The US buys more from the EU than we do yet their exporters still have to pay tariffs. Currently US car manufacturers have to pay 10% in tariffs to export into the EU.

Watch this space, the days of the US shooting itself in the foot are going to come to a very abrupt end once the current regime have finished spitting their dummies out and cleared off to plot from without the White house.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm no fan of the EU as it is but I believed staying and fighting for reform was the best option. Despite what the Brexit campaign suggested the pro business pro common sense right of centre were gaining traction in Europe after years of mismanagement by the left. Sadly now that will be reduced when the centralist UK leaves.

Sorry, but I think you're completely wrong there:

We've been, as you've said, 'fighting' for 'change' in the EU for the last 30 odd years with little to show for it - unlike many people in the 1970s who voted to join/stay in the former 'Common Market', it always was a political institution, naively set up to circumvent the will of the peoples of Europe so that they never had the power to vote in another facist dictator. The EU/Commission bigwigs hence don't want political control to be 'of the people' as they don't trust them (and never did) in the first place.

Your contention that the 'pro-business/common sense right-of-centre arguments have gained ground in mainland Europe is also false, IMO. The vast majority of the political gains have been made by the far right and left, as has been seen in Greece, many other Mediterranean countries and now richer nations such as France, Germany and Holland, plus hardline governments or significant political groups in Eastern EU countries such as Poland and Bulgaria. Many hardline elements on the far left/right political wings still play a large part in the former Yugoslavia, where underlying tensions since the civil war still haven't been resolved. As a result, selfish, racist, protectionist and anti-capitalist behavior is on the rise again, just like 100 years ago.

The main problem for the so-called 'centrist politicians' and political parties is that they've forgotten that:

a) they work for their voters, and do not 'rule', and serve at their pleasure. Voters are now fed up with wasteful, incompetent weasels running governments who are more interested in the trappings of power (as well as power iteself) and who wouldn't know how to run a bath, let alone a large organisation/institution (most have little/no worthwhile experience in the real world and get there by patronage or sycophancy);

b) voters want actual 'good (common sense) ideas', not short-term 'initiatives' and 'crack-downs' that accomplish very little (if anything, often manking the long-term situation worse) but cost a fortune. Its precisely because there are so many politicians with no real-word experience (sorry to any BRs who are these, but I would include those in the legal and entertainmennt professions, union reps, middle/upper-ranked public sector managers/civil servants and journalists) who are very good at public speaking but patently have no real knowledge andexperience in the departments/briefs they are supposed to be in charge of, let alone how to be a good quality manager;

c) voters have been telling them for many years they aren't doing a good job and are now only waking up to this fact when the People have reached the end of their tethers and are now voting in much more extreme politicians because, in their eyes (perhaps mistakenly), 'we can't do any worse', and to punish them/give them a good kick in the rear to get them to change (which most are very reluctant to do).

I could spend another hour writing about such failings, but most BRs already know about most of these problems.

To be honest, if (and when) we leave the EU, and especially if any other significant EU nation also does, then the 'Project' in its current form is finished. Perhaps then the politicians of Europe can, after a period of reflection, see sense and start a new organisation from scratch which is a far more loose union, consisting of a free trade/mutual co-operation alliance of free nations - no single currency (yet - that, if all went well so all countries were of similar wealth, would take 100-300 years to achieve), no EU government/commission/parliament and leave everything else to national governments, who would then be incentivised to do a better job as they wouldn't have anyone else to blame but themselves.

Thanks for reading my tome.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm no fan of the EU as it is but I believed staying and fighting for reform was the best option. Despite what the Brexit campaign suggested the pro business pro common sense right of centre were gaining traction in Europe after years of mismanagement by the left. Sadly now that will be reduced when the centralist UK leaves.

That was my position when Cameron tried to negotiate reform - if he'd got the necessary reforms I'd have voted Remain. But he didn't ask for enough and got virtually nothing anyway. The other EU states made abundantly clear that we should accept their vision of Europe with no compromise - or get out.

Despite all the doom & gloom, UK plc with thrive on opportunity - if tariffs and the exchange rate encourage Brits to buy more UK-built cars and fewer foreign-made ones, that good for UK plc and the same for every other industry.