Forum Topic

Is the Express criticising the Brexit deal - indirectly of course

This is a rather odd article in the Express. The whole thing about Brexit is that the UK's financial services can no longer be passported to the EU so some functions have to be transferred from UK to EU markets to meet EU regulatory requirements - that's been noted as a probability before the referendum. Presumably it's what Brexiteers wanted, although the deal negotiated was poor in that it excluded financial services completely. Of course many staff aren't going to want to move; apart from the fact that London's a great city to live in, if they have friends, family, and other roots in the UK there are sometimes barriers to moving even if they'd like to. So the Express is admitting Brexit is good for EU jobs and disrupts people's lives - that was expected as well - so why don't they just say they were wrong, Brexit is a problem. Still, I suppose all those traders who've quit their jobs can go and work at a Wetherspoon's establishment?https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1445325/Brexit-news-London-traders-quit-jobs-EU-crackdown-City-of-London-banks-latest

Michael Ixer ● 1703d10 Comments

Thankfully Michael meeting are not that long although some may seem like it.Too much focus over on immigration and none on emigration imo. The government doesn't mind it being high because it reduces the net figure.With house prices being what they are it's probably a obvious choice for young graduates and skilled workers.

Ed Robinson ● 1701d

Interesting, Ed. I suppose if people are moving for financial services positions then Frankfurt could be a popular German destination :-)  It's interesting that the US has such high migration from the UK - I know people want to go there but I didn't think it was that easy to get visas; I wonder if it's high tech, consultancy, financial services and academic organisations sponsoring staff because they want to move specialists around? I'm also wondering if it's comparing like with like: with freedom of movement in the EU prior to Brexit have some people moved around avoiding official stastistics, particularly if they were only planning to work outside of the UK for a couple of years? That's something one couldn't do in the US, Australia and New Zealand because of work visa restrictions - although I believe if you work for a UK company and are paid in the UK you can stay and do consultancy for a US company food the six month visa waiver period; a sort of extended business meeting 🙂

Michael Ixer ● 1701d

Yes I definitely agree Michael - languages were not a high priority back in the day. That said the speed that some people can pick up languages is amazing when there is an incentive - such as ordering food & drink :)Looking at the data Germany is just in the top 10 - Frankfurt numbers are probably the same as Greenland :)I hadn't appreciated the number of people moving to Australian! https://www.movehub.com/blog/top-10-countries-brits-choose/https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimates19.asp

Ed Robinson ● 1701d

No problem, Ed. Sometimes difficult with text to get the exact nuance! 🙂 I think people in Europe migrate for the social life and entertainment that suits them, if one excludes those just focusing on their career? I like to think that's why London's so popular but I agree you that Dublin has a high rating for that as well. I think when I was younger that I could have been comfortable living in most western European capitals, apart from the fact that languages - and some would say including English - have never been my strongest point. But I blame the schools for that 😶

Michael Ixer ● 1702d

Sorry Michael it was a mischievous attempt at humour.I had a theory that people tend to move to places with better weather but Dublin disproves that. It's probably one of the reasons why the pubs are so good :)

Ed Robinson ● 1702d

Ed, that wasn't meant to be the tone of my reply because as I said I've only been to Frankfurt one for a long weekend so I can't really comment, althoiufgh I'd certainly go back for another visit to the opera. I suspect most people like me know Paris better so that's easier to "sell" for a relocation package. However, as I said, I think there are a number of other factors that make relocation of UK traders difficult: perhaps they only speak English, they have kids in schools and don't want to move them, their partner's professional qualifications are no longer recognised in the EU so they can't work, etc ... that will rule out Paris and Milan as well as Frankfurt.

Michael Ixer ● 1702d

"Is Frankfurt that bad?"I take the above replies as a yes :)

Ed Robinson ● 1702d

I'm not sure it's a question of Frankfurt being "bad" but, as the article points out, Paris is on Eurostar so getting back to London is much the same as travelling from Newcastle or Edinburgh. One suspects that the lack of language skills among the British might be an issue for relocating to many continental locations, that would give Dublin an advantage. The other general point ignored by the article is that the traders would also have to consider the jobs of their partners. As there's no agreement to recognise UK professional qualifications in the EU that could prove a significant barrier to relocation. (I was told by someone at a London university that recruiting EU research scientists was still possible but their partners were sometimes finding UK visa rules problematic so that meant a relocation was difficult or not possible. Some Brexiteers seem to forget that these days both partners have careers so loss freedom of movement is a bigger barrier for couples than for single people.)I have to say my knowledge of Frankfurt is limited to one weekend visit but it seemed fine to me. (It has an opera house and one can get a vegan meal nearby after the opera - which has sometimes been a challenge in London after 10:30pm!)

Michael Ixer ● 1703d

Frankfurt is not a bad place at all.  I worked there for 2 years and there quite a few Brits there. Enough to keep the International School fully subscribed (though our daughter went to the local kindergarten).

Jonathan Callaway ● 1703d

I have never been to Frankfurt. It looks like traders are looking elsewhere. Is Frankfurt that bad?Perhaps a new rival to Frankfurt will emerge out of this - given time.

Ed Robinson ● 1703d