Miscellaneous
Assuming Britain makes the leap… what's next for the UK and for Europe? Will the US help us out? Will the Chinese take an interest? And WTF is happening in France…? With over 53 years as a foreign reporter (including many spent as ‘the BBC Common Market Correspondent’) John Simpson has an idea or two about what we might be facing. On this unmissable episode John and producer Lisa Francesca Nand debate the reasons behind the vote to leave and delve into the possibilities that might befall both the EU and Britain if/when we leave our biggest neighbouring trading block. On this episode we cover Does John mind being called veteran Veteran is better than ‘venerable’ The three Vs of getting old The UK being in a bit of a civil war state since the referendum Like Cromwell fighting Charles I John being the ‘BBC Common Market Correspondent’ in the 70s General de Gaulle blocking Britain from joining Being involved from the start would have been a better fit Lisa having enjoyed being part of Europe John hating the idea of Visas in Europe Being a Brit first, a European second Focusing on advantages and disadvantages of leaving But this means we have ignored the rest of Europe John’s experience as a correspondent in Brussels How we always stood on the edges of the EU The UK hankering after a lost world position We saw in the referendum how much support there was leaving John being ambivalent about leaving But caring about our standards of living falling Very few people researched trade agreements, laws and their benefits ‘The metropolitan elite’ People that come to London are not all posh John being an ex-Cambridge elite How John thinks everything Lisa says is true (yay!) We have a representative democracy In 2016 we allowed people to take the decisions for themselves People were lied to The divisions of our society The result being as a result of austerity and government cuts Will life get better for the people who felt marginalised? The people that in favour agree life is going to be rougher What’s next for France? The French being the mirror image opposite of us 14.33 – 14.48 edit stop for water break! The French revolution sanctifying violence French protests being entirely different to British France is not collapsing Workers rights in France being very strong John missing Paris but Paris being stuck in the 50s in many ways Will the EU weaken after we leave? John thinking it was a mistake pushing for an ever closer union The UK were the strong person of Europe We had a seat at the table Travellers in the Third Reich and how we slept walk into Nazi Germany Are we too sleepwalking into something that is more sinister? John reporting on the National Front in France What’s really next for Europe A quite uncomfortable closer relationship to the US to survive The Chinese won’t take any great interest in us Britain will drift for quite a long time