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Outcry by ignored Brit expats forces May u-turn
| Published: | 25 Sep at 3 PM |
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After failing to include the rights of British expats in her Friday speech, the PM backtracked in a Saturday interview with the Daily Mail.
Campaign groups fighting for UK expats’ rights as well as expats themselves reacted furiously to May’s Downing Street speech following last week’s disastrous meeting between the PM and Michel Barnier. During her speech, May had failed to mention British citizens in the EU whilst guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK even in the event of a no-deal Brexit. By Saturday, during an interview with the Mail on Sunday, she’d backtracked on her faux pas and demanded a pledge from the EU to protect UK expats in Europe.
According to the pro-Brexit tabloid newspaper, May said she’d taken the decision to guarantee EU citizens rights within the UK as it was the ‘right thing to do’, adding she’s calling on the European Union to do the same for British citizens living and working in the EU’s member states as this is also the ‘right thing to do’. Meanwhile, calls for a second referendum are growing louder, especially within the Labour Party, as government ministers urge the EU not to step back from further negotiations.
In the meantime, the highest court in Scotland has agreed to refer to the European Court of Justice for an answer to a very important question – whether or not the UK has a right to cancel Article 50, should it so wish, without the involvement of the EU member states. The question is relevant to a possible scenario in which the UK wishes to withdraw from Brexit after, for example, a reverse referendum result. Should the UK be unable to simply withdraw, any decision might involve all 27 EU member states, some of which might wish to impose conditions such as the withdrawal of its four billion euro rebate or its keeping of its own currency rather than adopting the euro.
Campaign groups fighting for UK expats’ rights as well as expats themselves reacted furiously to May’s Downing Street speech following last week’s disastrous meeting between the PM and Michel Barnier. During her speech, May had failed to mention British citizens in the EU whilst guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK even in the event of a no-deal Brexit. By Saturday, during an interview with the Mail on Sunday, she’d backtracked on her faux pas and demanded a pledge from the EU to protect UK expats in Europe.
According to the pro-Brexit tabloid newspaper, May said she’d taken the decision to guarantee EU citizens rights within the UK as it was the ‘right thing to do’, adding she’s calling on the European Union to do the same for British citizens living and working in the EU’s member states as this is also the ‘right thing to do’. Meanwhile, calls for a second referendum are growing louder, especially within the Labour Party, as government ministers urge the EU not to step back from further negotiations.
In the meantime, the highest court in Scotland has agreed to refer to the European Court of Justice for an answer to a very important question – whether or not the UK has a right to cancel Article 50, should it so wish, without the involvement of the EU member states. The question is relevant to a possible scenario in which the UK wishes to withdraw from Brexit after, for example, a reverse referendum result. Should the UK be unable to simply withdraw, any decision might involve all 27 EU member states, some of which might wish to impose conditions such as the withdrawal of its four billion euro rebate or its keeping of its own currency rather than adopting the euro.
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