The language is mutating (and always has done)

[Jacob]

MEPs, the elected ones are there for show - they have little influence.

Oh yes they did.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/en/eucitizenscorner/what_do_they_do.htmlHaven't you realised yet that brexit was all total bollorks based on lies and hysteria?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

What do you think the EU would tell you? That MEPs do five eights of FA? The whole EU is based on lies, and the EEC was based on lies in the beginning. Had the liar Heath been truthful we'd probably never have gone in. Wait til Germany alone has to bail out half the Mediterranean. It's coming. No need to thank me.

Anyway, that's enough of that.

 

[Jacob]

What do you think the EU would tell you? That MEPs do five eights of FA? The whole EU is based on lies, and the EEC was based on lies in the beginning. Had the liar Heath been truthful we'd probably never have gone in. Wait til Germany alone has to bail out half the Mediterranean. It's coming. No need to thank me.

Anyway, that's enough of that.

What would you say was the most tangible benefit of Brexit achieved in the 6 years of intensive preparation and negotiation since the referendum?

 

[selectortone]

What do you think the EU would tell you?

For God's sake... Don't get him started

 

[Terry - Somerset]

This is a fairly objective summary of EU democratic processes - although of somewhat academic interest now that we have left.

EU democracy

There are weaknesses - different to our own (UK) but the takeaway is that:

• the UK places responsibility for the actions of government on elected MPs - the professional unelected Civil Service actually do the work and remain largely unaccountable.
• The EU Commision are unelected full time bureaucrats but accountable to MEPs.
• The EU council of Ministers has a representative appointed by each member nation and are thus the outcome of a democratic process

IMHO the EU approach is superior to the UK in placing responsibility on professional permanent civil servants, not MPs who are frequently in post for a limited period, have limited relevant experience, and whose actions are conditioned by opinion polls.

BTW - whilst I voted to remain, we sacrificed independence through treaty changes - creating a potential federation whose role expanded massively from an economic and market alliance.

Far from being a bastion of mature democracy the UK has real weaknesses in the role and appointment of a second chamber (HoL), uses FPTP rather than PR, and sacrifices coherent long term direction as MPs actions are dominated by immediate opinion polls.

The problems of being 1 of 28 in the EU is no different to the tensions created within the UK England, Scotland, Wales, NI) and at a lower level still - between central government, local government, unitary authorities, town and local councils.

To get the benefits of being part of a larger central organisation inevitably means sacrificing some degree of independence.

 

[Rich_D]

Going back to English language changing for the worse is past tense words no longer used by people who should know better. E.G I bought a loaf of bread yesterday. Is now I did buy a loaf of bread…., said has become did say……walked has become did walk. The BBC presenters are the worse culprits. Rant over.

 

[rogxwhit]

We live in global world

I thought that it was flat ...

 

[Kittyhawk]

Why? I've never since school needed or wanted to go to France.

That is so sad.

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

I thought that it was flat ...

Doesn’t make a lot of sense. I suppose I meant global society.

 

[John Brown]

What would you say was the most tangible benefit of Brexit achieved in the 6 years of intensive preparation and negotiation since the referendum?

Apart from the banana thing, obviously...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That is so sad.

Why? That seems to me a rather curious comment. (Incidentally, I've been to NZ twice - lovely Country.)

 

[thetyreman]

I've heard from several sources that french people don't like to wash and going on public transport stinks, they can certainly cook though and have some of the best food so I will forgive them.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Their cooking standards outside the very top level are falling dramatically, apparently - I read not long ago of large numbers of middle ranking restaurants (the small and medium sized family run ones) closing.
They have more McDonalds per capita than the UK.

 

[Adam W.]

Tut!

 

[Valhalla]

How many know that the old timers UK word for uncut raw timber is ‘stuff’ which is also used in the texts. I use it in my threads and nobody has picked up on it, which is a surprise.

I think table saw is a term in the UK, but is for a saw that is placed on a table……contractors saw type…..where as we used to use cabinet saw for a floor standing saw.

Dado set is I believe the same as the UK, just illegal for professional shops to use I believe.

And 'Deal' was a much used timber back in the day.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A deal was actually a size of timber rather than a type afaik.

 

[John Brown]

A deal was actually a size of timber rather than a type afaik.

Maybe in the original usage. When my father(born 1912) used the term it meant cheap softwood, as far as I remember.

 

[John Brown]

Their cooking standards outside the very top level are falling dramatically, apparently - I read not long ago of large numbers of middle ranking restaurants (the small and medium sized family run ones) closing.
They have more McDonalds per capita than the UK.

Hard to believe. One of my old school chums is a McDonald, and so is my next door neighbour (who has a small farm, as it happens). I've never met a French person with the name.

 

[selectortone]

Deal was the crappy softwood we had to use in woodwork classes at school back in the 60s. The worst sort of pine.

 

[Jacob]

........

To get the benefits of being part of a larger central organisation inevitably means sacrificing some degree of independence.

It also means pro-actively participating in ways to improve the organisation, which no longer possible except as subordinate negotiators with no rights at all.