Keep up with the latest from Bremain in Spain
Buying products from the EU after Brexit: a hefty price to pay
Anyone ordering goods from the EU in 2021 has likely come in for a nasty shock to the wallet. The advertised price, paid in good faith when ordering online, has not been the end of the story, or to the costs. The same has applied to EU residents or businesses ordering...
Open Letter to Lord Frost
Dear Lord Frost, You probably won’t have heard of me, but I’m a regular correspondent with your partner in crime, the prime minister. Perhaps he has mentioned me in passing as that irritating women with the MBE that lives in Spain. I am writing to thank you for the...
Bremain Presents Evidence re The Elections Bill
On Tuesday 7 September, the government’s Elections Bill returned to the House of Commons for the second reading. The Commons debate coincided with an evidence gathering session of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) on the same...
Getting Brexit undone
Brexit is barely nine months old but is not ageing well, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson MBE. The ‘fabulous’ deal that Prime Minister Johnson and Brexit negotiator Lord Frost raved about last December, has lost all its shine – especially, it seems, to those who...
Bremainers Ask Revisited – Part 5
As part of our regular Bremainers Ask feature, we occasionally ask previous contributors to comment on the latest political developments. This month we are delighted to welcome back Naomi Smith, Ian Dunt and Jonathan Lis who have all agreed to comment on the current...
Hands off my Pension!
British pensioners are worried about their income. For those reliant solely on the state pension, it can be a struggle to survive on what is the “world’s third worst” pension, and the lowest rate across Europe, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson MBE for West Country...
Events 2021
27th September In person meeting (at Labour Party Conference - Brighton) 17.30 – 19.00 BST Labour for a European FutureWhat should Labour’s Europe policy be at GE?Speakers include:Mike Buckley, Hilary Benn MP, Paul Blomfield MPRegister to attend here 15th September...
Parliamentary inquiry into elections bill takes evidence
On 26 July 2021, the public administration and constitutional affairs committee (PACAC) launched an inquiry into the elections bill, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson for Yorkshire Bylines. It is the latest of 13 ongoing inquiries that the House of Commons committee is...
The Spanish Healthcare System – a personal view
In June 2005 we moved to the Southern Costa Blanca of Spain, a region the World Health Organisation declared as one of the most healthy climates in the world, writes Bremain Council member Mike Phillips for Kent Bylines. My wife Anne, as a pensioner, was able to...
Climate crisis: action vs hypocrisy
Last weekend saw my home region of Spain – the Valencian Community – brace for the first real ola de calor of the 2021 season, writes Bremain Chair Sue Wilson for Yorkshire Bylines. Warm air from the Sahara brought temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, with the...
Denying care to the elderly? Age is just a number
In five weeks’ time, I will celebrate being 68 years old, or young, depending on your outlook, and probably your own age. Brexit and covid aside, I am the happiest, most contented I have ever been in my life, and probably the fittest and most active too, writes...
Travel farce: anger from British nationals in Europe
Thursday last week, the UK government made the long-awaited travel rules announcement: from 4am on 2 August, European citizens who were fully vaccinated would no longer have to isolate for ten days if travelling to the UK from amber list countries, with certain...
Bremainers Ask………. Anna Bird, CEO European Movement UK
Anna Bird is the CEO of the European Movement UK. She joined the European Movement in September 2020, having previously led political influencing campaigns at Scope, the Fawcett Society and Mind. Anna is a passionate Europhile, a European Studies graduate and Erasmus...
Frost’s command plan for the Northern Ireland protocol
Bremain Chair Sue Wilson MBE writes for Yorkshire Bylines about the ongoing UK issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol: Over the last few days, rumours have been rife as to the UK’s plans to resolve issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol. Rhetoric from...
Football may be coming home, but we’re not
Here's Bremain Chair Sue Wilson´s latest article for Yorkshire Bylines: When Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, announced that quarantine measures would soon be lifted for fully vaccinated Brits, the news was largely welcomed. Until Brits abroad looked at the...
Learning to live with Covid
Bremain Chair Sue Wilson writes for Yorkshire Bylines about her personal experience during the pandemic: It’s been nine months since I last saw my mum. Having been used to monthly visits, covid measures have prevented me – like so many others – from spending precious...
Why my vote is important to me
The long-promised return of our democratic voting rights will be welcomed by British citizens across the world. Those who have lived abroad for more than 15 years have fallen foul of the arbitrary rule denying them voting rights in UK elections and referendums. As we...
“Black Lives Matter is a Marxist Organisation”
Bremain Vice Chair, Lisa Burton, recently wrote this piece about the alleged Black Lives Matter links to Marxism for Yorkshire Bylines: We hear it from politicians, celebrities, political commentators, and those who have launched a so-called ‘war on wokeness’ –...
Votes for Life 2021 – The Elections Bill
The date for the second reading of the Elections Bill has been announced as 7 September, at 12.40 BST. The second reading is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the general principles of the Bill. At the end of the debate, MPs will vote on whether they think the...
Bremainers Ask – Terry Reintke MEP
Terry Reintke is Vice-president of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and the group's coordinator for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. She is Co-president of the LGBTI Intergroup and founder of the EU-UK Friendship Group. She...
British Embassy Updates
Bremain in Spain are proud to work closely with the British Ambassador & Embassy staff to keep you informed about life in Spain. Throughout the Brexit process, the Embassy have been providing regular updates on our rights in Spain, and the necessary measures to...
The New Normality
After 14 weeks of strict lockdown measures, the initial ‘state of alert’ officially ended at midnight on June 21. The new phase, known as the “new normality”, saw the lifting of mobility restrictions, but with some health and safety measures remaining in place. With...
Open Letter to Boris Johnson from Sue Wilson, MBE
Sue Wilson, Chair of Bremain in Spain and now a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, writes a further open letter to Boris Johnson in Yorkshire Bylines asking for his advice– you can read her earlier letters here. Dear Boris, It’s been a while...
Bremain in Spain Comment on Chair Sue Wilson´s Recognition In The Queen’s Birthday Honours List
On 12 June 2021, the British Embassy announced the names of UK nationals in Spain recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours. This year, the List published in the London Gazette includes the name of Bremain in Spain’s Chair, Sue Wilson. “For services to...