Lisa Nandy warns Labour voters any idea of reversing Brexit is a ‘fantasy’

The only real advantage that's lost is a rebate. But it wasn't a permanent mechanism but one negotiated every 7 years so we could lose it anyway if there weren't unanimity for us to get one.

The rebate is a huge issue, though. By the end of UK membership it was worth about £5 billion a year, without it we'd have been by far the largest net contributor as a percentage of GNI, and probably close to the largest overall.

Schengen we can't join unless Ireland joins, Ireland can't join unless we join, so as long as both countries agree they want to join in the same time, there's no way to force us in.

The EU could insist on Schengen membership for the UK and Ireland could not block it (nor would they want to). The only possible option is that the UK makes it clear it would not join Schengen, and the EU agrees to waive it to get the UK back in. But Ireland isn't really an issue because they would happily join Schengen themselves.

Basically, members can veto treaty changes, but they cannot force them. Ireland could not force the treaty change that would be required for the UK to join without signing up to Schengen.

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