Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Brexit: British MPs campaign in Strasbourg | DW News" video.

It all depends on your viewpoint. I wonder if I can saunter into any British traditional gentlemen's club and demand free service. It's a tad unfair towards contributing members, don't you think?
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Dumbo Don't flatter yourself. On a per capita basis you're not the biggest net payer, not by a long stretch. I alluded to "free service" with the desired outcome for Brexiters -- free access to EU markets without paying dues. Wishful thinking, that.
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Dumbo Ah, you prefer not to compare apples to apples. You're a bit of a drama queen if you believe EU-UK trade would grind to a halt overnight. It's bound to decline gradually as products become less competitive on account of import tariffs. Of course, it would be tit-for-tat, but the biggest loser is the British consumer, who'll see prices rise. EU consumers might not even notice, since British products are easier to replace. But in your shoes my greatest worry would be dwindling foreign investment and more factory closures. It's already clear there'd be a short-term negative impact -- the money markets have already made their pessimism known. But what's unclear is if there's a long-term rebound. I'm inclined to think the pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophesy.
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Dumbo No one's twisting your arm to invest in Greece. Fact is, you can only make the UK look good by comparing it to the EU backwaters. Did you need more fruit metaphors? About bank bailouts and excessive public debt, the UK managed to get embroiled with all that despite not being in the eurozone. But no doubt you'll find a way to pin your stupidity on the EU, too.
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Dumbo Oh, we're doing opinions now. Mine's that should Brexit happen, the UK will spend years trying to regain its economic footing. Since globalisation is the name of the game, the question is not if the UK has hamstrung itself, but how badly.
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Dumbo Good luck with your South African apple diet. No cheating! Again, you're comparing apples and oranges. You're apparently pitting the UK against the EU. However, apple-to-apple -- country-to-country -- the UK isn't the exceptional performer you make it out to be. Good, but not exceptional. The Footsie has been hard-hit by Brexit fears. If your theory about investors favouring Brexit were correct, it should've weathered the storm.
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Dumbo I'll leave it to you to work kiwis and starfruits into your anti-EU diet. I'm sure the Commonwealth can donate other exotic fruits, too, so Blighty won't have to go hungry. They are jittery by nature, but the financial markets have spoken. Uncertainty is never conducive to investment and the only certainty about the uncertainty is that it's going to last a good many years as trade agreements are pondered over in Brussels and London. Ironically, if a member state decides to call a referendum -- like the Netherlands just did over the EU association agreement with Ukraine -- chances are the whole process has to be restarted from scratch. In the mean time, the EU is a safer haven for investment.
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Dumbo Riiight, fiscal irresponsibility is a prerogative of pro-EU leaders. Your claims about competitiveness are at odds with global competitiveness rankings. The UK clearly trails many other EU countries. Now, over to you to boldly claim (apologies for the split infinitive, but the sci-fi reference is appropriate) that Britain will shoot to the top once rid of the EU.
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