[BigSteve]

Last year, I went to Dublin. I exchanged American currency for Euros. While there, I had to also get pounds sterling because I went to Belfast and they don't use Euros. Last month, I went to Scotland and had to get pounds sterling. I'm planning a trip to Spain and Portugal and will have to exchange my American currency for Euros. I needed Euros when I traveled in Italy in April of this year.

The whole Brexit thing got me wondering: Why doesn't the UK use Euros like the rest of the European Union?

[noemon]

The UK is a country where feelings towards the EU range from indifference to outright hostility, historically and politically speaking and the conclusion of this is the sustenance of a separate eco[no]system that extends to the car market, the financial market, the imperial system and where possible to the commonwealth.

There is a good case to be made for keeping the pound sterling.

[SolarCross]

@BigSteve Sweden also bailed on the euro but I think everyone else went for it but most of them had trash currencies anyway so the switch was no great loss. Germany had a reputable currency but they were still feeling guilty about WW2 so were ready to sacrifice anything to be allowed back into the cozy club of nations which don't have to apologise all the time just for existing.

As to why the UK never signed up:

Reason 1: sentimentalism for British things.
Reason 2: deep down we understood that we would have to part company with the EU because of its aims for political union. It would be easier to leave if we still had our own currency.

[Rancid]

Last year, I went to Dublin. I exchanged American currency for Euros. While there, I had to also get pounds sterling because I went to Belfast and they don't use Euros. Last month, I went to Scotland and had to get pounds sterling. I'm planning a trip to Spain and Portugal and will have to exchange my American currency for Euros. I needed Euros when I traveled in Italy in April of this year.

You should do what I do. I keep 100 pounds and 100 Euros. I never change them back to US dollars. I just take them with me when I travel. I pretty much never use cash in Europe, everyone takes cards. I use my apply pay so I don't even have to sign a receipt or enter a pin.
I've been thinking of upping it to 150 thogh, so I might take out more money the next time I'm there.

Further, if you don't want to get ripped off by exchange rates. Use a bank ATM to get your money, not that Travelex shit at the airport. Better yet, check with your bank, they usually have partnerships with banks all over the world to make things cheaper.

For example, using a Barclay's ATM in the UK is super cheap for me.

[BigSteve]

@BigSteve Reason 2: deep down we understood that we would have to part company with the EU because of its aims for political union. It would be easier to leave if we still had our own currency.

I guess I have to ask why the UK even bothered in the first place.

I'm going to do some photos of my passport, my gun, US cash, Euros, pounds, etc.. kind of a Jason Bourne thing...

[BigSteve]

You should do what I do. I keep 100 pounds and 100 Euros. I never change them back to US dollars. I just take them with me when I travel. I pretty much never use cash in Europe, everyone takes cards. I use my apply pay so I don't even have to sign a receipt or enter a pin.
I've been thinking of upping it to 150 thogh, so I might take out more money the next time I'm there.

I have £100 and €160 at the moment...

[Rancid]

I have £100 and €160 at the moment...

You're good!

Now send that money to me.

[snapdragon]

I generally use my credit card to withdraw cash when travelling, which saves a lot of bother.

Mind, I always pay it off in full every month and have never paid interest.

[Negotiator]

[...] Why doesn't the UK use Euros like the rest of the European Union?

Some EU countries have been wiser than the stupid rest and havent joined the Eurozone. UK was one of them, which is why UK did not have any trouble like most other european countries have, including for example France.

Back then I cheered Cameron for that, though I'm not sure if it was a lucky accident or if Cameron really knew why he should at all cost avoid to join the Euro.

Spain, Italy, Greece all would be overjoiced if they could travel back in time and avoid joining the Euro, too, because they would have had none of the problems they have now.

All that joining the Eurozone does is that you lose all control over your national currency. Specifically you cannot lower the value of your currency to combat the germans low wages. Even worse the european central bank can command your economic policy from that point on, and guess what kind of politics these bankers like to see.

Not one that gives you a good economy, thats for sure.

Mind, nobody is truely the winner of the crazy eurozone system, except the superrich who can further maximize their profits at the cost of the people, and at the cost of the stability of the eurozone for that matter. Even the regular germans (and also austrians) dont actually profit at all, since their wages are so low because of this.

[snapdragon]

It was nothing to do with Cameron.

Tony Blair was very enthusiastic, but as four of the five tests set by Gordon Brown were not met, then he decided it would be wrong for Britain to join in the forseeable future.

He was proven to be right.

[BigSteve]

It was nothing to do with Cameron.

Tony Blair was very enthusiastic, but as four of the five tests set by Gordon Brown were not met, then he decided it would be wrong for Britain to join in the forseeable future.

He was proven to be right.

You'll forgive my ignorance on this, but everything in life pretty much revolves around money. Given that Great Britain didn't convert to Euros, why is "Brexit" such a big thing? What other considerations are there?

[Prosthetic Conscience]

@BigSteve, probably the biggest issue was immigration - EU membership means citizens of the other countries can come and look for work, indefinitely, without having to get a visa (a country can restrict this from countries that have just joined - when most of ex-Warsaw Pact countries joined, the UK was one of the few that didn't use such a restriction, which pissed some people off, saying they were taking the unskilled jobs).

There are also various EU-wide regulations, and some moan about these "holding things back", or costing too much to comply with.

Being one of the richer EU countries, the UK contribution to the central budget is larger than the benefits that come back (like the richer US states pay more in federal taxes than they get back in spending).

A few people are xenophobic, and just don't like living or cooperating with foreigners. For instance, Nigel Farage complained that on a train in London, he couldn't hear anyone else having a conversation in English.

[ThirdTerm]

It's much cheaper to use an ATM/debit card issued from your bank for the purpose. You usually pay a $2.50 foreign transaction fee plus a 3% conversion charge on any out-of-network ATM transaction. You can withdraw up to £500 a day from a cash machine.

Given that Great Britain didn't convert to Euros, why is "Brexit" such a big thing? What other considerations are there?

Brexit was about Polish immigration. Millions of Poles have migrated to the UK in the last decade and there is a labour shortage in almost every industry in Poland. As long as Britain is a part of the EU, there will be more to come from Eastern Europe and Britain cannot control the situation.

“The shortage of workers is visible in almost every industry,” said Paweł Chorąży, deputy minister of investment and development. “Even in small towns, where unemployment until recently has been in double-digits, we are beginning to see a shortage of people.”

As such, the government plans to ease the process for non-EU arrivals in obtaining a work permits as well as extending their duration. At the moment the longest period that a work permit is issued for is three years, but this could be extended to five. What’s more, under the new rules the spouse of a person that already has a valid permit will not need to apply for one. The list of countries whose citizens can benefit from the new rules will also be extended.

https://emerging-europe.com/news/labour ... n-borders/

[Kaiserschmarrn]

The idea that xenophobia was the main determinant for Brexit is not supported by evidence.

[SolarCross]

^ The data also confirms my belief that "anglos" are particularly cosmopolitan and gregarious compared with most people in the world contrary to the dark mutterings of race baiters like @Pants-of-a-Dog

[Kaiserschmarrn]

^ The data also confirms my belief that "anglos" are particularly cosmopolitan and gregarious compared with most people in the world

Data on immigration and immigrants generally corresponds reasonably well with how well a group of immigrants does in terms of economic contribution and social integration and how culturally close that group is perceived to be. This probably holds not only for Anglos but also for Western Europe. However, a fairly irritating development post-Brexit is that Western Europeans and sometimes even Eastern Europeans now have a chip on their shoulder and point to the UK as a xenophobic or racist country when their own is certainly no better. This isn't helped by the growing obsession in Anglo-countries to self-flagellate for their own supposed widespread racism and general evilness.

[Prosthetic Conscience]

Polls asking people why they voted Leave show immigration and border control were major reasons: https://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/h ... d-and-why/ . The "principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK" that was the other big reason usually boils down to "immigration".

And anyway, "the idea that xenophobia was the main determinant for Brexit" is not what I said - I said a few people are xenophobic, and gave Farage as an example. "Few" =/= "main".

[SolarCross]

@Prosthetic Conscience

[Kaiserschmarrn]

Polls asking people why they voted Leave show immigration and border control were major reasons: https://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/h ... d-and-why/ . The "principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK" that was the other big reason usually boils down to "immigration".

I agree that control over immigration was a major issue.

And anyway, "the idea that xenophobia was the main determinant for Brexit" is not what I said - I said a few people are xenophobic, and gave Farage as an example. "Few" =/= "main".

I didn't want to imply that this was your claim, although I understand why you got that impression. I just think it's worthwhile pointing out that hostility to immigrants is generally lower in Britain than on the continent.

It also implies that the desire for decisions about the UK being made in the UK goes beyond immigration, as leaving the EU is significantly less popular on the continent despite greater negative sentiment on immigration and immigrants.