Moving to Spain: what happens if the UK leaves the EU? - Page 10

Having said that, you cant ignore what the people of each European country may feel about the British living there. I was referring to that when I spoke about Spain. Of course that the official agreements are very important, but at the end of the day you/they have to coexist with the Spanish, as I have to coexist with the British.

I'm as worried as anyone about the future, I campaigned and voted for remain but it's impossible to fight the brainwashing of the Sun and the Mail, the EU is a great project which is bringing people together and working to agreed standards without undercutting eac other in a race to the bottom.

I'm still moving to Spain and taking the risk, I'm taking Spanish lessons and hope to integrate fully, nobody knows how Brexit will work out but for anyone to call the EU spiteful is just wrong, this is our mess and there's nobody else to blame.

"but for anyone to call the EU spiteful is just wrong"

Really? Did you not see the threats handed out in the run up to the election? Threats made out of spite.

Threats are still being made now. Whether or not that will carry on post Brexit remains to be seen. Only time will tell although i have my suspicions as a loepard never changes its spots.

Best of luck in your planned move by the way.

Thanks for the good wishes Roach, I'm still not sure what threats you mean.

I have read a lot of the comments here and I think it's a bit insulting to refer to the UK as " little England" because people voted to take back the sovereignty of their country,yes immigration was a large factor,but it wasn't the only factor,a prime example of the kind of thing that fosters resentment against the EU project,there is a very large company in a very small town in Lancashire,and this very large company chooses to recruit employees from Eastern Europe rather than locals,...because it's cheaper to do so,a practise that obviously drives down wages.obviously if you lived in such a town you would be inclined to wanting to stop this practise by voting out of Europe.....i chose not to vote,but if I did it would have definitely been to get OUT,thereare a lot of advantages to being part of Europe,but there are also many disadvantages,one of which was the continual erosion of British sovereignty,laws being passed in Brussels by unelected faceless beaurocrats .....in the absence of the Eu being able to reform itself then getting out was THE only option,In my opinion the pound going down is a small price to pay to get our country back,it will take us a while to recover economically,but we will recover.

> I think it's a bit insulting to refer to the UK as " little England" 

Unfortunately there has been a lot of unwarranted comments and insults from both Brexit camps. It is not pleasant and does nothing to help.

> ... there is a very large company in a very small town in Lancashire,and this very large company chooses to recruit employees from Eastern Europe rather than locals,...because it's cheaper to do so,a practise that obviously drives down wages.

Are you saying this company pays illegally below minimum wage? If they are  paying legally, then this is normal practice. Firms will always try to keep wages as low as possible, other things being equal. So would I in that position. That applies wherever people come from. If, as you seem to suggest, not employing East Europeans would result in having to pay higher wages, the firm may not be able to afford it and so could go bust. Then everyone employed there would end up out of work.

If this happens across the UK, we will not be able to compete internationally and the end result will be mass unemployment. 

Generally, when people state this kind of thing anecdotally, they actually have no real evidence of any kind - firms do not make the pay of workers by ethnicity public. Do you have evidence? People suggesting it happens over a pint is not evidence.

There is evidence that firms wish to employ anyone capable and only East Europeans have turned up - and the firms are paying at least minimum wage. This happened last year and was reported on Radio 4 when a carrot farmer was accused of only employing East Europeans. He invited anyone who wanted to come to appear at 06.00 on Sunday and he would pay them for a day with no references and see how they got on. On the Sunday only the usual East Europeans appeared.

If employers are  discriminating by favouring East Europeans over British workers, they should be reported. If companies are paying the lowest wage they legally can, what would you expect? I am old enough to have been around long before we entered the (then) EEC. I do not recall any wonderful age in which employers paid fantastic wages to homegrown staff or anyone else. As then and now, those at the top got richer and those at the bottom survived. Compared to then we have fantastic lifestyles now  I see no evidence of low pay to East European (or any other) workers driving down our lifestyles.

Why would a very large company pay workers more than it needs to? The CEO has a duty to shareholders to get best value for money. The result of that, other things being equal, is a decent ROI (return on investment). If the actions of the CEO resulted in decreases to shareholder dividends, they might not wish to invest in that company. Lack of confidence in a company can result in the whole workforce being laid off.

I despair when I hear people talking of getting back sovereignty - even the government has said we have always had sovereignty but sometimes it didn't 'feel' like it. That feeling has been formented by years of bile spewed out by some papers and swallowed whole by a lot of people. It's worth taking a look at fact checking sources to sort the fiction from fact. 

I think for me the debate is over,the people have made their decision,they voted out,we value our democracy so we have to respect the decision of a democratic vote.

It's all too easy to sit in the sun in Spain commenting on everyday stuff that affects people' s lives back in the UK,who feels it knows it,the people voted to extract themselves from the beaurocracy of Brussels,they didn't vote to pick the UK UP and move it away from Europe,whatever model we adopt will be far far better than the present one,if it means the end of " free" movement then so be it,one million brits didn't move to Poland after 2014 to look for work,when brits settle in Spain or other European countries more than likely they do so because they have taken money with them to buy properties,they don't leave their children in the U.K. and go to Poland or Romania for example and claim child benefit in those countries,when brits go to other European countries they are not automatically pushed forward in the housing queues ahead of people of the host countries,nor are they likely to be given first preference for jobs over people of the host country......enough said.

I feel this post has gone a little to far now I am now living in Spain and am very happy.

I have a job and enjoying my life.

Thank you for all your comments they have been very helpful but I feel that it's now just becoming an argument between remains and leavers which is not what I wanted all I wanted was some advice.

I do not understand what your reply has to do with my comments.

I am talking about profit motive and why wages are of course kept to a minimum, which is what you raised in your previous post.

I note that you do not provide any evidence for the statement you made, so now you resort to trying to close the debate.

Again you make unsubstantiated statements. This time about Johnny Foreigner being treated favourably once again, in this case in the queues for housing, benefits or whatever. Where do you get this information? Please share.

FYI, for many years the net outflow of Brits to the EU was more than the net inflow of other EU people to the UK. FYI, every study produced shows that EU people coming to live in the UK have provided net economic benefit. That is they pay more in taxes than they take in benefits. We have Brits in the UK who have never worked. In some cases this is third generation. Are they OK? Should we deport them? Do they have a magic entitlement? 

The OP wanted some views as to what might happen post Brexit. This seems to have been taken by some people as an excuse to re-run the Brexit arguments.

BTW, I am no longer sitting in the sun in Spain, I am back in the UK. I always found the matter of Brexit highly complex and it is not a simple matter of in or out. Regardless, we are leaving. How we leave is still important. How that affects Brits in EU countries is important. That is what the OP asked about.

You state that the debate is over and enough is said. If that is the case, why do you keep commenting?