Vote to stay in Europe – or else
As I mentioned the other day, I am in the midst of finding out whether I am legitimate or not. That is, legitimate to vote in the upcoming British referendum on leaving the European Union. As I write I am waiting to hear which side of the cusp I am on; I may or may not be able to vote as I left the UK 15 years ago. Well, to be exact, we left for a year’s trial in August 2002 and I finally ‘signed off’ from all things official (tax, house, utilities etc.) in April 2004. However, the last time I filled out an electoral roll form was in 2001 before that year’s general election. I think (and am waiting to hear) that my 16 years could count from that date, and, as it would have been before June (when that general election was held, on June 7th) my official ‘16 years since last registered’ might well start from, say, January 2001. Bottom line: I may not be eligible to vote in this vital referendum and, thus, need all my readers to do it for me.
Bear in mind that my view is a distant one; I’ve not lived in the UK for a disputed 16 years (actually it will be 15 years come August this year). I am picking up worrying thoughts and opinions from such unbiased (a-hem) places as Facebook, The Daily Mail (I DON’T read it but others do and comment on it), online news and websites and the impression I get is that some short-sighted folk in the UK are going to vote to leave Europe. That, in my opinion would be a disaster.
Why? Well, all of this is purely my conjecture and may well be wrong, but if British citizens are no longer European citizens there are going to be travel restrictions at best, loss of jobs and income, loss of labour, loss of funding, health care and all kinds of other things besides. Expats, for example, may find themselves in the same boat as, say, our Afghan friends on Symi who have to clear visa requirements and travel to Athens regularly to sort out paperwork. Same as any Americans, or Australians would. Okay, so local powers-that-be may be able to put in procedures for that; perhaps we will only have to register once per year, but that might mean that the authorities say ‘No’ you can’t renew and so, away you go, back to the crumbling UK, or another country who might take you.
A few other possibilities:
- House owners could be forced to sell their foreign property back to that country, no doubt at a much reduced price.
- Business owners could have to sell their business, or have a local ‘representative’ act for them and sign said business into their name. (Remember the scams and fraud of years gone by?)
- Euro-businesses in the UK would probably leave the country, taking jobs and some tax income with them.
- Those working UK citizens abroad who contribute to the tax system would go and the countries they leave not benefit from their contributions. (It’s often said that it’s the foreign business and residents who are the first to pay their taxes; none of us want a run-in with the Greek tax office).
- What happens to families from the UK whose children were born in another country, who are at local schools, have all their friends around them and are bi-country as well as bi-lingual? Kids can stay, parents have to go?
- Who pays to get all the expats home with all their belongings (the expats do)? And who helps them relocate? The Government? Not heard anything about that as yet. 600,000 new housing benefit, social housing and welfare support cases coming home all in one go? We’d be stopped at the border and put into a camp in Calais by tabloid reading nutters who would seaze the opportunity to declare the country full up.
- And then there are all the travel restrictions and border patrols, the British passport becomes no longer the passport to have to get you everywhere and anywhere. And so on.
And as for the leaving Europe argument? As far as I can see it’s only some tabloid newspaper readers who are being sold the idea that without EU membership there would be no more migrant workers, no more refugees (because, after all, Britain is already ‘full up’ isn’t it? (Malakies!)), no more Johnny Foreigner coming over and taking the jobs that the disaffected youths and grownups of the country can’t be arsed to do… Again, and so on.
Just thought I’d get those thoughts down before I forgot them. I’ll come back to this in the future no doubt, particularly as I am just off to check what a few reputable online sources have to say on the matter and better educate myself. Meanwhile, if you could do me a favour and vote to stay in Europe I would be grateful. Else I shan’t be here when you come to visit Symi in the future, bringing your expensive visa, your currency changer and your private health insurance premiums with you. Ta.
