Humphrey CarterPalma17/06/2018 00:00
TW
5

What are the reciprocal deals being discussed between London and the EU regarding the post-Brexit situation and rights of expatriates? It appears that we have been put on the back burner. Granted, Westminster is all of a flutter at the moment with splits in the Tory party over how to proceed and Labour using it as good cannon fodder to attack the government.

It already appears that British residents will lose their right to vote in municipal elections once the UK breaks away, but what about all the other more important issues such as health care, permission to work and the freedom of movement? Looking at the bigger picture, on the scale of things I guess expatriates do not figure too high on the Brexit agenda, but Britons working and living in the EU should not be totally ignored.

Perhaps, with Brexit just around the corner, the government could place one of its members in charge of expatriate affairs. It is something expatriates have been calling for in the past. In France they have an MP for French nationals living overseas, so perhaps now is the time for Britons living in the EU and overseas in general to have representation in Westminster.

No one appears to be 100 per cent sure as to where expatriates are going to stand after Brexit but it would be comforting to know that there is someone in Westminster officially fighting the corner for Britons living abroad during the Brexit process.