Andy Munro poses a topical question or six to his MP.
My MP is Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, who never seems short of words so I thought I’d drop him a line to clear where we are on Brexit given his bullish approach to the subject. Not having had the time or the will to study Encyclopaedia Brexit Britannica, I asked what I thought were some simple questions re Teresa May’s ‘deal’.
1. What rights does it give to ex-pats who are living in another EU country but still currently have British citizenship?
2. What rights does it allow EU residents from abroad currently residing in our country?
3. What rights would EU citizens have to work in this country after BREXIT ie will there be constraints re salary levels and any time limitations?
4. What will be the position on the current EU health card and therefore any proposed reciprocal health arrangements?
5. What will be the position on physical overland border controls ie. Calais or Dover or both?
6. What are the current proposals on continuing trade with EU countries such as additional costs through tariffs?
7. How much are we having to pay the EU to leave and what is our current approximate annual net contribution at the moment?
In response (after three reminders) he answered none of the above and his response was basically this; “Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me on Brexit. As I’m sure you appreciate, I continue to receive a huge volume of correspondence on this issue from all conceivable sides of the argument. I hope you will understand that I cannot respond to every single point raised, however, I would like you to know that your views have been noted.”
Apart from ‘noting’ that the last phrase is the ultimate Civil Service cop out neither Javid or any of his minions answered a single question that I posed. What chance has Joe Public of taking an informed view? Although maybe in fairness the Right (H)on Sajid Javid doesn’t even know the answers himsel?
