October. Finishing Post Hallowe`en day. “I got a horse to beat the field”. The filly` Johnson`s Deal`, out of `May`s Withdrawal` and `Barnier`s Last Offer`, takes the first fence with a comfortable lead in spite of a vigorous use of Red Jerry`s whip but then falls at the `Die in the ditch` Unionist water jump over the Irish Sea.
An interesting read, as Sir Roger Gale MP corresponds with Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, regarding how British national's pensions, benefits, healthcare and general rights will be affected by Brexit and beyond.
With 1.75% N-ull, 45.5 A-bstention, 2.55 B-lank, and 3.0 O-thers (nanoparties, with no chance for a MP) NABO won with 52.8% of votes in Portugal!
In the Algarve, 1.78% N, 54.17% A, 2.84% B, 6.3% O; a total of 65,1% of voters in the Algarve said NO to the electoral system.
September. Conference season. Liberals in Bournemouth, Labour in Brighton, Tories in Manchester and the Government in the dock. The `Operation Yellowhammer` papers predict traffic chaos and post-Brexit shortages when finally prized out of The Gover`s hands. “We will secure a deal by October seventeenth”. Or will we?
Anne Hernandez and Richard Hill, together with 5 other representatives from Facebook Group Brexpats In Spain, travelled up to the British Embassy in Madrid last Thursday, September 19th to meet with Stephen Barclay, the Secretary Of State For Exiting The EU.
Whilst this meeting applies to expats living in Spain, the information is relevant in many ways to all British Citizens in EU27.
Recess but no respite. Deal or no deal? Brexit is all-pervasive. Those who demonstrated monumental disloyalty to Mrs. May now demand loyalty themselves. There is half- hearted shuttle diplomacy between London, Berlin, Paris and Dublin in the run up to the G7 summit in Biarritz. The Number Ten spin machine holds out hope of a deal while different noises emanate from Europe.
July. All change in Downing Street, Whitehall and Her Majesty`s Representative at the Court of King Tramp. Tory Leadership candidates discover Red Jerry`s Magic Money Tree and spending promises are the order of the day. “If you cannot convince a voter, buy one”. As 0.2% of the electorate choose the interim Prime Minister of the United Kingdom the question remains: will there be another General Election in the Autumn?
The British and Portuguese Governments have signed a bilateral agreement in Lisbon today that secures the rights of Portuguese citizens in the UK and British citizens in Portugal, to stand and vote in local elections in each other’s countries after the UK leaves the EU. This was signed by Lord Callanan, UK Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the EU, and by PT State Secretary for European Affairs, Dra Ana Paula Zacarias, in the presence of the Minister for Internal Administration, Dr Eduardo Cabrita.
