1. The online abuse I’ve received in recent years has been quite phenomenal. It’s easy to block some of it out but it does get a bit wearing after a while. Nevertheless I want to help correct some of the deliberate disinformation perpetuated about Freedom of Movement and Europe.
2. Freedom of Movement of people isn’t the same as “uncontrolled immigration”. It matters to people all over Europe and it gives them freedom from abusive employment where visas are conditional on jobs.
3. Freedom of Movement ended purely because of UK government choices. Not because Brits voted for that. Not because UK left the EU and not even because UK left the EEA.
4. But Freedom of Movement can be replace with something similar whenever politicians choose to do it.
5. Even if politicians decided to prevent settlement without a visa they could allow work rights or generous visit rights.
6. There are so many possibilities limited only by the extent of politicians’ imaginations.
7. I won’t make any apologies for wishing Brexit had never happened but we need change now and urgently.
8. This cannot wait 15 or 20 years. So either politicians need to pull their finger out and rejoin right away or we need to find alternative ways of allowing the mobility people need.
9. I do not believe that allowing all Europeans to be fully mobile in Europe will “damage the Schengen zone” or “weaken the EU”. Quite the opposite actually. Only isolation for 20 years promises to do that.
10. A youth mobility scheme for 18-30 year olds would be fab. But what happens to people when they turn 31? Life is too short to be unhappy where you live or work.
11. So please block the trolls, realise that most Brits are not racist xenophobes, and realise that the majority of leave voters did not even want a system of visas.
12. Take heart that more than 88% of the UK population support restoration of fully reciprocal Freedom of Movement.
2. The UK government claims to want to take back control of borders.
But did they mean control of settlement immigration? Or actual control of border crossings?
Do they even know what they want to control?
3. In reality, as a non-Schengen country, and as an island, the UK has always had full control of its border crossing points. UK is surrounded by water which helps. The only exception perhaps is the open Irish border but that’s down to the Good Friday Agreement not EU membership.
1. Freedom of Movement of People isn’t “uncontrolled immigration” despite what some politicians want you to believe.
This thread explains some of the benefits of it.
2. It’s superior to visas because:
- it’s quick (shorter queues)
- on demand (not months of waiting)
- reciprocal (not one-way immigration to the UK)
- not tied to a particular job
- cheap (no wasteful fees)
- conditions in event you want to stay more than 90 days
3. It’s superior to visa-waivers because you get:
- treated as national
- more certainty at borders (no reliance on whim of border guard so long as you have valid ID that’s valid and don’t present a threat.
- no day counting (although UK has no outbound checks)
- faster borders
1. The reason I champion the rights of per year dwellers, itinerant workers, seasonal workers and even general travellers is that Freedom of Movement was so much more than IMMIGRATION. Mobility is about staying where you are and temporarily being somewhere else.
2. I think the idea of MOBILITY has been lost and misunderstood. Thrown away in haste in a futile and misguided attempt to limit or control permanent immigration.
3. The biggest champions of FOM in the UK tended to be people who had used it once to emigrate permanently. For them it avoided a one-time visa.
THREAD 1. I'm constantly frustrated by the inability of politicians across Europe (especially in the UK) to agree and broker an adequate outcome to Brexit for the Citizens of Europe (including British people) #SaveFOM
2. Brexit never needed to mean loss of Freedom of Movement of People (FOM). The border control craved by UK gov and the Rest-of-World immigration limits wanted by a few Leave voters, are unrelated to the mobility that European FOM gave us. Visas don't replace it adequately.
3. I'd love to reverse Brexit, but too many people tell me that's either not possible, or not achievable quickly. And so I don't think we should wait for Brexit to be reversed before demanding improvements to people mobility for all. (Especially those "mobile" before Brexit.)