Brits in Spain more concerned about future after the rejection of Brexit deal prolongs uncertainty

Brits in Spain more concerned about future after the rejection of Brexit deal prolongs uncertainty

Jan 18, 2019 | Articles, News

The latest events in what some are branding the “Brexit pantomime” have done nothing to ease the concerns of the 40,000-plus Brits living on the Costa del Sol.

Tuesday’s historic vote in the UK’s House of Commons, which saw Theresa May’s Brexit deal rejected by a majority of 230 votes, was followed the next day by a narrow victory for her government in a vote of no confidence tabled by Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The 19-vote difference means that Theresa May’s Conservative party was given a mandate by Parliament to continue to negotiate some sort of withdrawal deal.

There has been mixed reaction from groups representing Brits in Malaga province and throughout the Spain.

Speaking to SUR on Wednesday, Anne Hernández, spokesperson for Mijas-based Brexpats in Spain, said this week’s events have been, “more senselessness.” She added that from the beginning the aim of her group, which represents both ‘Remainers’ and ‘Leavers’, has been to ensure that “the UK doesn’t leave without any kind of deal” meaning that the rights of Britons living in the EU are protected. The rejection of May’s deal means that the “anguish” felt by Britons is being extended and that people she talks to are “more worried than ever”.

For Sue Wilson, chair of anti-Brexit group, Bremain in Spain, the collapse of the Withdrawal Deal was as welcome as it was expected. She told SUR in English, “I have found myself in the strange position this week of wanting Theresa May to lose one vote on Tuesday and win another on Wednesday, both of which duly happened.”

Full article in The Sur

Brits in Spain see glimmer of hope in UK Brexit vote drubbing

Brits in Spain see glimmer of hope in UK Brexit vote drubbing

Jan 18, 2019 | Articles, News

Jávea (Spain) (AFP) – On the sun-drenched eastern coast of Spain where British pensioners and business-owners are uncertain for their futures as Brexit ticks closer, the crushing parliamentary defeat of Theresa May’s EU divorce deal has sparked a glimmer of hope.

“This might not happen,” Lyle Starritt told AFP, the day after May suffered a historic drubbing in the House of Commons on Tuesday, when MPs rejected the deal she struck with the European Union.

Britons interviewed by AFP, all of whom were keen on Britain staying in the EU, also said they were confident that even if Brexit takes place Madrid would preserve their rights, providing London reciprocates for Spaniards living in Britain.

Starritt, who runs an estate agency just a stone’s throw away from the wide, palm tree-lined beach in the coastal town of Javea, said that many British expats had been gripped by a “sense of gloom” after the 2016 referendum to leave the bloc.

Spain is the number one destination for British nationals living outside Britain, far ahead of France and Ireland. These include retirees aged over 65 who have made the country their permanent home.

With no deal yet agreed for the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU at the end of March, many expats are concerned about freedom of movement, pensions and healthcare.

But Starritt, 58, said the collapse of May’s deal had given people some confidence that the entire Brexit process could be halted.

Read full article in Yahoo News

2019: The Year We Finally Bury Brexit

2019: The Year We Finally Bury Brexit

Jan 16, 2019 | Articles, News

This trip to BrusselsI’ve always enjoyed celebrating the New Year – a time to reflect on the previous 12 months, good and bad, and to look forward to a new beginning, a fresh start.

A time for optimism and hope, both ingredients that have been difficult to find on the Brexit menu, especially for us Brits living in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK.

Over the last year, so much has changed, with unpredictable events and surprising twists and turns along the way. Deadlines and Cabinet ministers came and went, but despite everything, Prime Minister Theresa May did have one major success. She actually managed to get everyone to agree on something – everyone hates her ‘deal’.

After many months of wrangling, May came back with the best deal possible from the European Union, bearing in mind her self-imposed red lines. Thanks to May’s ridiculous insistence on restricting freedom of movement, she had left no room for manoeuvre. The EU, naturally, stuck together to protect all their members and the integrity of the single market.

Throughout the entire negotiation period, the Conservative party, and the Brexiteers in particular, clung to their fantasy that the UK would be treated exactly the same as we are now. Even the production of the government’s own assessment papers, revealing the damage that even the softest Brexit would cause, barely altered the rhetoric. Britain would be ‘Great’ again, Britain would strike up new trade deals around the world, Britain could stand alone!

Read Sue Wilson’s full article in Impakter

Battling Brexit: How a group of Brits in Europe took on the fight for citizens’ rights

Battling Brexit: How a group of Brits in Europe took on the fight for citizens’ rights

Jan 6, 2019 | Articles, News

As most Britons living in Europe were still reeling from the shock of the 2016 Brexit referendum, a small number of individuals and groups began to come together realising they faced a huge fight to protect rights that had always been taken for granted. This is their story.

To find out how this movement began from another campaign to secure the vote for millions of disenfranchised Brits abroad, read Part One of this story. Part Three: January 11th.

Ask most British nationals living abroad where they were that night Britain voted to leave the EU and they can remember.

Some watched in tears in their living rooms, others were left to console themselves in the waiting room of an airport. 

Most Brits living in the EU watched the coverage in horror as they realised the shock Brexit referendum result would change their lives forever. And what made it worse for many of them was that they had not even been allowed to vote.

“On the night of the referendum a group of friends came to my house and watched the results come in,” Fiona Godfrey, co-founder and co-chair of citizens’ rights umbrella group British in Europe, tells The Local.

Read full story in The Local

The Leave campaign broke the rules – there’s the justification for a Final Say, prime minister

The Leave campaign broke the rules – there’s the justification for a Final Say, prime minister

Dec 12, 2018 | Articles, Campaigns & Events, News

As the parliamentary debate on the withdrawal agreement progresses, the call for a people’s vote becomes increasingly irresistible. A case in the High Court (Wilson and others v the prime minister) offers another argument in its favour: the government has a constitutional duty to at least re-consider whether it should proceed with Brexit.

All public bodies are subject to a legal duty, whenever they make a decision, to take all relevant considerations into account. This duty applies at every level, from district councils through to the prime minister. Where a public body fails to take a relevant consideration into account, its decision can be set aside.

The conduct of the Leave campaigns during the 2016 referendum is just such a relevant consideration. The Electoral Commission has found that Vote Leave incorrectly reported its spending and, in fact, exceed its spending limit by nearly 10 per cent. Spending limits are put in place to ensure that no side can “buy” an election. When Vote Leave exceeded its spending limit it gave itself, and by extension the entire Leave campaign, a significant unfair advantage. The Electoral Commission also found that Darren Grimes, founder of BeLeave misreported donations from Vote Leave and the campaign group “Veterans for Britain” also broke electoral rules. Grimes has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the fine.

 
Organisations associated with the Leave side have also been fined by the information commissioner. The commissioner found that Leave.EU and Eldon Insurance, a company owned by Arron Banks, misused data belonging to Eldon’s customers and illegally sent 300,000 emails.
 
Full article in The Independent