back to article All this Brexit talk derailed UK tech spending, right? That's a big fat NOPE

The monotonous EU referendum is having no detrimental affect on tech spending as reported by the UK’s largest distributors, official statistics seem to confirm. Despite the FUD emanating from both camps for months, and the noise getting even louder as Brits prepare to visit the voting booths, it seems all the fire-stoking has …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh god, the referendum has infected El Reg too. There's no escape.

    Roll on Friday.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Will that be the recount or the judicial review?

    2. SImon Hobson Bronze badge

      > Roll on Friday

      Why, it'll be worse !

      Assuming the result is out (and we aren't in for endless recounts etc), then the real fun will start with one side gloating and the others going on about what a big mistake we've made. And all the pundits will really get going on what the result means, and ...

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge
        Unhappy

        Referendum recounts have to be requested by applying for a judicial review up to six weeks after the result. This happens per counting area, there can't be just one judicial review ordering a national recount or a recount covering several counting areas.

        It's going to take forever...

      2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
        Facepalm

        By 06:00 Friday

        The queues of Remain supporters heading for France/Belguim/Holland/Germany/Denmark or Spain will be huge.

        Then on Monday a vast raft of redundancies will be announced as firms relocate to Dublin/Frankfurt or justabout anywhere that is not in a 'We are gonna leave the EU, UK.'

        Farage will be seen drinking a pint or three and gloating.

        Boris will be asked to become the next PM.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: By 06:00 Friday

          .. or all flights to Iceland / Norway / Switzerland will be booked for the next five years by Leave supporters claiming asylum from the inevitable EU superstate and conscription to it's new EU army.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            .. plus they'll be exhuming the remains of their ancestors and transporting them to their newly adopted homelands in disgust that anyone could vote to sign away their sovereignty forevermore to unelected politicians in central Europe on the promise that we'll earn a bit more money from it.

        2. Yes Me Silver badge

          Re: By 06:00 Friday

          You can stop that happening if you listen to your brain and vote Remain.

          1. Dan 55 Silver badge
            Facepalm

            Re: By 06:00 Friday

            If you listen to your brain you don't need idiotic rhymes like that to help you vote.

            Ye gods, the level of political debate...

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              If you vote Remain you've gone insane.

  2. Richard Parkin

    Out is undefined

    Rather like the Scottish vote, "out" is undefined even by the brexiters.

    1. David Dawson

      Re: Out is undefined

      tbh, in is undefined too.

      The original purpose of the EU's predecessors was to prevent war, by integrating the german and french economies to the degree that they couldn't effectively run a war economy autonomously.

      It worked!

      Next, spread that around, stabilise the continent and provide an economic twin to the Nato military alliance that was confronting the communist block.

      That worked too!

      Next, draw in the eastern europeans crashing out of said eastern block and spread stability.

      That mostly worked (look at poland and the baltics as the prime examples).

      Now, what's next?

      This is the problem with the EU as currently formulated. It's had political aims, and they haven't been bad ones. Now though, what is next? There is no grand vision anymore, it's been stuffed down the back of the sofa and lost. Now it's run of the mill dogma.

      I'm looking at my kids and wondering what world we'll be able to give them in 20 years time. The UK is a strong economy, socially well put together, free, liberal and good place to live.

      That won't change either way.

      So for me, the vote comes down to the 20 year question, not the minutiae of current immigration or trade rules.

      The EU doesn't have a 20 year plan worth a damn, so I think we may as well go build one for ourselves.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Out is undefined

        I don't think any politician has got a 20 year plan for the UK or the EU. All they want is to profit and be re-elected in four years time.

        Staying or leaving won't change that.

        I'm also not sure your argument makes much sense. The UK was formed as various areas were conquered and coalesced into countries like England. England then took over Wales and Scotland was encompassed some time later. There was a lot of stagnation before a British empire emerged... which then fell apart. I mean what's the point in the UK now? I look at my kids and wonder... there's no plan at all for the next 20 years!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    I'm in America, and you can't escape Brexit stories here!

    And we have our own lesser-of-two-weasels election going on at the same time :/

    1. enormous c word

      Re: I'm in America, and you can't escape Brexit stories here!

      I'm in the UK, and you can't escape the Trump stories here!

      1. Bluto Nash

        Re: I'm in America, and you can't escape Brexit stories here!

        Misery loves company, eh?

  4. Yugguy

    A vote against the European Union is NOT a vote against European PEOPLE. We have a favourite holiday place in Menorca, a little port in the north called Adaia. We sit in the cantena eating the fresh caught fish cooked menorcan style, chat to all and sundry and enjoy the relaxed culture. There is so much to experience and enjoy about european cultures. I will not be voting against the French people or the German people or ANY people. I will be voting against what I believe to be an inherently UNDEMOCRATIC edifice.

    So please don't call me stupid, racist or xenophobic. I am none of those.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Remember 'The Reg' has to appear impartial to maintain it's corporate-funded advertising revenue. Behind the smokescreen of bought remain supporters, the plain truth is the British nation and the future of democracy in Europe hinge on us voting for Brexit. Freedom dies on Friday if we submit to their corporate demands. Money is the god of those who have sold their souls.

      1. H in The Hague

        "Behind the smokescreen of bought remain supporters,"

        Excuse me, but I thought the tradition of reasonable political discourse was to engage about the facts and policies - not to suggest that one's opponents have been bought. I certainly haven't been.

        "Freedom dies on Friday if we submit to their corporate demands. Money is the god of those who have sold their souls."

        Whose corporate demands? I was under the impression that one of the key criticisms of the EU was that it's a socialist/communist conspiracy. Or is it also a megacorporation conspiracy, as you seem to suggest? I can assure you that neither myself, nor any Remainers I know have been bought (by who? haven't had any offers). And suggesting that we venerate money is downright offensive.

    2. H in The Hague

      "I will be voting against what I believe to be an inherently UNDEMOCRATIC edifice."

      I'm getting a bit fed up with folk bandying "undemocratic" about without supporting that in any way.

      I'm more of a technical bod, not a specialist in EU law, but as far as I'm aware the European Council is made up of ministers of member state governments, governments which are democratically elected. The European Parliament is elected by European citizens. So what's undemocratic? Please explain.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. H in The Hague

          Re: I'm more of a technical bod, but I (obviously) can't do my own research...

          "Laws are created by offices in the EU that are not elected"

          As far as I'm aware, that's the way it works in most parliaments (Westminster, Holyrood, Brussels, your local town hall): the civil servants/technical experts (working for the executive) draft legislation, parliament (legislature) discusses it, tweaks it and votes on it. In your business, the technical specs for IT systems are probably written by technical experts too.

          I'm not claiming that the EU (or local/regional/national government in the UK or elsewhere in Europe), but on the whole it seems to work remarkably well. We've had peace and stability for decades, we can move around for jobs, we can drink the water or drive through a tunnel in any of the member states and be reasonably confident that it is safe, we can ship equipment around without needing separate technical approval in every country, British engineers can go and work or consult across the North Sea without having to familiarise themselves with new sets of standards, etc. My little business can serve customers in the UK and NL, and Belgium, Germany and Austria with zero red tape. The EU certainly works for me.

  5. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The referendum is not legally binding...

      Personally I don't think I'll miss him at all.

      He's repeatedly made predictions about the EU that have failed to be even a tiny bit right, he promised to step down as leader of UKIP if he didn't win a seat in the last general election, but essentially didn't and one of the main reasons that the EU gets to make decisions that he doesn't like is because he HASN'T VOTED almost 60% of the time. (Source: http://www.votewatch.eu/en/term8-nigel-farage-2.html)

      It's like you paying for a service plan for you car, then not taking it for a service and then complaining that it isn't running properly.

      What he is useful for is being a kind of negative barometer. If he tells you that it's a Fact (TM) that something will happen, then you can be 80-90% sure that the opposite will be the case.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  6. enormous c word

    My problem is that while I favour exit from the EU, I just don't want to be represented by the likes of Farage or Johnson. I don't like that we seem to be in the process of being lead like sheeple by the nose into the hands of unelected officials with a puppet local administration who are powerless other than to accept rulings. But I'm not sure that I trust a Cameron-lead government to look after my interests either. At least I can choose who I vote for - but if the pseudo-government is just a distraction, then what does it matter who I vote for?

    An Australian points-based immigration system sounds sensible to me, and I actually have no objection to immigration levels increasing so long as it is reasonably controlled so that our school / health / housing / commercial infrastructures are developed in-line with an influx of people.

    It worries me that immigrants forced to take menial low-paid unsecure work because the corporates want to maximise profits and are actually creating a new under-class of vulnerable people while at the same time making it much more difficult for native kids to enter the workplace and learn (at a young age with the support of their families) workplace values.

    On the flip side we are fortunate that our NHS (as an example) is propped up by highly skilled / highly desirable immigrants (who would no doubt still be able to enter into the UK through this Australian points-based system). But at what cost to the developing countries that they came from and who presumably subsidised their education training at considerable cost?

    A longer wait at passport control while going on holiday doesn't seem such a big deal.

    Work Visa's will be re-introduced, I guess - but for long-term contracts, that's acceptable. It will make it very much more difficult to work abroad on a short-term assignment - but doesnt that mean that employers will have to invest in their local workforce rather than pulling or sending someone abroad to do a week here or there.

    We're told that if we leave the EU, then the value of the pound will tumble - but that's good for exports, isn't it? Don't we want to revive our manufacturing capacity to something beyond luxury sports cars and JCB diggers.

    I guess a weakened pound will make it harder/more expensive for retailers to buy cheap from abroad - but doesnt that mean our local farmers will finally get a fair deal. Surely it's better for the environment if food isn't transported huge distances.

    Brussels doesnt generate any money, it funded by the member states - I don't know what the cost is, and I dont understand the subsidies and rebates, but I do recall reading that Neil and Glenys Kinnock pocketed £10M over 15years as European Comissioners. That's about 6 schools or 285 - 400 school teachers -or- 8,871 - 12,000 school places (assuming an average class size of 30)

    1. YARR

      Outside of EU trade barriers we'll be able to import food cheaper from outside the EU. This would boost the economies of African countries and help stem the flow of migrants coming into Europe. Also the food types they produce overlaps more with our own produce, whereas EU farm produce are often competitors to our farmers.

      But it seems that counter to their own interests, our farmer's votes are bought by EU subsidies.

      1. enormous c word

        Coming from a small-farming background, I can assure that farmers are voting to exit. The Corporate farms owned by the likes of Tesco are another matter of course.

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