With the referendum due to be held on June 23, the expats’ appeal is being expedited and it is anticipated that a decision will be reached in the next few weeks. The government is wary of a successful appeal, with parliament recently warning that giving all expats the right to vote would be a “complex and daunting task”.
However, such a task would seem slight when compared to the business of the UK renegotiating its trade treaties should Brexit go ahead – something experts predict would take as long as a decade.
Yet, it is important not to forget the individual lives of those involved. For example, those with expat regular savings, pensions and wealth management plans would have to make considerable changes in order to adapt to a Brexit. In addition, there is the considerable issue of EU nationals currently living in the UK.
“It is estimated that 2 million Brits live in other EU countries…Take elderly people who have lived for 10 years in Spain. After five years, they acquired a right of permanent residence as citizens of the union and that includes access to the Spanish healthcare system,” Prof Derrick Wyatt QC, emeritus professor of law at Oxford University told a parliamentary committee.
“If we leave, what do we do about vested rights? Do we recognise rights to permanent residents that have arisen? What transitional rights do we give somebody who has been working for four years in the UK and has children at school and so forth?”
As the expats’ appeal goes ahead it is hoped that the issue can be sorted out quickly and British expats abroad are, at the very least, given a voice with which to show their feelings on Brexit.
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On Thursday the Bank of England (BOE) rate committee met to discuss interest rates, and, even though inflation is growing, yet again they have decided to leave the base rate at 0.25%. They obviously feel this is the best option as they assess the extent of any consumer slowdown and while they continue to play the waiting game regarding how the EU Brexit divorce negotiations pan out. The BOE seems to be playing a deliberate wait and see game, and with economic news continuing to be negative in the last few weeks, it now seems likely that the base rate could stay at this level until at least 2019.
There are around 4.5 million British people living the expatriate life, and with 1.3 million of these currently residing in the EU, it is easy to understand why there is mounting political pressure for the government to give them full voting rights in the upcoming referendum on the future of British involvement in Europe. After all, they have so much at stake, from their residency and tax status to the future of their