Not all deals are always in place. Many countries, like the US in the past, would threaten using leverage, but then fold and offer money instead, if they even threatened in the first place.

If the UK would have remained hard and kept it's foot on the gas, it would 'own' NA. They went soft and ever since they've paid the price, yet the world looks at leaders like Trump and wonders why he's such a hard ass. Collective strength because people somehow think wanting more for doing less is a good idea. Problem is it comes with consequences that are worse than the benefits.

That's like saying the 'relationships' within the US haven't been abusive, and that Trump became President solely because... Russia? 'Nobody' saw that coming, just like 'nobody' saw Brexit coming, just like 'nobody' could have predicted what's going on in France right now.

How leaky does the faucet need to get before someone realizes that means there's a problem and it needs to be solved sooner than later or it'll just get worse?

I have an honest question? What advantage is there to leave with the deal that May has? And does anyone think the EU will give a better deal? And what advantage is there to leave with this better ideal deal? And finally what are the advantages of no deal? All for the UK of course. Feels like you are screwed in all scenarios to an outsider like me

We have more of the top universities than all of the EU combined. Hell, even Australia, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong do. Hmmm I wonder if they have anything in common.

Our financial sector leaving London for Paris or Frankfurt has been one of the funniest claims in this whole Brexit game. It epitomises how deluded EU-ers are.

I can‘t wait for the day England leaves the EU.

If the UK leaving would hurt them so badly that the people would beg to return to the EU, the EU would just let them go. 3-5 Years of slightly less power in the EU would be well worth it to get the UK back into the group, and locked in tight with even less leverage than before.

The reason the EU wouldn't want this, is because there is a good chance the UK will be just fine, and when other fed up EU nations and their people see that, they will push to leave as well.

Aren't they doing that right now though? Like with the deal they are offering, it seems like they want no deal in essence

UK didn't get soft the rest of the world caught up and became just as hard trust me NA would have destroyed us regardless because one it costs a lot of resources to maintain an empire and two no nation will ever have enough to maintain and keep hold of empires that's why so many countries rapidly obtained independence as it was costing far more to have and maintain the empire than to not have it, the UK would have collapsed trying to keep it running so the same outcome would have happened if the UK tried to be hard as you put it only the nation would be in a much weaker state today than it is. Collective strength isn't about doing less it's accepting that in the long run you have more relevance than trying to go it alone.

Brexit had clear signs because for years parties like the BNP and UKIP have blamed the EU for the UK's problems when many of them were our own design and fault the Tories further added to this with the referendum as a gamble to beat Milliband while using the EU as a negative against Labour, our media for years have also been blaming the EU so the seeds were already sown it's no different to Trump getting elected as Hilary wasn't a popular choice either so the Democrats actually gave Trump the best chance he had by backing her. EU is not perfect but it's far from abusive.

You don't solve a leaky facet by smashing the sink with a sledge hammer and having no idea on how to repair it, you need an actual plan.

@bolded: What does it have to do with Brexit? And where can I see those rankings?

Not all the financial sector of course, but a substantial part of it will do/is on the way already - like I said, those who went to London specifically to be at a financial center somewhere in the EU, and that ain't just a few banks

You're oversimplifying things quite a bit here. I mean It's not like the EU is a sperate entity. UK made decisions in the EU and was party to making all the decisions of the EU. UK, France and Germany are big players in shaping the EU. And the myth about EU officials not being elected is also just that, a myth.  You're also ignoring the pros of being in the EU of which there are sure to be many. A genuine answer would be something like comparing and contrasting. This just seems like something you wouldn't even tell a child unless you question their intelligence(No offense).