Independence for London

[TwigtheWonderkid]

If Scotland gets another referendum because they don't want to be dragged out of the EU against their will, why can't we have the same in London.

We've voted overwhelmingly in favour of staying in. I'm pretty sure we could go it alone. I suspect the wealth generated in London subsidises most of the rest of the country anyway. I feel I have more in common with Parisians, Berliners etc than I do with the good folk of Burnley.

So what about it Londoners? Let's get out and leave the rest of the UK to it.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

TeamD said:

LOL! And where, pray, would you have the border? Not sure you'll get to keep Heathrow

Heathrow is wholly in London Borough of Hillingdon. It belongs to London. We get to keep that. We'll have a border, and be like Lesotho, but with flashier cars and stuff.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

paulrockliffe said:

I can't tell if you're being serious or not, but have you considered that an independent London would have a land border with the UK and only the UK? Or that all the military power resides outside of London? The rest of the country would shut you off and starve you out and it's a long way for Scotland to come to your rescue.

I will use the same argument the leave campaign has used. The rest of the UK will be desperate to do business with us once we leave, because we're so rich and our streets are paved with gold. We will sign advantageous trade agreements with farmers from the rest of the UK.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

rich1231 said:

Hmm I would hazard a guess that a great many wealth creators in London.. actually commute in from elsewhere...

Great, and they can still come in daily. We'll have no problem with immigrant workers. Loads of builders and labourers in London working here during the week, and go back to Easter Europe every weekend. No different from returning to Surrey each evening. They'll all be very welcome.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

MrBrightSi said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I feel I have more in common with Parisians, Berliners etc than I do with the good folk of Burnley.

How sad and petty a thing to say. Congrats, you guys in the city sure do put us countryside folk in our place. Sorry for not understanding the insane complexities of urban life.

That's ok, don't beat yourself up over it.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

paulrockliffe said:

It's an interesting abstract discussion, but you don't honestly believe a move to leave the UK would be a success? Most of your productive people wooldn't be able to get back in, the navy would block the Thames and the RAF would stop anything coming in and out of Heathrow. We've got the trains covered too.

To sensationalist for you? Maybe have a look at whether London is self sufficient in energy and food, then work from there.

You don't need to be self sufficient in energy or food if you can afford to import them. And without London's money, you won't have an RAF or Navy. So you can forget that idea. We'll be able to fund our own though. But we would probably do a deal with he rest of the UK to keep the armed forces. Just making sure you pay your fair proportion for a change.

Railways are no problem. We run trains to France you know. Trains can run across borders.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

paulrockliffe said:

You're clearly missing the point. All of what you propose is reliant on access to the rUK, that isn't going to happen. If you want to burn the rest of the country, they will make sure you burn with us.

If the EU will (so we've been told) be happy to trade with the UK now we've voted to leave, because they want to sell us stuff and they want to buy stuff from us, why wouldn't the UK want to trade with London for the same reasons?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Catweazle said:

Who maintains the track?

Who maintains the tracks of all the lines that run into Switzerland from other countries?

I guess London would maintain the tracks in London, and the rest of the UK will maintain their tracks.

I don't think this is a deal breaker.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

mattmurdock said:

paulrockliffe said:

You're clearly missing the point. All of what you propose is reliant on access to the EU, that isn't going to happen. If you want to burn the rest of Europe, they will make sure you burn with us.

You don't have anything except computers, numbers on a screen and tall buildings. Christ, you won't even have the internet to coordinate your response. The UK is toast without the rest of the EU.

I'm sure you're joking though?

EFIA

The irony is amazing. We've stuck two fingers up to the EU, but have been told that it won't matter, and trade will continue as before, they need us.

But the suggestion that London might stick two fingers up to the rest of the UK, and suddenly it's a different matter. "you will be toast, we'll burn you, go fk yourself, we'll blockage you and starve you."



People are happy to do the rejecting, but get very annoyed at the idea of being rejected.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

paulrockliffe said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

mattmurdock said:

paulrockliffe said:

You're clearly missing the point. All of what you propose is reliant on access to the EU, that isn't going to happen. If you want to burn the rest of Europe, they will make sure you burn with us.

You don't have anything except computers, numbers on a screen and tall buildings. Christ, you won't even have the internet to coordinate your response. The UK is toast without the rest of the EU.

I'm sure you're joking though?

EFIA

The irony is amazing. We've stuck two fingers up to the EU, but have been told that it won't matter, and trade will continue as before, they need us.

But the suggestion that London might stick two fingers up to the rest of the UK, and suddenly it's a different matter. "you will be toast, we'll burn you, go fk yourself, we'll blockage you and starve you."



People are happy to do the rejecting, but get very annoyed at the idea of being rejected.

Come on. This thread is entirely in jest surely?

My OP was slightly tongue in cheek I admit, and I wasn't being entirely serious, but I think much of the anger towards the idea of London rejecting the rest of the UK is sadly entirely serious.

But it hasn't crossed their minds that rest of Europe might have the same resentment towards the UK as they have towards an independent London.

Quite enlightening.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

ZOLLAR said:

All this thread has done is highlight the need that London has for the rest of the UK and vice versa.

I agree. Which is why we'd both work together if London was an Independent city state. Think Vatican City, but without god.

Apparently 8000 people have signed a petition for Sadiq Khan to declare London independent and start negotiations for us to remain in.

I am not alone!

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Burwood said:

Given Heathrow is owned by a corporate in Spain.

So what? They still pay huge rates of council tax to L.B. Hillingdon, and employ thousands of people. Lots of London's major employers and wealth creators are European. London can be a haven for them given the rest of the country has rejected Europe. We might have European owned business from other areas in the UK relocating to London! Fantastic.

BMW Mini can move from Cowley Oxford to Cowley nr Uxbridge. Even better for an independent London.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

REALIST123 said:

Why not just fk off to Paris or Berlin if that's what you feel you have more in common with?

Some people's ego just means they hate getting dumped.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Bring on the clowns said:

What a stupid idea. where would 'your' border be?

Errr, around London.

Bring on the clowns said:

And what access would you have to the roads and rail links outside of that.

How do people get in and out of Monaco, San Marino, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein? I'd imagine it would work something like that.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

p1stonhead said:

Whilst it sounds mental, I actually think that if this was put through as an actual vote, it could be close.

This is just based on the 30 or 40 people who I have spoken to today. They would definitely go for it if it was someting like a Singapore / Monaco type situation.

Forgetting about the rights and wrongs of the idea, can someone explain to me, in terms of pure democratic process, if Scotland do manage to get another referendum on the basis that their 5 million population are being dragged out of the EU against their will, why not London with a population of not far off double that of Scotland?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

jshell said:

London should be made independent. Then they'd need a costly 'Berlin Airlift' style operation for food and essentials. They'd be eating each other and drinking their own piss by Wednesday.

Not much farmland within the M25...

How much farming is there in Monaco? Last time I was there, they didn't look like they were starving to death. Quite the opposite in fact, it looked pretty affluent.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

p1stonhead said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

p1stonhead said:

Whilst it sounds mental, I actually think that if this was put through as an actual vote, it could be close.

This is just based on the 30 or 40 people who I have spoken to today. They would definitely go for it if it was someting like a Singapore / Monaco type situation.

Forgetting about the rights and wrongs of the idea, can someone explain to me, in terms of pure democratic process, if Scotland do manage to get another referendum on the basis that their 5 million population are being dragged out of the EU against their will, why not London with a population of not far off double that of Scotland?

I suppose because London isnt a country. I guess its not just done on numbers?

True, but it doesn't seem very democratic. Also, London, in terms of population, is Scotland's 3rd biggest City. Only Glasgow and Edinburgh have more Scots. So Inverness and Ayr etc. get to vote on independence, but the Scots of London who outnumber them don't???

[TwigtheWonderkid]

JoeMarano said:

Please leave. It's a st hole and about as British as the curry! Good luck finding somewhere to dump all your waste though.

The landfill sites where we dump our waste now won't want to lose the lucrative contract. I'm sure they will continue to take it. Or we might do a better deal with someone in Northern France.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

afrochicken said:

I'm happy to be the President of London.

bks to that. I started the thread, so I get to be President. I have a vacancy for VP, although Liz Hurley is favourite.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

p1stonhead said:

Someone I know from Lincolnshire once told me that they could survive without the rest of the UK because they had everything they needed (i.e Farmland) and that they could build a wall around the county.

They seemed to forget they have literally nothing else!

Exactly. Are all the pesticides, fertilizers, tractors, spare parts for tractors, potato sacks, etc. also made in Lincolnshire??