Jason Moore27/04/2017 00:00
TW
4

The Labour Party is planning to guarantee immediately the rights of EU citizens living in Britain if it wins a June election. There are about three million EU citizens living in Britain, so it is a substantial part of the total population. Now, obviously I think it is fantastic idea because it will make life much easier for the 1.2 million British citizens living in Europe.

But doesn't it rather go against the actual Brexit philosophy? I thought that one of the reasons that "Leave" won was because of their hard stance on immigration especially from Eastern Europe. But if Labour is successful then all EU immigrants will be able to continue to work and live in Britain with no problem. "EU nationals do not just contribute to our society: they are our society. And they should not be used as bargaining chips," Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said. "So on day one of a Labour government we will immediately guarantee that all EU nationals currently living in the UK will see no change in their legal status as a result of Brexit, and we will seek reciprocal rights for UK citizens in the EU."

Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to calm concerns among EU citizens living in Britain over their future rights after Britain leaves the bloc, saying she would only give a commitment when she had won the same guarantees for Britons living in the European Union. I thought that Brexit meant Brexit and therefore legislation would be introduced to ease immigration. Doesn't appear so.