Anyone else going to be in London for Brexit?

I can’t see how anything will get sorted out in less than 2 months, so it will probably be delayed. I maybe wrong, but I can’t see any protests happening. People are just sick of hearing about it.

Previous protests eg the poll tax riots were less civilised than in Spain and France.

I will be in London the end of April through May 5 and wonder if anyone in England has any idea what might be the situation by that time? Maybe foolish to ask, but just wondering if a local resident might see this and have an informed opinion. Thank you. Deanna (USA)

Nobody knows what’s going to happen.

I understand you are all concerned about your vacations but most of us who live there have literally no idea what’s going to happen to the country as a whole, let alone the repeated specific questions from visitors!

The government has literally no idea either.

"Previous protests eg the poll tax riots were less civilised than in Spain and France."

I think it depends on whether "rent a mob" get involved in Brexit protests.

Close! I'll be returning to JFK on the 26th. I agree with you that it will be interesting. I don't agree with stereotyping peoples' civility however.

Why is it I’m reminded of the old Chinese curse ‘May you live in interesting times’?!!!

I’m not sure Brexit will be delayed unless the government can get some form of the May deal through Parliament first and if it then takes an extra couple of weeks/months/years for the EU to OK and it be passed into law. If, indeed, this sequence of events is even possible. A friend wrote today that when ‘kicking the can down the road’ has to stop MP’s will have to decide whether to save their party or the country. Not holding my breath on that one.

We are not kidding when we say nobody knows what is going to happen, but the fact that many companies are planning for a ‘no deal’ which now seems more likely and the government itself is also stockpiling drugs and food etc is not reassuring.

I think a ‘no deal’ exit is the one most likely to create unrest but not immediately. It won’t happen until stocks of stuff start to run out, the bottom drops out of the economy, the motorways turn into car parks etc. I don’t hold out any hope that any protest will be ‘civilised’ and personally I would avoid areas of protest if possible. That’s not because I don’t feel strongly about Brexit, I do, but I think the protests won’t solve the problem at that stage and I’m a bit long in the tooth for being a ‘Street Fighting Man’!

Fingers crossed for the least worst outcome!

Ian

Ian and Julie , I am curious about your comment pertaining to the motorways becoming car parks . Would you be so kind as to explain . I think I know to what you are referring , but not certain . Thanks , in advance .

Hi Steven -

There’s a plan currently in place for non Brexit problems called ‘Operation Stack’ which turns lanes of motorways - in this instance the M20 into Dover - into a lorry park for trucks queuing to get into customs in Dover when some ‘little local difficulty’ prevents smooth passage through. This obviously has a knock on effect on other traffic trying to use the motorway and also get into Dover.

A no deal Brexit is likely to put Operation Stack into action with a vengeance and there has been a (somewhat farcial if reports are to be believed) rehearsal for parking up even more trucks onto a disused airfield in anticipation of Brexit amplifying the situation with delays at customs.

While the plan concentrates on Dover, there are other ports on the coast - say, Immingham, to name but one - which would likely be subject to similar delays and snarl ups, so you could see similar problems throughout the country really in event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

Let’s hope we get a deal through which would avoid all that, but like I said elsewhere, I won’t be holding my breath on that one!

Ian

Arriving on the 30th. Looking forward to a great trip!

The year my son decides to spend an academic year in London is, of course, the year all this goes down. I'm a bit nervous - not really about protests because those are usually avoidable unless you purposefully put yourself into the middle of them - mostly because of the concern about shortages of goods because of import problems. I certainly hope they can sort this out so it isn't a complete disaster.

I suspect, for one reason or another, the pubs will be packed that day.
Some may be celebrating, others drowning their sorrow.

Please send a report of whatever you observe

more likely, methinks, a damp squib

Emma, glad you said "on both sides". Not sure about the "ill informed vote" though, I personally take anything a politician says with a pinch of salt but I'm old enough to remember Ted Heath taking us into the EEC (not the EU) whether we wanted to join or not and also the referendum in 1975 on whether we wanted to stay in the EEC. I voted in the 2016 referendum on personal experience and what the EEC had become, not on what I was being told by politicians, as did most of the people I know (that expressed an opinion).

I'm following the news closely and while no one officially confirms it yet, it's widely acknowledged that even if the Government can get Parliament to vote on a (potentially revised) withdrawal agreement, there isn't enough legislative time to get the house in order so a technical extension is inevitable, perhaps of around a month. The likelihood that we will go ahead and leave on 29th as planned without a deal is very small. So I think end of March/early April will be pretty uneventful. Walk around Parliament Square and you might get yourself in the background shot of a news crew!

Personally I think the next general election will be the interesting time. Discussing it with friends, and we have a range of political opinions, there is simply no one to vote for.

Emma, now you know how many of us in the USA felt in November of 2016.

Somehow I think the hard work of the true government workers like yourself will find a way to clean up the mess made by the politicians.

As someone who's been closely following the news, my guess is that it will be delayed. EU is playing hardball right now but probably will allow for more time for the UK to sort this all out. I doubt there will be any large protests on Brexit day, though you may see the chaps waving the Trump 2020 flag near Parliament, which I don't even begin to understand. At least the Queen will be safe...

All said, I think as a travel you should be fine. It will be interesting for me as well as I'm planning to go the EU embassy open houses in DC this year and no one quite knows if the UK embassy will be allowed to participate or not. 2016 was a crazy year.

What would it take to extend the Brexit deadline beyond March 29? Must all EU nations be in agreement?

No, the Article 50 letter can be withdrawn unilaterally, or extended unilaterally according to the EU negotiator and supported by the court.

Nigel I think it can be withdrawn unilaterally, but an extension has to be agreed by all 27. The fly in the ointment is European elections in June. They need certainty that we are either going to be in or out of those elections! If the EU doesn't think we are anywhere near getting an agreement that they will sign off on through Parliament, they may insist on a really long extension, say 2 years to allow for a fundamental change to the negotiations, opening the door for a general election or (whispers) second referendum.