Last chance to seek your MP's backing for rights bid
Around 130 MPs from across the political spectrum have backed an MP’s amendment calling for ring-fencing of the rights of Britons abroad in the EU, the MP’s office told Connexion this morning - and there is still time to ask your MP to give their support.
Conservative MP Alberto Costa’s amendment is likely to be selected for debate in the House of Commons tomorrow, thanks to the strong support it has gained, however the final choice is down to the Speaker.
Today at around 13.30 French time British Prime Minister Theresa May will make a speech outlining her current Brexit strategy, which will then be formalised as a motion. MPs will then have the right to propose amendments to this.
Mr Costa’s amendment would ask Mrs May to seek to agree ring-fencing of the citizens’ rights part of the withdrawal agreement before March 29, so at least that part of the deal may survive whether or not the UK leaves with an overall deal. The rights section is wide-ranging, on matters covering residency and work, recognition of qualifications, continuation of pension uprating and pensioners’ healthcare funded by the UK etc. It is thought that if it goes ahead then France would issue a new kind of ‘British’ residency card to Britons in France who benefit from it.
At present the withdrawal agreement has not been signed off and the UK is potentially on course to leave with no deal in just over four weeks’ time.
If that happens, new French laws would have to come into play aiming to avoid the worst consequences (ie. British people losing their legal residency status and right to work in France), notably by allowing for the issuing of non-EU citizen residency cards to Britons on specific criteria and waiving the need for visas. Bilateral agreements, which do not yet exist, would have to be made to secure matters like future UK state pension uprating and healthcare arrangements for pensioners (see March’s edition of The Connexion newspaper, available as pdf from tomorrow and on sale in newsagents from this weekend).
For more on the amendment and how to write to your own British MP to ask for their support see this previous article.
If you formerly lived in the UK, then your British MP would be the one for the last constituency where you were registered to vote.
