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Brit expats in Gibraltar and nearby Spanish towns protest against Brexit
| Published: | 21 Oct at 6 PM |
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Last weekend’s massive anti-Brexit protest by several thousand members of Gibraltar’s expat community made their opinions about Johnson’s new deal as clear as day.
Taking place in the border town of La Linea de la Conception and attended by the mayors of Los Barrios, La Linea and San Roque, the march saw over 2,000 anti-Brexit protestors voicing their fury over the potentially disastrous effect of a no-deal Brexit both on their lives and on the economies of Gibraltar and southern Spain.
For decades, the British overseas territory has been a favourite work and retirement destination for UK citizens, with many now claiming the effects of the referendum result are already damaging the Rock’s economy. One retired British expat told reporters many UK expats had chosen the Rock and its nearby Spanish cities for their lower cost of living and better weather, adding she and her colleagues had taken part in the protest in support for local people who will be badly hit by Britain’s leaving the EU. Businesses in the city of La Linea, she said, is likely to be affected as its economic ties to Gibraltar have boosted its GDP to date.
Representatives of the pro-European federalist political party Volt also took part in the march, with one stating previous conflicts pacified by EU membership are expected to resurface. The general opinion concerning Johnson’s trumpeted new deal is that it’s the worst possible, leaving only hopes against hope that a second referendum may take place. According to Volt, it’s now 2019 and it simply makes no sense to divide the UK from the rest of Europe, especially for the high number of British expats working or retiring in Spain and on Gibraltar. The only hope is that, should Britain finally leave, a future government would see the sense of reapplying for EU membership.
Taking place in the border town of La Linea de la Conception and attended by the mayors of Los Barrios, La Linea and San Roque, the march saw over 2,000 anti-Brexit protestors voicing their fury over the potentially disastrous effect of a no-deal Brexit both on their lives and on the economies of Gibraltar and southern Spain.
For decades, the British overseas territory has been a favourite work and retirement destination for UK citizens, with many now claiming the effects of the referendum result are already damaging the Rock’s economy. One retired British expat told reporters many UK expats had chosen the Rock and its nearby Spanish cities for their lower cost of living and better weather, adding she and her colleagues had taken part in the protest in support for local people who will be badly hit by Britain’s leaving the EU. Businesses in the city of La Linea, she said, is likely to be affected as its economic ties to Gibraltar have boosted its GDP to date.
Representatives of the pro-European federalist political party Volt also took part in the march, with one stating previous conflicts pacified by EU membership are expected to resurface. The general opinion concerning Johnson’s trumpeted new deal is that it’s the worst possible, leaving only hopes against hope that a second referendum may take place. According to Volt, it’s now 2019 and it simply makes no sense to divide the UK from the rest of Europe, especially for the high number of British expats working or retiring in Spain and on Gibraltar. The only hope is that, should Britain finally leave, a future government would see the sense of reapplying for EU membership.
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