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Britain will hold a snap general election on Thursday and whoever wins will be tasked with leading the country into Brexit negotiations. But as CGTN’s Dan Williams reports, many Britons living abroad are frustrated that their concerns are not being mentioned during the campaigning.
The coastline of southern Spain is where the majority of more than 300,000 British expats reside. However, their future in Spain is now in doubt following last year’s referendum that saw Britain vote to leave the European Union.
Maya Middlemiss, Spanish resident.
“There are families, there are businesses, there are people who put down roots in the community here," notes Maya Middlemiss, a Spanish resident. "We did not want this. We never expected this. We didn’t vote for it and yet we are going to be stuck with the consequences and we don’t know what those consequences are going to be.”
Rebecca Wey, Spanish resident.
Rebecca Wey moved to Spain 17 years ago and has Spanish residency. But her mother, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, does not. With reciprocal healthcare now under threat, the family faces the prospect of being ripped apart. “Because I have been here for longer than 15 years, I don’t have a say in what happens. Yet it directly affects my life and what will happen in the future with my family. Because we don’t have a say in it, no one's talking about us. It is like we don’t exist,” said Wey.
A recent report warns that if British pensioners were forced to return to the UK, the cost to the UK National Health Service would be an extra one billion dollars a year. It is a real concern for 75-year-old Brian Hines.
Brian Hines, Spanish resident.
“I am worried... If the health breaks down towards the expats, then it is bad news all round. If Brexit starts to come down hard on us it means I will have to seriously start thinking about going back to the UK,” he said.
Whoever wins the UK election will be tasked with Brexit negotiations. Those here hope that their concerns will perhaps be heard.
(CGTN)
