Doesn't matter, the beetle will have done its work. The tree will stand but is now unstable. The remaining 27 little beetles will squabble and some will continue to chew away until they hear the creaking of the timber.

I cut down a pine tree a few days ago. The heart at the base had been eaten by beetles, hence the analogy, but having killed the tree not one beetle remained, they'd all left and gone somewhere else.

I think you are very much mistaken. Why should the UK regaining it's sovereignty be a huge step backwards?? I'd really like to hear your thoughts on that one. How can having proper border controls in place like Canada be a step backwards>? I could go on all night..

You couldn't be more wrong.

Depends how many trade deals you can score whilst controlling your borders- and what damage that control does to the economy in itself.

England is already somewhat screwed by having a thriving financial sector in the south and struggling industry in the north. It's like a mini, upside down Europe.

I probably am, but never underestimate the ability of politicians of all nations to screw up anything and everything they touch... and with Brexit they've been given access to all the screwdrivers in the toolbox.

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...brexit-britain

Says it all really.

All rather amusing, certainly for the student union club.

The reality............

'If you've got money, you vote in ... if you haven't got money, you vote out' | Politics | The Guardian

Both sides lied — get over it...........

Three great myths of the sulking Remainers

That's shockingly poor writing for a piece in the Spectator, the best line is a quote from Julie Burchill.

I liked this LSE blog. I was bored to start with then it got interesting. The UK has less immigration than Canada or Australia: quite a bit less and there's some other good analysis and stats:

BREXIT – Letter to friends (2): why Britain voted to leave, and what to do about it

S

PS: the bit about 1950s Britain, contrasting it with today was good: I hadn't realised that there were 5 smoking carriages on the tube versus 2 non-smoking. In the 60s/70s, I can recall only one smoking: the last carriage (and upstairs on the bus!). And you could smoke on planes of course ... I think till the 1990s (?)

What complete drivel.

While that is an excellent, balanced and helpful analysis. Thank you.

Briatian has always been the grumpy beetle half in half out of europe- moreso than Norway or Switzerland which aren't even in the EU.

I did notice the amount of foreign accents in the park today, though everyone was white.

Excellent article, while a bit biased towards remaining in EU, it does explain why a Norway-Plus option may be the best for all. But it does seem to miss that it is not unreasonable to want to maintain one's own culture- many in UK, and EU, are not racist in their actions but do feel UK and EU culture will eventually disappear form the level of immigration occurring. USA is not directly comparable as the immigration is much more spread out throughout the country.

The UK and EU should be able to negotiate a Norway-plus arrangement if common sense would rule the negotiations, and might prompt EU politicians and media to realize to could actually strengthen long term the EU experiment by considering the views of people and not the elite.

First bold: The article discusses the way forward after the referendum, not how to remain in the EU (which, of course, I think would be best and will be what happens in the end).

Second bold: Why would the culture in the UK (or any other country) disappear due to immigration? Cultures don't disappear, they evolve.

Third bold: How? By having a referendum? That seems to have been a rather poor idea. Or at least a pathetically managed one.

My impression is articled written by someone who preferred the remain option from the opinions expressed, just my impression.

Ok cultures don't disappear overnight, but the very evolution influenced by high levels of immigration (or other causes) one can be against. I see nothing wrong with any people wishing to maintain their own culture and traditions. Plus the evolution may be negative, or may be positive, but certainly isn't neutral.

How to achieve a Norway-plus option ? I don't know, but the article pointed out a possible path for the future to address concerns on both sides of the Brexit debate. My problem is I see strong points for and against Brexit, thus a middle path might be the a preferable one if possible.