I hear you UK repub, and I agree. If it could be mitigated to free movement of labor rather than persons, then that wouldn’t be too bad, but free movement of persons is poisonous.
But 112/113 of the EEA allows free movement to be throttled way, way down. Lichtenstein has already invoked it: there’s no reason why an overcrowded UK (that was in the EEA) could also do so.
Moving to the EEA would also repeal CAP and the fisheries policy + also give the UK the ability to trade freely + maintain the passport on financial services.
And if the EEA move didn’t stop free movement, then it’s *really* easy to leave the EEA. We would lose access to the single market (and would want to arrange bilateral agreements like Switzerland) but we could do it.
(Oops).
I have no faith in the politicians, the labour agreements we should be making are with countries like Australia and New Zealand and strictly skilled workers only.
The media is toxic and are already doing their utmost to undermine the result and the politicians theirs to dilute what it represented.
Its a turning point, we get one shot at this, I pray that it is the right one or we are well and truly screwed.
The problem is as folks flee one country to go work in another, then that country faces a labor shortage and then has to import their own workers. It’s a classic “Domino Effect”.
Poland has replaced all the Poles who left for Britain with Ukrainians.