“Why on earth would the government not take over the shortfall of funding in university research, after the EU is no longer taking (and partly redistributing) our money?”
Because the EU gives the UK much more money for science research than the UK pays in. This issue comes up at science conferences in Europe quite a lot. The UK is the main benefactor of ERC (European Research Council) research grants. But don’t worry, the research will get done, just not in Britain.
I am not sure why the UK got so much from the ERC. I have had this discussion with a few people. A lot of the time, a researcher will be given a grant which they can take with them anywhere they want, and when somebody brings money with them, they can basically pick their university/institute. It seems that European researchers often favor Britain because they already know English, which makes it more attractive than a country where they don’t know the language. However, I am sure this is not the entire story.
I feel the Iceland result was somewhat appropriate. I was watching Game of Thrones while it happened, so I didn’t see it. Already, people are making jokes about having a rematch.
Seriously though, I find it quite disturbing how many people want a second referendum.
“…the EU gives the UK much more money for science research than the UK pays in…”
How can that possibly be true if we are net contributors??
“…Seriously though, I find it quite disturbing how many people want a second referendum…”
What disturbed me was the apparent ease with which hackers could manipulate a government system! (And anyway, shouldn’t someone have just noticed that the number of people apparently petitioning from the Vatican City was far greater than their entire population??)
I guess what I’m saying is, we couldn’t be a net contributor (which we are) if we were getting more out than paying in.
Either way, there will be some money to be shared around when we are out. The NHS will probably get a big slice. I would guess there’ll be money for universities too.
What on earth is one to make of Corbyn? Apparently he has now lost the confidence of almost all Labour MPs - to the extent that they are yelling “resign” at him in the house. Yet he still enjoys massive popular support among regular Labour Party members. If the MPs force a new leadership contest, he’ll likely be re-elected with a hefty mandate!
It’s a truly surreal situation. Is he secretly a Tory undercover agent, or something?!
It seems hard to imagine a “better” (from a Tory point of view) opposition leader than the one they have right now!
Countries that used to belong to the British Empire, on which the sun never set, tend to use the English language as their official language. Even in Japan, which was defeated by the US a little more than seventy years ago, some people think that English should be designated as the “second official” language. Do most French people speak German more fluently than they speak English? Do most German people speak French more fluently than they speak English? I imagine that English might be treated as the de facto offical language in the EU. (My guess is that both English with a strong German accent and English with a strong French accent will be used when there are no highly-competent interpreters around them at their meetings. With no native speakers of English around them, people might be happy and content with their English with their strong accent.)
“…My guess is that both English with a strong German accent and English with a strong French accent will be used when there are no highly-competent interpreters around them at their meetings. With no native speakers of English around them, people might be happy and content with their English with their strong accent…”
That may be true.
But still, I wouldn’t be a little bit surprised if Martin Schulz is busily boning up on his French right at this moment in time. (There must be some reason why he always looks stressed out?)
English would not decline, but the UK might have opened Pandora’s box toward its decline by the Brexit referendum. According to an article by a Japanese scholar, it will have to depend on economic relations with China, which is interested in its relationships with Germany as well as its relationships with the UK. I am not sure about this.
P.S.
London and Frankfurt. I have been to London several times, but have never been to Frankfurt. I don’t know if I have a chance to go to Germany before I grow too old to go abroad.
“Frankfurt is a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. It is the most important financial centre of the European continent, with the HQs of the European Central Bank, German Federal Bank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, KfW, several fintech startups and other institutes.”–Wikipedia
We will see in due course. Many people are making predictions, but only time will tell.
(10 years ago, I remember hearing an Italian academic saying that the UK would eventually have to join the Euro currency, that it was inevitable. Well, was this academic right??)
I don’t know a thing about Labour internal politics. From what I can see, I would guess that a lot of the front bench Labour MPs have always wanted him gone because he isn’t just some standard issue Blairite. This is now their excuse to try to get rid of him.
Did you see this attack on Corbyn on the Telegraph?
They are trying to make out like he has made huge money from his government salary. He has received 1.5 million in 30 years!!! Of course, this is £50,000 per year, which is a decent salary, but not exactly huge. Some of the other things they attack him for are so pathetic. He bought a house in north London for £360,000!
Yep - the Blair faction has always been waiting for a chance to knife him in the back.
But the result of this internal struggle is that Labour will be going into an early general election (possibly in October) in a state of near total disarray.
Meanwhile the Conservatives are now quietly fast-tacking their leadership contest for Cameron’s replacement. My guess is that they will unite around Theresa May, who will then be odds-on for a landslide victory - especially if UKIP can do to Labour in the North-East and North-West of England what the SNP has done to them in Scotland.
Labour could be in real trouble here! (As one columnist put it: saying that they are a bunch of clowns would be an insult to circus performers.)
Well, the Telegraph is pretty much the house newspaper of the Tories, so I guess they’re going to knife him in the front - while his own MPs are knifing him in the back!
I don’t think there will be any linguistic implications whatsoever. I have not studied English to speak to British people only. I like the language, I love the fact that there is so much information available in English. I am also an avid reader and love reading books in the original. There are some fantastic authors out there whose native language is English and not all of them are British.
I have never been a fan of using mainly English in international organisations. If it were not for the Germans and if things had gone the way some of our own politicians wanted (shame on them), German would be no longer an official language of the EU.
Discussions in the EU Parliament usually are in different languages, that’s why interpreters come in handy I used to work as an interpreter for some EU institutions and usually people would speak in their native language.
English in general will not become less important as a lingua franca on a global level. However, in official meetings of the EU there certainly will be less English as from now.
“…English in general will not become less important as a lingua franca on a global level. However, in official meetings of the EU there certainly will be less English as from now…”
I agree - exactly this is the point that I have been (perhaps rather clumsily?) trying to make on this thread.
English as global language - no change.
English inside the four walls of the EU - politically frowned on.
I used to work as an interpreter for some EU institutions and usually people would speak in their native language.