Quote Originally Posted by BobH View Post
No the final outcome and all it's ramifications is certainly not clear. You completely miss the point of it being how the negotiations are carried out that can make it more difficult to get to a conclusion. They can either go as smoothly as possible or stumble from one sticking point to another as both sides try to extract some element of revenge.
Well, the best place to obtain such information will surely be the Leave campaign's website, right? So, here we are:
What happens the day after a vote to leave?
In the event of a vote to 'Leave' at the upcoming referendum on EU membership, our government would be obliged to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union (as amended by the Lisbon Treaty). This consists of two elements: the first is a two year notice period after which the UK ceases to be an EU Member State. The second puts in place the framework for negotiations towards an alternative trading agreement (for which there is no set time limit) with the EU after we leave. [Source]
And yes, that's it. People voted for this. Seriously. "Well, you know, we're gonna vote leave, and then we'll trigger Article 50, and then two years later, all will be nice and dandy." And you actually wonder why people in the EU are not amused?

And please spare me, and everyone else, this "revenge" nonsense. The EU is a political body, not one of Donald Trump's many wives or mistresses. The UK will be dealt with according to existing rules and regulations. Just because the EU will defend its own interests (or, rather, those of its member states) does not mean that the EU is out for revenge.

However, if I compare https://leave.eu/en/our-campaign#our-vision to the political and economic realities, many people will be in for several bitter disappointments. But that is because the Leave campaign lied, not because the EU is out for revenge.

Quote Originally Posted by BobH View Post
It is true that an increasingly large number of people in the western world feel left behind for whatever reasons, real or imagined. That does create fertile ground for politicians with formerly unacceptable ideas and standards of behavior to gain a following. To write those people who feel left behind off as having no place in the world has it's perils.
It most certainly does. But what do you want to do instead? Yes, you can build a wall, and keep international competition out. This might even work for a couple of years. But the sad truth is that some countries that have benefited immensely from globalisation in the past missed the point when they had to adapt their school systems, curricula, and higher education. You cannot have a high standard of living, free healthcare, and so on (technically speaking, the UK is a socialist state, despite Tories claiming that it's not - its welfare system is at least as good as Swedens, if not better) - yet have a workforce that is unable to compete internationally. And yes, loss of full access to the single European market will exarbate that challenge, too. Especially because the US will push the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership , and put the UK on the backburner...