You were right!

I'm sorry to hear that your dreams are dashed but it is not due to a Brexit rule, it is due to the EU rule.

Ah! Jazus Stuart. What a load of play on semantics from you. It was the UK that voted leave the EU (not the other way round). The UK is gone from the EU fresh to make its own laws about free movement etc. The only thing is they haven't got freedom movement. [Please try to stop guffawing] You voted for this.

Or . . . . . . Wait for it . . . . . . .

Brexit is a case in progress (Please try to stop laughing).

and

                                 .. .. .  Keir Starmer wants closer ties between the UK and the EU (no sniggering please). But, he doesn't want to offer any concessions. Sorry Keir, if you want to cherry-pick, buy a battery powered hoist.

Stu maybe you Should have gone to SpecSavers?

Some people will never admit it was a mistake I would not wast my time with these people, head in the sand.

Or taken a drive to Barnards Castle like Dominic Cummins …. 

This is a serious subject still. Keir Starmer anticipating that he will be Prime Minister after the next general election in the UK appears to be just rattling a few opinions around. For me, he appears to want to get much at no or low cost. He's just short of placing an advertisement on this forum offering to feed your cat and walk your dog for three winter months provided you give him and his family accommodation free of charge.

Stuart is right about one thing though - the EU now has all the cards and the UK can only look on hoping that somebody will throw them an ace. The war in Ukraine seems to be deflecting public opinion in the UK from UK Reality. The EU is intent on expanding and interference from the UK to many (except us Irish) is on a par with political interference from Turkey. 

Why is Ireland the exception (of throwing smiling eyes towards the UK)? - Watch that space. The Good Friday Agreement (brought peace somehow to Northern Ireland and before had been championed by Mow Mowlam (my favourite UK politician) and Tony Blair. Brexit has weakened that Agreement and one day not too far away is the unthinkable. Keep an eye on interviews of Jeffrey Donaldson and even some of his supporters. Not only are they intent on offending (I'm being careful with semantics) the nationalist population of Northern Ireland, but everybody in the Republic of Ireland too. Mary McAleese (former President of RoI and resident of Northern Ireland) indicated the weakening of the GFA (Good Friday Agreement) only last weekend and like me blames Brexit. 

I jumped at the offer for £5.00 electronic membership of the Sunday Times and The Times for 12 months (excellent deal I covered in a previous thread). Especially the Sunday Times has been excellent value. But, I fear what is happening on a large scale in the UK , not just towards NI but generally towards the EU and even RoI. I spent 3 weeks touring in South Wales (spiritual home for Mrs Matt and me) and along the south coast of England. I don't know what newspapers they're reading (or if they are reading any) but a growing consensus points a blaming finger towards the EU which (to me) is a surprise. 

I'll return to the subjects of our visit to Wales, UK and blaming finger later should this thread develop. 

Hi Matthew,

Very good reply by yourself!

Keir Starmer will not get a better deal from the EU, they have moved on. A lot of people voted for Brexit, they wanted to be free of EU laws and regulations and wanted freedom of movement!

As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for!

Before moving to Spain we ran a pub, we had a number of customers who wanted Brexit and indeed advocated dropping a bomb on Brussels on multiple occasions, but to be fair, they advocated this for any country they didn’t agree with.

After much loud debate and bar banging they got what they voted for, Brexit, cheers all round , UNTIL, it dawned on them that due to the 90 day rule they wouldn’t be able to stay in Spain as long as they wanted, CUE, They can’t tell me when I can go to my home, I own it, they can’t stop me staying as long as I want, how can they stop me?

Now, it should be borne in mind that they never stopped anywhere near 90 days anyway but I should be able to if I want !

These are people who live in  a largely ex- pat area and when the son was extolling the areas virtues, mainly British, we asked if they ever got into the car and drove up into the hills, his reply, hand on heart was, No, it’s full of Spanish! Nuff said really.

But according to his father , “ I didn’t vote for this, I voted for Brexit”.

People need to move on , Brexit is what it is.

And yes, we are lucky that we were able to obtain an Irish passport, so are fake “Paddys “ and were able to get Residencia  & a Driving Licence, BUT we did vote for Brexit! BUT we did our research beforehand.

We do worry about the way things are heading back home, it’s becoming a much more divided society and that’s down to ALL the parties.

You say move on . Move on to what? 
Not only a divided country but also will become more and more close- minded. By the way, this Saturday I will be at the march in London to Rejoin or at least show the love for our nearest trading partners. It’s organised by the European Movement etc Usually a small Spanish group join. And yes I am bitter about Brexit as it’s closed many Windows and options for me and many others. 

I do not know who are the worst and trying their hardest to loose the coming election. This comment of realigning with the EU by Starmer is a vote looser.

A party that needs the 16 year old vote to keep them in power, should they get in, says it all for the Labour Party