Archive
MISSING EU
15/05/2025
It is now over a year since Brexit finally forced our decision to close our research office in France and all local operations in the EU. The loss (theft, I would say) of EU citizenship and the right to work under UK professional qualifications was the last straw and it still makes me furious as well as very, very sad.
There was no democratic validity for Brexit which was based on mendacity, manipulation and political mischief. Even without these three “m”s, the 2016 referendum result was far too close for such a major decision to have been made without the second referendum promised but never fulfilled. The fact that a solid majority in the UK have now belatedly realised the extent of the confidence trick played by Brexiters does not seem to be having much effect in policy. Yes, the government is talking about a “reset” of some regulations such as sanitary/phytosanitary rules and permitting a watered-down version of free movement for 18 to 30 year-olds, but that is no reparation for what the disingenuous Brexiters managed so cruelly to bring about through their lies and propaganda. Starmer stubbornly refuses to consider returning to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement which are the proud pillars of EU membership and the secret of its social and economic success. The promised money for the NHS and the other Brexit “benefits” flaunted at the time of the referendum have not materialised. I never thought they would, but far too many people were taken in and some are still in denial over the fact that they were well and truly duped. The massive costs of Brexit to the UK are eyewatering and enduring, apparent in daily life for all to see.
Starmer’s “reset” will not take away the pain and losses of so many of us who, with incontrovertible good reason, believe in Britain being in the EU. Here we are, fiddling around, cap in hand, begging deals with Trump and others when all our efforts should be to mend the bridges burnt by Brexit and return as full members of the EU where we belong. The USA is thousands of kilometres away (so is India): Calais is 42km from Dover and 2024 data show the EU has a rather higher GDP that the USA!
On a personal note, and talking with others, reveals that I am far from alone, I miss the EU terribly: the feeling of belonging, the wonderful people I met, the breathtaking scenery, the challenges of language, the cultural variety, the hospitality and the opportunities, and much else. Now, although people I know the other side of the Channel are kind and generally sympathetic, I cannot avoid feeling like an outcast. I don’t want sympathy – I want to be an EU citizen. I hate blue passports that do not say I am an EU national and I am ashamed going through passport control. Brexit was corrupted by lies and was a despicable and very foolish act of political vandalism, especially for our youngsters.
The UK parliamentary foolishness continues with the ecologically dangerous Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently going through parliament which conservation and wildlife groups say, and I agree, will cause irreversible harm to our precious and unique habitats and wild places in favour of developers and development[1].
Betts Ecology has always been a solid supporter of EU membership but as a specialist consultancy and biodiversity promoter, we cannot afford to set up a separate EU company as some have done. It may be too late for me but we will support every initiative to overturn Brexit and rejoin our EU friends, however long it takes. And in the UK we will join the wildlife groups in objecting to the shocking Planning and Infrastructure Bill. I doubt it would never have got off the ground if we had remained in the EU to comply with the excellent EU Directives!
[1] For more see https://www.birdguides.com/news/new-planning-bill-risks-irreversible-damage-to-nature-conservationists/
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