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Comment by blitzar | Hacker News Reader

> Could have been a great opportunity to try to actually improve things rather than adding loopholes for the benefit of special interests.

The reality is that the EU legislation was toxic and loopholed at the behest of the UK and its special interests. The UK was not a moderating influence, but the UK was the one calling for no encryption and spying of the population.

If given a chance to improve or remove legislation the UK government will remove it NOT because its an assault on freedom and liberty, but because they dont think it goes far enough in curtailing freedom and liberty.

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Yes, very well explained in Yes Minister https://youtu.be/37iHSwA1SwE

Just started watching the series this weekend; it holds up shockingly well. The only sad thing is it's almost not cynical enough when compared to today's politics.

Well said.

As a UK national, I have to prefer being beaten with relish by genuine sadists (the UK government), rather than by sadists who pretend to have some heart left over.

Mission accomplished! Good luck with, well, everything & looking forward to seeing you in back in the Union within 2 generations! Without the prior exemptions & special treatment, naturally.

Many Brits against Brexit and who want to rejoin EU disagree and believe EU wants UK back so much it'll offer the same terms as before.

I don't have any skin in this particular game but it sure seems to me that the UK is the one who stands to gain the most out of this particular transaction...

That arrangement of incentives seems about as likely as the US agreeing to take the UK on as the fifty-first state.

I mean if you're all about maximising economic gain over sovereignty: joining the much larger (and growing) US makes much more sense than the declining EU

Curb your schadenfreude. The way things are going, there may not be a union in two generations.

Most EU countries have an ultra-right wing, nationalist and euroskeptic party in their parliament (I just don't want to say "fascist"). At least three (Italy, Hungary and Poland) have one in government. In France, Mme Le Pen has consistently got to the second round of presidential elections for the last ... three? Four? elections?

Things aren't going well.

> The way things are going, there may not be a union in two generations.

You mean might be a new union? I can agree with that. A fragmented Europe is not stable, if the EU dissolves in the next 10 years, it's almost certain there will be some sort of union in the next 2 generations. Whether there'll be another war in Western Europe between now and then is another question altogether.

Now thanks to Brexit they're all playing 'chicken' in actually leaving. Because they like the money better. (though I'm not betting on Hungary much)

Leaving was their 'controversy of the day', there are other ones they can use to pent up dissent.

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