Sue Wilson Writes: Brits in the EU have been silenced too frequently and for too long

Sue Wilson Writes: Brits in the EU have been silenced too frequently and for too long

Sue WilsonHaving been denied a vote in the Brexit referendum, the thoughts of many Brits in Europe are now turning to a possible second vote. Sue Wilson from Bremain in Spain explains why a new campaign has been launched.

On Friday April 5th, a new campaign was launched to give full voting rights to 10 million disenfranchised British and European citizens.

The “Let Us Vote” campaign launched by film director, Mike Leigh, was supported by 14 politicians from both houses of parliament, including MPs David Lammy, Layla Moran and Clive Lewis. Further support comes from citizens’ rights and anti-Brexit campaign groups including British in Europe, the 3 Million and Another Europe is Possible.

The goal of the campaign is to give all UK residents (EU citizens included), and all British citizens living overseas, the right to vote in elections and referendums. So many British citizens living in the EU, along with UK resident EU citizens, were denied the right to vote in the June 2016 referendum, despite the fact that we have been significantly affected by the result.

Bremain in Spain, and other citizens rights’ groups, have been campaigning for ‘Votes for Life’ for many years, although for considerably less time than 97-year-old, Harry Shindler, MBE, who has been campaigning for over 20 years. Ever since the Conservative party committed to the restoration of voting rights to disenfranchised Brits, we have been hopeful, patient and a little sceptical.

The government’s commitment to resolving this issue was announced in the Queen’s speech of 27 May 2015, shortly after the general election. David Cameron made a manifesto commitment to restore voting rights to citizens living outside the UK for more than 15 years. A further commitment was made in the 2017 Conservative manifesto, with a promise to restore our voting rights before the next (scheduled) election in 2022. We now have a Private Members Bill – The Overseas Electors Bill 2017-2019 – sponsored by Glyn Davies MP.

The Bill has made slow but steady progress through parliament. I personally attended two of the debates in the House of Commons, including the last one on March 22. Unfortunately, at its’ last appearance for the Report Stage, the bill was filibustered by a Tory MP who sought to wreck its progress by talking it out of time. The bill is now ‘adjourned’, and the only subsequent response from the government has been that it “remains committed” to ending the 15-year limit.

The lack of a say in the 2016 referendum, and the snap election of 2017, has been a cause of great concern and annoyance for those affected by the results. British citizens have been greatly impacted by the referendum result and, as with EU citizens in the UK, have lived with fear, anxiety, stress, rage and depression. It’s bad enough to suffer those effects, but to have had no say in the process adds salt to the wound.

Mike Leigh expressed our feelings at the launch of the ‘Let us vote’ campaign.  He said: “The outcome of the next few weeks in politics could determine the course of our lives for decades to come. But many of the people who are most affected by the current situation – migrants living in the UK, and UK citizens living abroad – have never been offered the chance to have a stake in our democracy. Whatever our views on Brexit and party politics, we are united in the belief that it is fundamentally wrong that so many millions of people whose lives will be deeply affected by developments at Westminster are currently denied a vote.”

Having been denied a vote in the last referendum, our thoughts are now turning to the next one – a People’s Vote – which seems increasingly on the cards. Even with sufficient political will and a strong wind, it seems unlikely the bill will pass in time to give us a vote. All the more reason to welcome this new campaign and to give it, and its’ sponsors, our full support.

Brits in the EU have been silenced too frequently and for too long. Whether it’s our inability to take advantage of our democratic voting rights, or to have our voices heard by the British government and the media, we will not stay silent. As stated on our banner at the recent ‘Put it to the People’ march in London, it’s time to ‘Give us a Voice, Give us a Vote, Give us a Final Say’. These are our futures we are talking about – time we had a stake in them.

The full article in The Local

 

Sue Wilson Writes: Remainers must forgive fellow Brits in Spain who fell for the Brexit lie

Sue Wilson Writes: Remainers must forgive fellow Brits in Spain who fell for the Brexit lie

There’s no doubt that Brexit has caused a deep rift in society, often dividing colleagues, friends and families. In this week’s column Sue Wilson from the Bremain in Spain campaign group says remain voters must forgive fellow Britons in Spain who fell for the Brexit lie.

When I speak to people in the UK, I’m commonly asked: “Is it true that some Brits living in Spain voted for Brexit?” People seem genuinely surprised when I confirm it’s true. They frequently ask: “Isn’t that like turkeys voting for Christmas?”

The next question is, inevitably: “But why?” I’ve pondered that many times over, as have other pro-EU campaigners living in Europe.

In my role as chair of Bremain in Spain, a campaign group that works to stop Brexit, with a membership of Remainers, it would be easy to ignore the question altogether. Spending so much time in a Remainer “echo chamber”, I could almost forget the Leave side. However, it’s important to understand opposing views.

The reasons why some Brits in Spain voted Leave are the same reasons that Brits in the UK voted for Brexit. Whether they believed Turkey was about to join the EU (it isn’t), that the UK doesn’t control its borders (it does), or the infamous lie mounted on the side of the red bus, I believe most people wanted what was best for the UK. They voted for a better life for themselves and their families, even if Brexit could never deliver it.

I frequently hear of conversations – sometimes heated, sometimes fatal – between families, friends and colleagues, on different sides of the debate. The divisions created by Brexit are deep and strongly-held. They run against previous groupings that were based largely on socio-demographic background and political inclination. Many people have lost some old connections and have replaced them with strong, new ones, forged in unlikely places.

A common belief of Leavers in Spain is that Brexit would change nothing – life would continue as before. In some ways, that could be true for Brits living in Spain, especially for those with disposable income and/or a bolthole in the UK. In the event of Brexit, especially a hard one, we would avoid the immediate issues faced by UK residents, such as food shortages and price increases.

However, the impact could be felt re travel/visa requirements, the potential further devaluation of sterling, or a reduction in our rights and freedoms. Some of these could have significant consequences for us.

The truth is that we don’t know all the implications – we don’t even know what Brexit might look like at present. Furthermore, a forthcoming snap election in Spain could impact the Brexit bilateral negotiations. I have a good understanding of the situation, but even my crystal ball can’t predict the future under these circumstances!

Read Sue’s full article in The Local

Sue Wilson Writes – OPINION: It’s no surprise some Brits in Spain would now accept a soft Brexit

Sue Wilson Writes – OPINION: It’s no surprise some Brits in Spain would now accept a soft Brexit

In her weekly column for The Local Sue Wilson, chair of the Bremain in Spain group explains that while many Brits in the country would now be willing to accept a soft Brexit, she is not one of them.

Do we have good news? Not really.

The EU has recently agreed to give British citizens visa-free travel to its member states, even if there’s a no-deal Brexit. This proposal would allow Brits to visit the EU for up to 90 days; reciprocated by the UK re EU citizens who want to visit the UK.

The no-visa news was almost buried amongst considerable foot-stomping and grumbling from the UK government about Gibraltar being described as a “colony” of the British crown, despite the UK widely using the same term to describe it in the past. Heaven forbid that the UK government would welcome any move made by the EU for its citizens’ benefit!

So, what does the visa news really mean? A stay within a Schengen travel area country, such as Spain, could only take place for 90 days within any 180-day period.

While this move is good news for British tourists, it hasn’t been well-received by those who live in Spain full-time, or what the British Embassy describes as “swallows” – i.e. Brits with second homes in Spain who like to fly south for winter.

The potential loss of our rights and freedoms has been a major concern since the referendum on 23 June 2016.

Despite government claims about us being one of the three “priorities” in phase one of the Brexit negotiations, we’ve been ignored throughout the entire process.

We’ve never managed to secure an audience with the Prime Minister, or any of the three heads of the Department for Exiting the EU, and not for lack of trying. The EU, on the other hand, has engaged with us throughout, even offering meetings with Michel Barnier.

At the end of 2018, when the Withdrawal Agreement was agreed by May and the EU – if not by UK parliament – British citizens in the EU felt an element of relief.

Read Sue’s full article in The Local

 

¿Qué? podcast, episode two: What Brexit means for Brits in Spain

¿Qué? podcast, episode two: What Brexit means for Brits in Spain

So the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. But is it really? Will there be a second referendum? Will it crash out with no deal?

It seems that no one has the answers to those questions right now, something that’s leaving a lot of British residents in Spain, and Spanish residents in the UK, feeling very unsure about their futures.

In this second episode of our new podcast, ¿Qué?, the editor of the EL PAÍS English Edition, Simon Hunter, and his colleague, Melissa Kitson, discuss what Brexit might mean for British and Spanish migrants living in each other’s respective countries, in particular in the light of recent news that Madrid and London have reached a deal over voting rights in future municipal elections.

Full article in El Pais

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

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

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