After the EU referendum it is important to make clear the million EU citizens living in London that they will be always very welcome to remain living here. A press release from Hammersmith and Fulham Council purported to offer a “very clear” message but then, rather unhelpfully failed to add that Brexit would pose no threat to those living here. Instead the muddled press release quoted Cllr Stephen Cowan as saying:
“What happens next for our country and its relationships with other countries is unclear.”
In some respects that’s right. But what is clear, and should be made clear to everybody, is that there is no threat to those already legally settled in our borough, a capital or our country. It would have been responsible to have included this point.
It is certainly true that after we leave the European Union will have control of our own borders – and that may well mean an end to unlimited future immigration from the EU. That is very different to any suggestion of a threat to those already settled in our community and making a positive contribution to our economy and our public services.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was more responsible in his message which said:
“I want to send a particular message to the almost one million Europeans living in London, who make a huge contribution to our city – working hard, paying taxes and contributing to our civic and cultural life. You are welcome here. We value the enormous contribution you make to our city and that will not change as a result of this referendum.”
Why is this reassurance needed? It is due to some disgraceful scaremongering from Cllr Cowan and Mayor Khan’s Labour colleague Will Straw – which can be seen in the video. Mr Straw has yet to apologise for this most desperate example of Project Fear.
Hammersmith and Fulham Forum 
Thank you so much for clarifying that my French wife of 40 years will be able to stay in the country. Our children were very pleased that their mother can remain. It’s just a pity that we will no longer be able to return from ‘abroad’ as a family. Other Passports is a queue we are not familiar with.
Please have some humility. Quite a few things the so-called ‘experts’ were cautioning about have already happened: a collapse in the pound, a ratings downgrade for the UK, many decades of net EU contributions wiped off the value of our pension funds in just a few days. There is certainly no more money for the NHS and more spending cuts and tax rises now look inevitable, What a mess.
At PMQs today your leader said:
“Obviously we can say that all rights are guaranteed as we’re members of the European Union. In the future we will have to make sure, and I’ve heard members of the Leave campaign make this point, that people who are already here, people who are already studying, people who are working, must have their rights and their access guaranteed. But we can’t say that now, we have to say that as part of the negotiation that will shortly take place.”
Anything to say?
Read up acquired rights – vested rights – executed rights in international law.
Basically when a treaty is terminated, rights conferred under it remain.
Obviously they could be modified years ahead, for instance in deporting criminal gangs based on an objective reason, something we might do independently of national origin. Being a ‘European citizen’ does not confer the right to live in Britain and carry out attacks on women, as sadly it did in the case of Alice Gross’s murderer.
Check out the snarky headline to this story:
“Contrary to Project Fear those EU citizens settled in the UK will be very welcome to stay after Brexit.”
And then the recent words from our soon to be new PM that she cannot guarantee EU nationals right to remain post brexit. It is within the remit of this govt to eject any nationals that have not reached the minimum 5 year period required for a permanent right to remain. So it wasn’t project fear after all. Not a nice time to be an eu national in this country that’s for sure.