratic deficit that exists in the UK and ask yourself are you really living in a democracy.

[@tisFrancesfault]

If wales became an independent it would immediately lose out on 13 billion pounds overnight; This would be catastrophic. To suggest that Westminster is not funding Wales is flat out wrong. Not to say that the Central gov could do considerably better in investment in the provinces, because it does need to do so.

[@b62boom1]

​@tisFrancesfault The pittance Wales gets from Westminster is an insult. Welsh independence should be the choice of Welsh people. The current occupation of Wales by the English Government is utterly abhorrent. I grew up in South Wales under Thatcher, left school to a Tory recession, and now they've shut our last big industry, continuing the asset stripping of my Wales that Thatcher started.

[@tisFrancesfault]

@@b62boom1 Wales, per person is the 3rd most funded area of England and Wales, Following London and the North West (the latter being somewhat, if initially surprising). 25% of its budget is supplied by Westminster (13 Billion)...

[@daviddaniel6848]

Agree with you 100%.

[@carlosonliones202]

@@tisFrancesfault got a link?

[@Ioria89]

Now that the Brits are alone, they cannot blame anyone else anymore.

[@NmpK24]

Yes they can. They blame it all on politicians now even though they themselves were the ones who voted for it.

[@903lew]

Ach, I hear you do not know these people. It’s a very sad state but some britishers will blame the moon and the stars before they question their own exceptionalism.

[@Abee-un6zy]

The British voters that voted to exit the EU seemed to have thought that they would form valuable trade deals with the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The issue is those countries typically are more engrained in their region than they are likely to lean toward Great Britain. As a USA citizen, I think more about my shared economic ties with Canada and Mexico and more extensively, with Central and South American countries. I consider the UK as part of Europe and don't have any particular fascination toward British people.

[@malachy1847]

@@903lew We say in Ireland the that of decision of hitching your wagon to that Brexit Star, would be akin to ," Playing a Card against yourself." or regarding the E.U. in The Life of Brian, "What did the Romans ever do for us."

[@tinman10]

"Oven ready deal" there was not deal, there was no oven.

[@jugaloo5873]

Vote tory, get shafted. You'd think folk would learn.

[@nelch]

In Wales? Not many tories around here

[@prof2bobajob.klonded5]

And who did you vote for fool🤔

[@edwardbernthal160]

@@nelch there doesn't need to be, they are in Westminster holding the reins. Wales is not sovereign, or an independant country, you are ruled by foreigners.

[@terryj50]

They vote Labour in wales not Tory

[@AntSudbury-tv3we]

Not the small minded gullible racists then,

[@jordibrown1977]

But, but, but... they knew what they were voting for. They won. We have to get over it.

[@matthewrice3432]

😂😂😂😂😂👌

[@matthewrice3432]

@@robinbreeds9217 trouble is, robin, Brexit sure as hell isn't going to change that, is it?

[@abloogywoogywoo]

You really did need to get over it.

[@JamesBond-wh3cu]

You fell for it, now live with it.

[@dominickbrookes5103]

The futures of the youth, were stripped away by their parents their grandparents. Demand to rejoin. Demand change, dont quit.

[@plunder1956]

I was remembering the lady who on the day of the referendum result said: "Now we will get our steel Mills back!" She was not alone in getting that wrong. That was the day that doomed them all.

[@KaasSchaaf666]

a Dutchie here:ten years ago I was also anti-Europe, Trump, Brexit, and the sinister role of China have made me lose my blinders, Maybe as Europeans we are not always happy with each other, but ultimately we are like a dysfunctional family , we have to stand up for each other. We need Europe, there is strength in Numbers.

[@pedrorequio5515]

The EU is not very democratic, its a mess, but the years after Brexit have indeed shown why we should keep together, Countries like Ukraine see the EU as their only future for independence, soft power is about having a place at the table and the EU is just that. There is however some changes, the Farmers protests across Europe made a dent and shown the weakness of policy making in the EU, because the Comission is the only body capable of initiating legislation, the approved matters are way to far from reality sometimes, the Agricultural rules they were subjected too were ridiculous, and they backed off, this was not the case for most of EU history, but there needs to be some sort of initiative from the EU parliment, if you cant initiate a bill you cant have alternatives(the Comission can keep key powers).

[@KaasSchaaf666]

@@pedrorequio5515 a few things, the eu is democratic, a new parliament is elected every four years (and fortunately we are not a democracy like America or GB) and as for the farmers: the rules that the farmers have to adhere to are just as ridiculous as the subsidies that farmers receive. By the way, I am not anti-farmer, and I believe that the European excess capacity that EU farmers produce and is sold on the world market can be used as a tool of power.

[@Aboleo80]

At least they serve as a warning to other countries what happens when you "exit". This killed so many of similar movements in other countries. Even countries that constantly talk shit about EU like Hungary would never leave.

[@carleewalsh5502]

This is the stupid prize you win when you play this particular stupid game.

[@gawkthimm6030]

I wonder how many will continue to vote Tory?

[@nelch]

In Wales?

[@daikucoffee5316]

Too many. Because feelings don’t care about facts.

[@herrglotzenschnitzengruber1510]

All of them. "They like it up 'em Captain Mainwaring, they like it up 'em"

[@heliotropezzz333]

They might well turn to voting for the Reform Party, even more right wing and libertarian, even worse.

[@ftumschk]

Port Talbot has always been a strong Labour seat, and even when its majority was dented in 2019, it was the Brexit Party, rather than the Tories, who benefited (Port Talbot having voted 60% Leave in 2016). Boris's "get Brexit done" Tories barely increased their share of the vote.

[@heliotropezzz333]

The first guy thought the money 'pumped into the EU' went into a black hole. He didn't understand the trade and economic benefits of EU membership or the value of those, or how the EU spends its money. In fact a lot was spent on projects in Wales. The PM who called the referendum was for Remain and should have explained this but the Tories are lazy and complacent and he didn't do that or not effectively. He prioritised not worsening the splits in the Tory party.

[@JRattheranch]

You can't really blame him though! When did our media over the last 40 years, praise any of the huge investments made by the EU into Wales, West country, the Midlands! The signs were all there to see! Funded by the EU... But nobody noticed.... Until now!

[@robertallardice8119]

Cameron was scared of chief grifter Farage and didn’t think a slight majority would vote for leave. I believe it was partly an anti Cameron/austerity vote!

[@edwardbernthal160]

another of them said he didn't know the name of his local MEP and mumbled something about the lack of democracy in the EU.

[@octavianpopescu4776]

Yes, because the media pumped his brain with "X costs this, Y costs that", but they never talk about the profits, that the cost is an investment with a return, not throwing money out the window. You see this same rhetoric with welfare, they talk how much it costs, but they never mention the benefit things like universal healthcare bring. A healthy population is a productive population. Unemployment benefits are an investment in people who eventually find jobs and pay taxes, thus bringing in profit for the public purse. But no, all they talk about is costs, never income.

[@chrysalis4126]

He was always too busy going on and on about people on benefits.

[@czarfore]

Tough when a country goes on record proclaiming themselves a pack of fools.

[@balazs2000]

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Great work!

[@janrobertbos]

...arrogance, entitlement and exceptionalism...welcome to the brexit, Sir...

[@boboutelama5748]

In Switzerland, if politicians give false informations on a voting theme. Meaning, if voted, you have not the intended result (often the warning given by the opponent will materialize), then, the vote is canceled. Because peoples can't vote on false promises. This rule should be implemented in England. Probably too late for Brexit. Probably early enough for a next crucial vote on something we don't know yet.

[@zurielsss]

Should be implemented globally

[@aixtom979]

Yes. That's the way to go. Of course for every public vote in Switzerland on a topic they have the "Vernehmlassung" beforehand, where an expert commission independent from the government creates a comprehensive document about the consequences of the vote. And one of the indicators I have that make me think that the political system in Switzerland is working, is that I have no clue who is the head of State of Government of Switzerland without looking it up, because they hit the news so few times...

[@donedeal8385]

Wow, going to look into moving after I get my degree.

[@mqiqkqer5750]

It's basically the same as false advertising, should be given the same reprimands! I wish we could hold them accountable

[@theotherside8258]

its not up to us to cancel it because Europe would have to agree and they've had enough of us. the whole thing, every aspect was a fraud but now there is plenty evidence the politicians still won't admit it

[@ds8457]

You reap what you sow!

[@stevewise1656]

Sure, though like Trump voters, polls still show greater support for Brexit than not. People voted against their own interests and they were clearly warned exactly what Brexit would do to the economy.

[@Calvin23]

We remainers tried to warn you. James O’Brien was ridiculed by callers on LBC when he tried to educate the public and I think there’s more to come. Project Fear was the rebuttal and now the reality is here. The will of the people?? “Remoaners lost get over it” No everybody lost apart from the rich but these Brexiteers were not able to understand that until now.

[@markperrin8098]

James O'Brien is a sanctimonious clown.

[@Calvin23]

@@markperrin8098 I take it you voted leave then 🤦‍♂️

[@markperrin8098]

​@@Calvin2317.4 million people cant be wrong 😉

[@Calvin23]

@@markperrin8098 No you’re right the Brexit benefits will arrive any moment now.

[@markperrin8098]

@@Calvin23 I think it’s worth first reflecting on Reuters’ words from last week on the subject: The euro zone's economy stagnated last year, underperforming the rest of the world as former powerhouse Germany struggled with an industrial malaise that has no end in sight Ouch! It is also worth noting that Eurostat could not even provide an annual 2023 GDP figure for the euro zone overall (because Ireland’s data is a joke). The IMF put the Eurozone GDP growth at 0.5%. Whereas latest estimates for the UK from the OBR see UK GDP growth at 0.6% in 2023. The respective composite PMI reading are as follows: Euro Area: 47.90 (negative), UK: 52.90 (positive) What words would I use to describe Britain’s economic performance? "It could be worse, we could be in Eurozone"

[@richardc6269]

Wait a minute. U folks chose to believe the lies. There were people telling u that boris was lying.

[@charlottenobody20]

And getting abuse for doing so

[@theotherside8258]

they only read tory newspapers

[@justinwhite7183]

I’m amazed the uk still had a Steelworks

[@Viv8ldi]

How proud they were while brexiting

[@Tony-gg3nd]

We were all warned about job losses, rising bills, food prices, cost of living and high interest rates. Yet people voted against their own interests. Shocking.

[@jlirving]

But it wasn't like it was unanimous, think about how overwhelming the circus around leave was. The propaganda, it was deadening. The stay campaign was all logical, the leave was emotional. Emotions won, they also had the backing of the largest media empire in the world but that's an ongoing issue.

[@bigginsd1]

All of the reasoned arguments were quickly dismissed as “Project Fear” by the Leave campaign. Right wing politics has spent decades conditioning people to distrust experts.

[@ebbonfly]

All those things happened while we were in the EU or do you suffer from amnesia?

[@makcity7850]

@@brokendrummachine2539 Don't bring reason into the debate, the EU fan boys don't think that way. They can't even admit that a global lockdown help fast-track those job losses, rising bills, food prices, cost of living and high interest rates and add to that the Ukraine side show too. But Muh Brexit!

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Leave or Remain. Your vote never mattered in the end.

[@bobelliott2748]

I live in Canada...we have our own problems. Both my parents were brits. My wife is British. We followed this whole brexit thing closely and watched Britian descend into idiocy.

[@phunk8607]

LOL oh really. How's unemployment mate @@brokendrummachine2539

[@28pbtkh23]

You don’t know what you are talking about. Since the referendum on the EU, Britain has had higher GDP growth than Germany, Italy or France.

[@KennyTew2]

Some of us had to live through it. The detachment from reality has done so much damage, not just economically but in lots of vital areas. Anti-Vaxers, global warming deniers and all sorts of conspiracy belief are on the rise too. 😢

[@bobelliott2748]

GDP means nothing. If you pay a man to dig a hole and then pay another man to fill it in. That's GDP. If you put something useful in that hole before you fill it in, that's productivity

[@JupiterThunder]

Why doesn't Canada join the USA? Surely its economy is too weak and puny, and its people too stupid and racist, to be allowed their own country. Or it could join the EU.

[@semper7717]

This should serve as a lesson on the dangers of mass hysteria, when politicians tell you the sky is falling but it’s really not. Why are the founders of Brexit not in jail right now?

[@PapaVorPutin]

Sort of feel bad for all of them. But, at the same time they believed the lies and voted against their own interests.

[@heliotropezzz333]

The woman talking about not voting because the Tories disappointed her. Nothing will come of nothing. Not voting achieves nothing.

[@terryj50]

They are in wales it’s run by Labour not the tories

[@neodym5809]

@@terryj50the UK as a whole is run by the Tories. The powers of the Welsh government are rather limited.

[@terryj50]

@@neodym5809 it’s the Welsh government that decided on the green policy not the tories

[@patnavchatnav9634]

Not learnt a thing

[@moralez5891]

The closing of the steel mill has nothing to do with green policies.@@terryj50

[@sararichardson737]

They bought it on themselves. Wales was a beneficiary of EU grants and told it where to go. Well its gone now and they’re whining about it. Shame on them

[@noelfleming3567]

What about levelling up😮😮

[@mysticalmaid]

I live in the area, and know people working at the steelworks who voted Brexit. They were convinced Brexit would save our economy and protect our jobs from Polish people. Oh the arguments we had that year. Food prices and that of other goods have risen significantly since Brexit and we have worse to come. The only people who have benefited are the very rich ones who won't be affected.

[@RaijinKaze]

This is exactly what happened with the UK’s Nuclear power engineers. They had the company but sold it to France and now they have to rely on France and other EU companies to maintain and make their own Nuclear power plants!

[@abloogywoogywoo]

What does this have to do with climate change targets?? Gordon Brown sold off the industry while we were IN THE EU.

[@canonicalvantage1186]

As an Asian, I was seeing this brexit have a very bad repercussions. Only one word can describe this --- PRIDE.😢

[@wnose]

Part of it... But for decades, the establishment used EU as a punching bag. Media played along.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

The world is dying, mate. It ain't pride, its SLOTH.

[@vdotme]

A day of reckoning awaits politicians their parties for the Brexit disaster but everyone should also boycott the journalists & media corporations that helped sell Brexit, including the ones who just didn't do their job of investigating the claims.

[@priscillaroberts7945]

The non dom tax avoiding owned media that wanted the tax havens to be a conduit for their mates and their own money where our government can't/ won't get their hands on it for our nhs and social services etc? That media?

[@leor7870]

Hear hear 👏

[@jazzx251]

That's the BBC damned then My dad told the BBC licencing authority two years ago that he would not be renewing his licence - because the BBC was a puppet of the Conservative party. Which is what they clearly are.

[@DizY_8]

Nah nothing will happen to them. No matter what happens to the general public, the politicians will be okay. 🤷🤷🤷

[@rlceuropean3277]

Agree. In the past when you impoverished your own state to line your own pocket the charge would be Treason. We don't need a king for that.

[@sanluislfx4]

As an outsider I just dont understand Labors refusal to acknowledge that they were right and go on about fixing the mess.

[@deiseabu9331]

The automotive industry will be next, steel production affects car production.

[@andreteelen6266]

Yep if they need to chance the production line for a new model; they’re out! Not only because of the steel but also the parts !

[@eekamoose]

The car industry is already suffering and it can only get worse. Brexit has torpedoed the JIT (Just In Time) strategy that is the lifeblood of car manufacturing. The UK was warned, but then again people were tired of experts…

[@andreteelen6266]

@@eekamoose you're right! the Grenadier was supposed to be but in Wales; with a lot of German/Swiss parts.

[@ciarand2823]

expecting JLR to bugger off to Slovakia and India shortly

[@MrNobugsonme]

we havent got an auto industry it's all owned by overseas companies and it's only Government grants that keep them here....

[@timstapleman]

Believe Farage, Boris, Gove and Rees Mogg, vote Leave and then whine, complain, whinge, whine, complain like a snowflake. You've taken back control, haven't you? What's the problem?

[@pauli2169]

They wanted to believe the lies from brexiteers because it fitted their own xenophobic narrative. Stop whining, wrap a nice Union Jack around your shoulder and be happy that you have your sovereignty back. Instead of feeling sorry for yourselves, what about thinking about other businesses going bust because of your vote to leave.

[@AreJayCee]

​@@pauli2169 That Union Flag will be the only warm clothes they can afford

[@theworldaccordingto4555]

@@AreJayCee But Grease sMogg said that our clothes and shoes etc would be cheaper after Brexit ??? He also said that bringing in all the brexit checks, border checks etc would be an act of national self-harm. But surely that is what taking back control of our borders would entail, checking everything going in and out of the country? If you don't do all the necessary checks then you aren't in control of your borders! Another thing sMogg said was, it could take 50 yrs to recover from Brexit and get back to pre-brexit levels! Is that why the rich like sMogg moved their money and businesses out of the UK and into EU countries (and offshore tax havens, of course). "Oh, what a tangled web they weave, when first they practice to deceive" and that is exactly what we got from Farage, BoJo, Gove & Grease Mogg etc.

[@fethryduck]

Rees Mogg said that the British Fish is now happy . Mission accomplished. 👌👍

[@HieronymousCheese]

@@theworldaccordingto4555 Don't forget that Greasy Mogg secured his EU (Irish) passport after the referendum. So that's nice for him.

[@theotherside8258]

Nobody cares what happens to people who disregarded all the warnings at the time. People were lying but people told them about the lies and they didn't want to know.

[@effkay3691]

It’s usually better to be part of a big economy than a small economy. A small economy is a village. A large economy is Europe.

[@effkay3691]

@@robinbreeds9217 That’s got nothing to do with Europe. Factory jobs go to cheaper manufacturing countries. It happens all over the world.

[@dodger37]

Tories closed their mines and they still trusted them.

[@nulnoh219]

Tories blames it on the unions aka Labour...

[@GarroLegionofOne]

You do realise they closed the mines because you had been using less and less coal?

[@mintywebb]

​@@GarroLegionofOnethey closed them to smash the unions.

[@Thaitanium73]

Thank god, who would want future generations of their family having going down a mine shaft as their only option to earn money.

[@pavld335]

Tories have destroyed Britain. And Labour is a willing partner.

[@innageorgievadoychinova578]

''You can't con an honest man'' is a saying that comes to mind after watching this...

[@mochan8447]

So we are now supposed to feel bad for people who got what they deserve? It is quite difficult to feel compassion when due to their stupidity all the rest of us have to pay a dear price of having lost all the privileges we previously held. I’m sorry… I am unable to move past: just desserts!

[@VonFreklstein]

In the end, we should feel sorry for them, masses being misled all the time, everywhere. Most folks have short memories and are easily herded.

[@mochan8447]

@@VonFreklstein yes F that. Nature is cruel. You put your foot in quicksand you go under. You don’t get saved because of divine intervention or because you’re a decent fella. You go under because of the simple law of causality: cause and effect. Feeling bad or good is irrelevant. I do feel angry that they dragged other reluctant bystanders down under the sand with them… even as we were telling them that was what was going to happen.

[@joaomarreiros4906]

No schadenfreude intended, I am working class too, but just to clarify one thing, I have always been able to vote in every election for the EU and its Parliament, if I voted in party "A" or "B", I know who "my" elected Deputy is, there are no unelected bureaucrats and there never were. All EU institutions and its "workers" and or "representatives" are decided either by vote or by agreement amongst OUR elected representatives. This entire drama of brexit only came about when the EU decided, as a collective, UK included, to tighten the rules on banking, taxing and general economic policies, to allow more control of the States, again, UK included, on their economies. Why? Remember the austerity of the early years? I remember, and here in Portugal it hit us 10 times worse than the UK, we all remember it, we are still dealing with the consequences of IMF intervention and the blind austerity. But then, some very rich and very , allegedly, shady people in the UK decided they would have none of this, so, controlling the media, the parties, and you, British citizen, came up with brexit as an attempt of blackmailing, allegedly, the rest of the other EU countries. But the EU is not a Club or a Dictatorial regime, so the answer was, if the UK wants to leave, its their right to do so. And now, they got caught in their lies, allegedly, and haven't a clue on what are they going to do. A simple answer, its was all greed Britons, nothing more, avarous people that want to keep getting their money and not justify where it comes from or pay taxes on it, allegedly. Get rid of them, demand proportional representation as a nation, a collective. And a sincere handshake and good luck to all those hardworking folks in Port Talbot.

[@leor7870]

Well explained 👏

[@noelfleming3567]

Well said 👏👏

[@davidpryle3935]

Nice conspiracy theory. But the truth is, the big banks, the big corporations, the big employers, the CBI, all campaigned strongly to remain in the EU. No point trying to rewrite history.

[@alienationism]

Quite right! 👍🏼👏🏽 But bureaucrats are never elected, only appointed. Deputies in the parliaments are elected.

[@joaomarreiros4906]

@@alienationism They are appointed, correct, but its decided at a ministerial or functional level under the responsability of the elected representatives of the State Members, meaning, the ones we elect assume the responsability of the ones appointed. In Portugal that happened recently, the PM ask for the resignation and triggered elections this March because people in his Cabinet were caught in a alleged corruption scheme.

[@englishtime5327]

Wales voted for Brexit. What did they expect? It's true they were lied to, but just a little bit of research would have told them it was a lie.

[@oldishandwoke-ish1181]

Or just an ounce of that famed "common sense"......

[@maulwurf62]

Did they? Didn’t know that. I suppose I’ve assumed that they voted „remain“, as Scotland did. How very sad.

[@rorouc]

Putin has just laughed watching this small docu😂

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Why? Russia's deindustrialization makes what anyone else is going through (or has gone through) look like nothing.