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British expats in Spain crushed by shock general election result
| Published: | 13 Dec at 6 PM |
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British expats living all across Spain as well as the leader of the Bremain in Spain campaign are calling out today’s General Election result as ‘mass suicide’.
Sue Wilson, leader of the Bremain in Spain group, told the English language media Johnson’s victory was a shock, saying she can’t believe what the electorate have done and comparing it to mass suicide. The Labour Party hasn’t had such a devastating election result since the 1980s, with leaders of Europe’s British expat communities and campaign groups now in a state of confusion and despair.
It now seems the rights of UK expats living, working and retiring all over Spain will be dependent on the new British government’s treatment of EU citizens living in the UK, as reassurances of British expats’ rights are legally linked to the treatment of Spanish nationals in the UK. To date, Boris Johnson’s views on immigration and the UK’s foreign communities would seem incompatible with Spain’s requirements.
A recent poll revealed some 75 per cent of Britons in Spain are in full favour of the UK’s remaining in the EU, but a good percentage of those surveyed had been resident in Spain for over 15 years and had lost their rights to vote as a result. Others had attempted to vote in 2016, but were foiled by Britain’s inefficient postal and voting services.
As a result of Johnson’s victory, expat families will now be forced to choose between partners or children in their country of residence and their loved ones in the UK, and a no deal Brexit is now back on the cards should the year-long negotiations beginning after January 31st come to nothing. Conservative Party calls over ‘the will of the people’ won’t alleviate the desperate situation of Britons all over Europe, nor will they stop the USA’s stated intentions as regards the NHS and trade.
Sue Wilson, leader of the Bremain in Spain group, told the English language media Johnson’s victory was a shock, saying she can’t believe what the electorate have done and comparing it to mass suicide. The Labour Party hasn’t had such a devastating election result since the 1980s, with leaders of Europe’s British expat communities and campaign groups now in a state of confusion and despair.
It now seems the rights of UK expats living, working and retiring all over Spain will be dependent on the new British government’s treatment of EU citizens living in the UK, as reassurances of British expats’ rights are legally linked to the treatment of Spanish nationals in the UK. To date, Boris Johnson’s views on immigration and the UK’s foreign communities would seem incompatible with Spain’s requirements.
A recent poll revealed some 75 per cent of Britons in Spain are in full favour of the UK’s remaining in the EU, but a good percentage of those surveyed had been resident in Spain for over 15 years and had lost their rights to vote as a result. Others had attempted to vote in 2016, but were foiled by Britain’s inefficient postal and voting services.
As a result of Johnson’s victory, expat families will now be forced to choose between partners or children in their country of residence and their loved ones in the UK, and a no deal Brexit is now back on the cards should the year-long negotiations beginning after January 31st come to nothing. Conservative Party calls over ‘the will of the people’ won’t alleviate the desperate situation of Britons all over Europe, nor will they stop the USA’s stated intentions as regards the NHS and trade.
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