The EU did not 'invite the UK back'. UvdL expressed her personal opinion and stated Brexit was a mistake that future generations would have to fix. That's all, folks.

"We didn't get the brexit we were promised"? Did that guy really believe all that horseshit in the first place?

Crazy to think Napoleon would go through all that effort to keep British goods off the continent when all he needed was to hold a referendum and they'd do it to themselves voluntarily.

The ego is mightier than the sword. Just ask any brexiteer.

I am not convinced the EU has asked us back and secondly the terms we would get would be inferior to what we had !

The people who say: "this is not the brexit I voted for" never succeed in telling us, what IS the brexit they voted for and how it would be better than the Brexit we have.

It's so cute to see the brunette lady say that we could surely get the same membership deal again. British exceptionalism never falters.

“This is the brexit I voted for.” I hear this from time to time and my response is always the same, it’s the brexit I voted against. People who voted leave contributed to the greatest single harm done to this country in my lifetime. It was an act of utter madness based on ignorance/simplistic thinking

Jim Shannon defends Brexit then lists a load of downsides for his area! Sums up the complete madness that Brexit has become.

The Northern Ireland politician spoke glowingly about how his constituents voted for overwhelmingly for Brexit. His reasoning was that they should have the right to fish as much as they want, and didn't like Brussels sticking their nose into their affairs. This guy, who looks like his 80ish, wants to fish until the seas are depleted of any life. Live now, don't care about tomorrow. These are the fools, people who are of another age, filled with racial animus who pushed for Brexit. Now, the UK is paying the price of leaving the largest economic block in the world. At least Ireland remains in the EU.

The irish DUP guy contradicted himself 5 times in the span of 3 minutes

Straight away, we are talking about our special requirements and exceptions, just for us. All it takes is one of the 27 countries to say no, and why would they allow a new member in who wants better terms than the existing members. Spoiler alert, you wouldn’t.

I suggest British ppl try to read/ watch news when it comes to EU from other countries. Uk news always suggests EU wants UK back , but the EU do not care about UK . EU never tried to stop UK leaving either. UK became laughing object in Europe. There's been an interview between EU member and UK politician not so long ago and even then EU member expressed that they don't care if UK come back or not .

Jim Shannon is a fine example of Irish political unionism. Out of date, out of touch and thick as champ.

Ian Dale admitting that he was high on Brexit? Now waiting for him to apologise and actively start undoing damage he was a part in causing.

THE EU HAS ABSOLUTELY NOT INVITED YOU BACK IN ! The U.K. could not rejoin the European Union without the full agreement of all the other member states. If even one vetoes the UK's application, and at the moment four states have publicly expressed opposition, then you stay out. You voted to leave and we don't want you back until or unless you are prepared to fully embrace the European Ideal.

The idea that the UK can rejoin with the same deal as before is sheer fantasy. The EU should insist that the UK joins the Euro, Schengen and be 100% in. No special deals, no favours.

Von der Leyen didn't offer the British anything, it was her personal opinion.

I still, seven and a half years later, find it astonishing that people were taken in by the deceitful and unfeasible "promises" of the Leave campaign.

Im a graphic designer, I have six clients that import and export, all say brexit has damaged their business. I'm yet to hear one positive comment about Brexit in over 7 years from them. I love the comment on Brexit 'I didn't inhale'.

i'm a remainer and i'm all for britain becoming an eu member again as soon as possible... nevertheless, i'm also aware that the tory governments since 2010 have misused our ancient (ancient = not fit for purpose) political system for there own ends, brexit being an example of this, and for the moment i think reforming our political system is actually even more important than returning to the eu... britain urgently needs proportional representation...

Jim Shannon and his party were warned what Brexit would lead to. So he got EXACTLY what he voted for.

Why do the British people think it’s so easy and simple to join the EU. The EU isn’t going to allow the UK to join just to vote to leave again and again and again.

Imagine anyone who voted for Brexit trying to explain "Political reality" to anyone else. Should immediately be a diqualifier for any serious political discourse.

100% in these uncertain times we need all the allies with us.

Why the EU would open any negotiation fro the UK to rejoin, when the UK didn't actually respect half of what was sign during the divorce process? What kind of trust do you expect the EU has to British politicians? Why would they think the UK would keep their word and do what was sign, without trying to renegotiate everything every morning? The probability to not get a UK application vetoed by someone starting from France, is extremely low, IMO. Which is something which isn't actually discussed by anyone: what the EU could get from accepting the UK back in, apart from Farage type of politician sitting in the EU parliament? Won't happen in Farage lifetime, nor in any brexiter politician lifetime actually.

Listening to this debate is like listening to a group of kids debating their plans for a party they’re not invited to. One shakes his head in disbelief…

A lot of Europeans were glad to get rid of the Brits. If they want to return, it will have to be as joiners and not rejoiners, a bit like the West Balkan countries. They will need to satisfy all EU criteria, with no special status, and all EU national parliaments will have to say yes. And to make sure they mean it, and are not just playing the game of "I leave, I return again", they will have to join the Eurozone.

Should Britain accept reversing the damage the Tories have caused? A resounding yes should be in order.

The EU has not invited the UK back in..... dream on 😂

DUP guy. Supported Brexit. It was so obvious it would lead to an Irish sea border.

The EU does not invite countries to join them and they didn't invite the UK specifically. But maybe people in the UK have a different understanding of what an invitation looks like. But be assured that you haven't been offered anything so I wonder what you think you could possibly accept.

The EU has not invited the UK back in

Jim Shannon sounds delusional. What did he think was going to happen to fisheries? That the fish would breed faster after Brexit?

They should have had a pro EU pro Ireland politician from the north of Ireland on that panel as well.

Not the Brexit he voted for, he wanted the one with Milk, Honey and Unicorns!

To leave a decision as complex as Brexit to the 'unwashed masses' was absolutely ludicrous/irresponsible in the first place. They must have known that the inherent racism,insularity and 'fear of the other' would result in an out vote. This suggests to me that politicians and wealthy influences didn't like the fact that the EU was restricting their ability to make dodgy deals to enhance their own finances.

Absolutely. The sooner we are back the better.

What did these guys in NI expect? They were told repeatedly. You can't run a country on dreams and fantasy, which is what the tried to do. Give NI back to the Republic, we'll take care of it.

Conservative government needs to give back all the millions of pounds they personally benefit via shell companies during the covid pandemic. That money can then be used to right some wrongs however you can't plunder the bank and then try to use whatever is left over. People need to be held accountable asap.

Jim Shannon talks about how they didn’t get the Brexit they were promised. The Problem I see with that is that there was never a ratified written policy manifesto on exactly what Brexit would mean, and how it would be carried, although I doubt very much that people like the DUP would ever be content with any outcome of Brexit. And as for our new trading status? The new trade deals we now have are at best practically worthless if not damaging to our own industries. But Brexit was a completely bonkers idea from the outset so it shouldn’t be any surprise that it would be enacted with complete incompetence.

This really shows how delusional UK politics is, as a European no chance of UK rejoining EU in next 40-50 years Depressingly DUP contribution shows that real progress in Northern Ireland is equally unlikely

They have not invited the UK back.

Brexit is a never ending topic because nobody knows how a perfect Brexit should look like. The EU will not allow that the UK is getting a "cherry picked Brexit" as they always dream off....😂 and therefore the UK will not join within the next 20 years....

We have to swallow our pride and get back in as soon as as possable

Eu, please don’t let it happen until a huge majority in the uk strongly wants this. At least 80%.

Maybe we should rename the Conservative Party as the Self-Harm Party or the Illegal Christmas Party

Run, do not walk back to the EU.

''The right sort of Brexit'' This IS the Brexit.

what we are waiting for leaving EU was worst UK decision ever. Back in ASAP !

EU without UK is too strange to me. I wish you come back, we miss you.

Somebody comes to build EU together with other members, other comes "to pick the best cherries". 😄😄😄😄😄

the EU has not invited the UK. Van der Leien has only said that as far as she is concerned, the UK can rejoin the EU

“This isn’t the kind of Christmas I voted for”. Signed - A. Turkey.

We should rejoin as soon as possible

I don't think she did, nor does she have the power to do so.

I voted for leaving the EU and I would now vote to re-enter the EU because this government has tried to tear up every law of the land since

The DUP wanted a hard Brexit and therefore a hard boarder on the island of Ireland. That was never going to happen

VDL can re-open the question, but it is OBVIOUS that special concessions or opt outs will never be on the table. Britain has also sold itself to dark money. GCHQ is now run by...Amazon, the NHS is being broken up, the BoE is run by Con Think Tanks, the taxpayer no longer owns anything as it has been sold off to rentiers. It is a mess on a scale of 1979 Britain. For the EU27 to accept GB's candidature, this has to be accepted unanimously. Ukraine has a far better chance than bankrupt Britain.

The EU is highly democratic. The commission needs the permission of the EU council to even start talks. And actual approval needs more support than that!

Quite interesting how this N.I. politician explains why he did not think for one second about the consequences of what he promoted: "I believed in BoJoke and he lied." Oh, really? And you, living in N.I. had no clue at all that a border between GB and the EU would have to be somewhere? Nobody ever told you that? How about you start thinking for yourself before pushing people to vote against their very own interests?

What? When? This is completely untrue. The EU did NOT invite the UK to come back. They can apply for membership like any country and then we'll see.... don't get me wrong, I wish the UK had never left, but they chose to. Half of the panelists are delirious. I gurantee that there will be no fast track, nothing like it.

I would go BACK in a heartbeat because we have NOT GAINED A SINGLE BENEFIT

Yes Absolutely..& take a We made a huge mistake card.

Leave means leave. You're OUT.

Schengen and the Euro sound fine, let's go back in.

Unsurprising English arrogance, already deciding what cherries they will pick in the unlikely event that they would join the EU

The people who voted to leave thought they were voting for less foreigners entering because of freedom of movement, but what we actually got was more illegals and freedom of movent stopped and an opportunity for our young people the opportunity to easily see the rest of the world. Also we had access to the biggest market in the world

The U.K. will never ever receive unanimous approval from EU members

I actually know Brexiteers who voted from their villa's in Spain, Italy and Greece, and are now complaining

No. I believe the EU, although a tad poorer and weaker, is better off. It is better being in no relationship, than a toxic one.

People voted to leave the EU. That was it. There was nothing more or less on the ballet paper. People imagined what leaving meant and it was different for each of them. We need to rejoin, and if that is difficult then we should not run scared.

please do not ever come back, annoying people.

It's a ridiculous point Gutto Harri... he's demonstrating the same intransigence the Brexit supporters made. There's absolutely no reason why we can't go back to the EU. The EU is not a spurned lover, it's a group of people who came together for a greater cause!

Lots of Leave voters on here jumping on to defend their decision but the problem they all going to ultimately have to deal with is that last time this was debated they could say things were going to be better after Brexit and this time we have the massive steaming pile of evidence that we did it and then things have demonstrably gotten considerably worse. Even Farage says Brexit has failed.

Eu feels so sorry for you willing to talk again after you spent years bad mouthing them for years and lie after lie

I love this stuff. "We got cardboard wings that broke our legs when we jumped off the roof, not the ones we were promised to make us fly like Superman." 😂

Invited back in? the arrogance! If they don't suffer they'll never learn.

Belarus will never allow the UK to join. They will veto UK membership every time.

Why would access to the EU Single Market be offered to a non-member? There remains a strong theme of cake -and-eat-it among the thinking, even on this panel.

Yes, 100% yes, we should never have left to begin with. We should be begging to rejoin.

"It is scandalous. We didn't get what we where promised." ....... One need a brain, one really do.

It is freezing cold out there today there is no reason why the church cannot open their doors up for the homeless people they only need a couple of blankets and a pillows all churches have got kitchens and toilets ladies and men's the poor need use of the church open the doors up..

What about the public mood in the member states!? Do we not get a vote to keep that toxic island out - democracy and all that??

Returning to the EU is as Guto says, not likely to happen in the foreseeable future, but I do think it may happen long before Guto Harri departs this world. IF, it happens at all. However, the EU will insist on the UK being a full member and that will include the adoption of the Euro and possibly being part of Schengen, although being separated by the sea, this may in practice be only pragmatic via the Channel Tunnel. By leaving, the UK has forfeited any and all its clout to negotiate any concessions. Also, whilst the economy is in the doldrums and the political mood in the country miserable at the current time and therefore an upswing in support for rejoining, any upturn in the economy and better times will quickly allay a lot of that support. For the people of the UK to want to rejoin in significant numbers that the politicians dare to deal with the 'B' word again, the UK will likely need to suffer from prolonged economic woes and very minimal growth. I've lived long enough to know that better times will come, even by hanging onto the success of others and when they do, the mood changes. In short, the damage has been done.

What Brexit were people expecting?

Jeez, even after all the hardships which have become apparent, the English are still talking up 'Cherry Picking'.

What is wrong with having the euro? It's so advantageous. No changing currency every time you cross a border (which by the way is also easy if you're in the Shengen area). It's all so beneficial. Brexiteers truly are clueless about the Eurozone.

Ursula doesn’t have the mandate nor the power to make that statement. The UK has to meet the Copenhagen criteria and apply for membership, it’s then up to the 27 memberstates to accept or not.

No way at all we left we are staying out

They didn’t get the Brexit they voted for but they did get the Brexit the remainers warned them about…

Hard to have too much sympathy with Jim when everything he was warned about everything he is complaining about back in 2016.

Yes, next question.

"They weren't honest with us", really? Anyone who believed the brexit promises lived in a fantasy land.

Those people don't realize that EU has no interest for that. Sorry but UK must continue to punish itself for sometimes to deter any other member to leave. Even french far right leader LE PEN drops the idea. The single thinking that you can be stronger alone than in the most wealthier club on Earth is so foolish !

It seems to me that brexit was like being persuaded to quit your job because you'll be better off freelancing. No one ever specifies what you'll end up earning, or mentions you might not get holiday pay, but they assure you it'll be awesome. You just take it on faith that it'll be great and that the people telling you to leave have no ulterior motives. Youd be pretty dumb to just believe them.

100% immediately asap if not sooner

London will mess it up yet again!

So in other words. A bunch of moronic politicians, business owners and celebrities can't get off their high-horse and admit they were wrong to promote Brexit and the everyday UK citizen suffers yet again.

At some point this country needs to get past this Brexit debate & actually get on with making meaningful change to the country. Leaving or staying in the EU makes no difference if our political class continue to let the country drift along in a managed decline rather than making the radical changes that are necessary. Rejoining the EU will NOT address our underlying issues (just as it didn’t before Brexit).