Brexit: Would Europeans be allowed to stay in the UK?
Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham says Theresa May’s response to concerns is ‘simply not good enough
MPs vote today on whether the government should guarantee the permanent residency rights of EU nationals living in the UK following the referendum result.
Labour has forced a Commons debate in the hope a vote in favour will put pressure on Home Secretary Theresa May to officially rule out deportations.
The Tory leadership frontrunner has said she would like to secure the rights of EU nationals to remain in the UK, but also suggested this would be dependent on the bloc agreeing to give similar rights to British expats in member states.
Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham said it was “simply not good enough for the Home Secretary to say that she ‘hopes’ EU nationals will be allowed to stay”.
The outcome of the vote is also likely to expose divisions within the Conservative Party. While several Tory MPs share May’s concern that guaranteeing residency rights could lead to an influx of newcomers in the run-up to Brexit, many others have expressed sympathy with the EU nationals left in limbo and called on the government to provide assurance they will be allowed to stay.
May’s chief leadership rival, Andrea Leadsom, and pro-Leave Labour MP Gisela Stuart are among those who have accused the Home Secretary of using EU nationals in the UK as “bargaining chips”. Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said he was “disgusted” by May’s ambiguous stance.
There are currently 3.3 million EU nationals living in the UK and 1.2 million Brits living in the other 27 EU member states, according to Migration Watch. Their status is one of the major issues facing the government in the aftermath of the EU referendum vote.
Even in the unlikely event that the government chose to curtail EU nationals’ current freedom to remain in the UK indefinitely, British expats would still be protected by Article 19 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which prohibits any kind of “collective expulsion” of groups, says Migration Watch.
Source: THE WEEK – Brexit: Will EU nationals be allowed to stay in the UK?
