citizens Archives - Bremain in Spain

Sue Wilson Writes: British citizens living in limbo over Brexit have finally had their patience rewarded

Jul 24, 2019 | Articles, News, Sue Wilson Writes

Over recent weeks, many British citizens living in Spain, who are worried about Brexit, have been increasingly concerned about political events in the UK.

With the two Conservative leadership candidates, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, hyping their no-deal Brexit rhetoric to the max, and the media over-playing a whole host of no-deal scenarios, it’s no surprise that many have been losing sleep.

However, the events of last week saw a significant change in our collective mood. The tide has finally turned.

It was a busy week in both Westminster and Brussels, with the appointment of the new President of the European Commission, Theresa May’s last speech as Prime Minister, and the last of the Tory leadership contest hustings.

The Office for Budget Responsibility released its latest, damning report, stating that the UK risks a ‘full-blown’ recession with a no-deal Brexit. Meanwhile, Chancellor Phillip Hammond admitted to being “terrified” by Brexiter claims concerning a no-deal Brexit boost to the economy.

Then there was a revealing expose screened by BBC Panorama, ‘Britain’s Brexit Crisis’, that suggested even the Beeb is experiencing a change of mood and tone, perhaps finally feeling it might have backed the wrong horse.

However, the most significant of last week’s events was Thursday’s vote by the House of Commons, to prevent the new British prime minister from proroguing parliament.

The day before, a House of Lords amendment to the Northern Ireland bill had passed by a significant majority. The amendment called for parliament to regularly report on its progress with regard to the forming of an executive in Stormont. A similar amendment had recently been defeated in the House of Commons, but the Lords were determined to prevent the new PM from shutting down parliament ahead of the October 31st Brexit deadline. If the Lords amendment proved successful, this would allow the House of Commons a second bite of the cherry.

The vote in the Commons was widely expected to be a close call, with speculation that some Conservative ministers might rebel against the government. When the result emerged, showing a significant defeat for Theresa May, despite a 3-line whip, the change in mood from Bremain members was palpable.

For many months, British citizens living in limbo over Brexit have been hoping for MPs – especially Conservatives – to stand up and be counted. On Thursday our patience was finally rewarded. Not only did 30 Conservative MPs defy the whip and abstain – including Chancellor Hammond and cabinet ministers, David Gauke, Greg Clarke and Rory Stewart – but 17 Conservatives voted in favour of Hilary Benn and Alastair Burt’s amendment.

Even the Brits amongst us who had resigned themselves to a hard Brexit have since expressed feelings of hope. The scale of the government’s defeat was seen as highly significant and a victory for common sense. Although many long ago abandoned the idea of parliament coming to our rescue, many Brits now believe a new way forward is possible.

Unsurprisingly, Brexiters were outraged by the result, accusing their colleagues of a betrayal of the British public and the referendum result. Without a hint of irony, they complained that MPs had voted to ensure the retention of parliamentary sovereignty – a key demand of their own Leave campaign!

While the success of the amendment doesn’t prevent a no-deal Brexit, it does make it more difficult. Yet again, it proves that there is no majority in parliament for a damaging no-deal Brexit.

For many Conservative rebels, this was the first time they had ever voted against their own government. One minister, Margot James, even resigned in order to do so. Further resignations are anticipated next week, if Boris Johnson becomes the new leader, as expected.

Having crossed the line, and voted against the wishes of the government, Conservative MPs will in future find it easier to oppose the extreme Brexit plans favoured by Johnson, the Brexiters and Conservative party members. As one first-time rebel MP said, they might even get a taste for it!

We have long hoped and prayed for MPs to put country before party. Many have a long way to go, but the tide has turned.

After the success of his amendment, Hilary Benn said that the House of Commons had sent a message to the new prime minister. He commented: “If you think you can lock the doors of the chamber and expect us all to go away until October 31st has come and gone, well it isn’t going to happen. The public would expect us to be here doing our job, and that is what we intend to do.”

Brits throughout Europe are grateful to those who stood up to be counted. We now hope that parliament really can “take back control”. That’s what we voted for, apparently!

Taken from The Local

Sue Wilson Writes: How Spain treats Britons over Brexit is in the hands of the UK

Feb 21, 2019 | Articles, News, Sue Wilson Writes

While there have been warm words and encouraging promises from Spain towards Britons in the country, the reality is their futures depend on the UK government and people have lost faith in it, says Sue Wilson from the Bremain in Spain campaign group.

How many times, over the last 31 months, have Brits living in the EU been told not to worry? As frequently, I imagine, as EU citizens in the UK have heard the same words.

Since the start of the negotiations in March 2017, our rights as citizens were one of three priorities up for negotiation. It was going to be easy, apparently, as nothing was going to change, and our lives would not be affected.

We might have believed it at the time, as the EU seemed keen to preserve the status quo. Brexit would not undermine our rights in any way, shape or form.

The initial offer from the EU provided reassurance. That is, until the Department for Exiting the European Union became involved. Prime Minister Theresa May rejected the EU’s initial offer and came back with her own inferior counter-offer. Not only that: May acted as if she were making the first offer!

It comes as no surprise, after viewing May’s time at the Home Office, that her driving ambition was to reduce immigration numbers. Having set an impossibly low target of tens of thousands of EU immigrants, May immediately starting taking rights and freedoms off the table for EU citizens. Naturally, the EU responded by removing rights from the table for British citizens in the EU.

Campaign groups, such as British in Europe, of which Bremain in Spain is a founding member, and the 3Million, have worked tirelessly to protect citizens’ rights. Despite their best efforts, the Withdrawal Agreement sees our rights downgraded and leaves important gaps, causing much anxiety. These include the loss of freedom of movement and the failure to recognise professional qualifications.

For many, the rights secured in the Withdrawal Agreement, such as healthcare and pensions, provided relief from the ongoing Brexit nightmare. However, that relief was always tempered with the constant ringing in our ears of May’s “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. Also, while May’s deal might have been agreed with the EU, there’s still no agreement with the UK parliament, or any sign of an agreement on the horizon.

Read the full article in The Local

Brexit: Why have British citizens in the EU been left to fight for their own rights?

Feb 21, 2019 | Articles, News

Groups of volunteers are spending all their time and hard-earned cash on fighting for the rights of Britons across the EU who are directly affected by Brexit. The British government needs to finally make the 1.2 million citizens in the EU a real priority and ease the burden on campaigners, writes Ben McPartland.

Last week a team of volunteers in different parts of France worked late into the night trying to interpret the newly published French law that spells out what will happen in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

The volunteers, who form the “citizens rights” team at Remain in France Together (RIFT), put aside their normal lives and got on with the job of providing information to the thousands of anxious Brits who were waiting desperately for news of what their futures might hold if Britain crashes out of the EU in a few weeks’ time.

These are the same team of volunteers who have spent their own money travelling to Paris to lobby the French government to alert them to the issues Britons are facing across the country.

Of course, it’s not just in France where unpaid volunteers have taken it upon themselves to explain the impact of Brexit on health cover, driving licenses and residency rights and basically to stick up for the citizens’ rights of anxious Britons, whose lives and health have been damaged by nearly three years of limbo.

Read full story in The Local

‘Sacrificed on the altar of trade’: Britons in EU feel betrayed by Brexit deal

Dec 15, 2017 | Articles, News

British nationals living in mainland Europe say they are alarmed by claims that their rights have been protected by the Brexit deal sealed by Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker.

One Briton, Ingrid Taylor, who is settled in Germany, described claims that their rights were now guaranteed as “a barefaced lie”.

Brexit impacts on the future lives of an estimated 1.2 million Britons settled in mainland Europe, most of them working. They have accused May and Juncker of sacrificing them in the rush to sign off phase one of Brexit talks.

Taylor said that she believes the European commission has started to use British people in the rest of the EU as “bargaining chips” in reaction to the “intransigent stance” Theresa May took on EU citizens living in the UK.

“After what happened on Friday, the anger has risen,” she said. “We feel betrayed, we feel anger, we feel we have been sacrificed on the altar of trade.”

One of the biggest fears of such Britons is that they will remain “landlocked” in the country in which they now live, unable to move across borders to work for meetings, or for business contracts.

Read the full Guardian article…

Expats still none the wiser despite “sufficient progress” in Brexit talks

Dec 15, 2017 | Articles, News

There was bitter disappointment from the organisation British in Europe to a joint report by the UK government and the EU which outlines the progress made during the first phase of Brexit negotiations. The 17-page document, released last Friday, talks of “agreements in principle” and states the caveat “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, leaving millions of EU and UK citizens uncertain about their futures, some 18 months after the referendum result.

Chair of British in Europe, Jane Golding, said: “This deal is even worse than we expected. After 18 months of wrangling, the UK and EU have sold 4.5 million people down the river in a grubby bargain that will have a severe impact on ordinary people’s ability to live their lives as we do now.

The key areas focused on during the first phase of talks were citizens’ rights, the Irish border and a financial settlement. The publication of the report, which announced that “sufficient progress” had been made, now allows them to move on to phase two.

Read full article in the Sur…