Thank Alex, it's great to get this information out. Our Swiss work permits could become questionable in the event of a Brexit, so we really do need to vote!

Hi Jamie,

As far as I have heard, no one in the UK has indicated that they would like to try to expel EU nationals who have already arrived in the UK. So I believe that retaliatory expulsions are unlikely in the near future, however who knows where it could all lead?! (Of course this is further complicated by the fact that Switzerland is currently trying to renegotiate its own position on the free-movement of people...)

However since we (Brits living in Switzerland) have all benefited from the rights granted to us under the principle of free movement of people, I think it is important that we help to protect those rights for others and future generations.

Thank you for getting involved. If we can get enough people interested I would like to open a formal "chapter" of the campaign and maybe even try to organise guest speakers and voter registration events...

Thanks

Alex

Thanks for this - useful

I reckon the EU is pretty much doomed now that Britain has decided to pull out. This could have a disastrous effect on Ireland. I'm lucky enough to be living in Geneva now but I'm worried about my private pension back in Ireland. Any opinions ?

Hi Richard,

The economic and political shock caused by Brexit has been bad for everyone. Whilst Ireland will be hit hard, I am not sure it will be much harder than other European countries. If Brexit really does happen then Dublin could well have a significant upside in attracting english speaking financial institutions and service companies as they look for a new EU home. Given what Ireland has been through in the last 5 years, I personally would not be overly worried about the solvency Irish pension system because of Brexit.

At the moment it appears that the economic consequences will be far worse for England than anywhere else. But it is important to remember that this is not yet a done deal. Only Parliament is sovereign over British law, we have 70% of MPs wanting to remain and over 4 million British citizens who are willing to campaign to get this lunacy over turned!

Thanks for that Alex, we seem to be in very uncertain times right now and even now, after Britain voted, it's very difficult to imagine an EU without Britain. Lets hope it doesn't come to that.

I'm worried about my pension left back in Ireland because the government has already shown that they're prepared to dip into private pensions when they need to (pensions levy 2011 to date). I'm worried that if things get much worse in the Irish economy because of our nearest neighbours exit that the Irish government will turn to the next biggest cash cow to bolster their finances,,, the pension fund.

This is the response from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in response to the e.petition for a re-run of the EU referendum vote - over 4 milion are named in the petition (the largest number for any petition on this official government website).

Dear ...........,

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “EU Referendum Rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum”.

Government responded:

The European Union Referendum Act received Royal Assent in December 2015, receiving overwhelming support from Parliament. The Act did not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout.

The EU Referendum Act received Royal Assent in December 2015. The Act was scrutinised and debated in Parliament during its passage and agreed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Act set out the terms under which the referendum would take place, including provisions for setting the date, franchise and the question that would appear on the ballot paper. The Act did not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout.

As the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 27 June, the referendum was one of the biggest democratic exercises in British history with over 33 million people having their say. The Prime Minister and Government have been clear that this was a once in a generation vote and, as the Prime Minister has said, the decision must be respected. We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The name of your country is the United Kingdom and you should give that some thought Kevin K. That is a vote won by a 3.8% margin for 'leave' while losing by a greater margin in Scotland and N.I. ... and you should give that some yhought Kevin. Basically to hell with your unity. Only good news out of this is it looks like the EU are united on making sure it's a hard brexit. To hell with your sense of entitlement and attempts at blackmail. (..We're too big to be ignored, don't want to lose our market do you? Etc. Byee and the worst of luck to your insular xenophobic little England.