Brexit expats long for the benefits of EU membership

London, with its tiny and grand wonders. The flower pots hanging from the lampposts, the diversity of races and cultures, the parks kept as if they had just been inaugurated yesterday, the black taxis, which are now electric, free hammocks to enjoy, in front of a giant screen in Regent’s Place, the Euro Cup and Wimbledon matches, the endless cultural offering… All that is still there. Despite the stagnation of the economy, the decline of the nation, despite Brexit… But who said Brexit? None of the main candidates for the general elections on Thursday, July 4, has praised or criticized the most important decision adopted in the country so far this century, the exit from the European Union. The favorite of all the polls after 14 years of conservative governments, the Labour Keir Starmer, has kept a low profile on the issue. However, for many of the expatriates from the European Union, nothing will ever be the same again. Thousands of them left. But those who stayed on the island have the perspective of four years since Brexit became effective. And they gauge the impact of the elephant in the room that the candidates avoid mentioning.

Spanish businessman Daniel Juliá has lived in the UK for 30 of his 54 years. His company supplies catering equipment to restaurants in London. It is doing well. But he believes the country has become less attractive. “Now I could have British nationality, but I resist. I have what they call the settled statusthe indefinite residence permit. But before we were all EU citizens. And now we don’t have the same rights as the British.”

Juliá talks about the small and large details that he has noticed since then. Small: “Before Brexit, you wanted to buy something in Germany, they sent you an invoice, you paid them and that was it. Now, although things have improved a little since the first months of Brexit, you have to do paperwork, have a customs agent. It’s not too expensive, but it’s 50 pounds here, 60 pounds there…” And the big changes: “Before, the labour market was more flexible, it was easier to find people to work with. Now, to bring a chef from Italy or Spain, you have to pay around 30,000 pounds (35,370 euros) first.”

The businessman uses a phrase that will be repeated, with slight variations, by the majority of those consulted: “Brexit has been a shot in the foot for the United Kingdom.” And he explains: “Faced with the problem caused by the cuts of the conservative governments, they blamed illegal immigration. ‘Why don’t you have a house? Because there is immigration. Why are the waiting lists for health care so long? Because of immigration.’ That was the Brexit mantra. And now, [el candidato ultra y populista Nigel] Farage continues with the same old refrain.

Eight years have passed since 23 June 2016, when David Cameron’s Conservative government held the referendum. 52% of Britons approved Brexit and four years later, in January 2020, the exit from the European Union became effective. It was the biggest setback in the history of the European project.

Matteo Dughiero, a 34-year-old Italian computer scientist, had already been living in London for eight years when the split took place. In the days leading up to the referendum, he experienced a situation that has haunted him ever since. “I went to an association to seek legal advice because I was having problems with the owner of the house where I was renting. The lady who helped me, a white British woman, started telling me that we had to stop all these foreigners who came to take their jobs. And instead of getting angry or arguing, I agreed with her. To this day I am ashamed of having done so.”

“The damned foreigner”

Dughiero believes that he reacted in this way to fit in, to avoid being seen as “the damn foreigner”. “I said to myself: ‘if I can’t beat you, I have to join you’. I think that Brexit brought about this loss of inhibition among certain people to speak out against immigrants. Before the referendum, no one would have openly told me that ‘I don’t want you here’. But the truth is that I came to work as a waiter and the British didn’t want that kind of work. In the whole hotel there were only two or three British people. The rest of us were Italians, Slovenians, Spanish, French…”

The Italian expat says that, despite everything, he has chosen to stay in London “because of the opportunities” the country offers him. “I came here without any studies, beyond basic education. And after training myself as a computer scientist and starting out with small jobs, I now have a good contract with the takeaway food company Just Eat. I started in 2017 and in just five years I was promoted four times. I went from earning £30,000 to £100,000 (€117,000). If I hadn’t left Italy, I would probably still be a waiter and perhaps without a legal contract, receiving an illegal salary.”

Dughiero admits that the United Kingdom no longer offers Europeans the opportunities that he once had and that he enjoys now. And he prefers that his daughter grow up in Norway, his wife’s country. “Here, if things go well for you, like me, you may not have any problems: I have private healthcare and good services. But I want her to grow up in a place where if she is not successful in what she does, it won’t be so serious. A place where there is a public infrastructure, a network of services to take care of her. A network that everyone pays for with their taxes.”

Cypriot Georgios believes that the main change Brexit has brought to the country is xenophobia. “Although I fear,” he says, “that this phenomenon is now also occurring in other European countries, with the rise of the far right.” Both Georgios and his Italian wife, Sandra, are asking to use their names and not their real ones.

Georgios is 34 years old and is a researcher at big databig data analysis. “In the case of the United Kingdom, this feeling of xenophobia is very hypocritical. Because immigrants are the ones who support the country. Most waiters are foreigners. And the same goes for doctors and nurses in hospitals.” For this engineer, the result of Brexit is that the promises of the Conservative Government regarding the reduction of immigrants did not materialize. “Because the country continues to need foreign labor. And, in addition, it has lost weight in international politics.”

Great opportunities, despite everything

Despite all the drawbacks, this Cypriot also praises the job opportunities. “If I don’t like my job, I can change companies within a few days. Whereas if I were to go back to Cyprus, despite my experience, I would have to know the guy who in turn knows someone who can get me to speak to the person who will ultimately decide whether to hire me.”

Sandra, 34, Georgios’ wife, has been in London for 15 years. She is a transport engineer and an expert in mobility. She believes that in daily life little has changed. “It is more of a personal matter. Politicians talk about immigrants as if we were something negative. They don’t explain what we bring to the country. I have had two children in public hospitals and the nurses were Italian and Greek.”

Sandra says that where she f
eels the effect of Brexit the most is in her company. “We make plans for pedestrianisation in London. We have about 50 employees. And apart from four or five, who are the oldest in the company, the rest are European. But since Brexit it has been very difficult for us to find people to hire.” Sandra also values ​​the material advantages: “Here we invest in planning the works, which is what I do. And flexible hours and teleworking are highly respected.”

Ulises, the fictional name of a Spaniard who has lived in the country for 20 years (he also asks not to use his own name), believes that Brexit did not mean a material change in his life as much as a psychological one. “I am privileged because I have a good salary. Others have fared much worse. But I experienced Brexit as a rejection, a betrayal,” he admits. “We all have a friend who feels special and is a bit on their own. It was cool when the United Kingdom belonged to the EU and they thought they were so different. But when you need that friend and they turn their back on you, then things change.”

Ulises is 40 years old and runs artificial intelligence projects for multinationals. “Most of my relationships here are British. But being European in a country that doesn’t want to be European makes you think that the relationship is a mere economic transaction. I was granted permanent residency without any problem because I pay a lot of taxes. Just for that. So, it’s sad to say, but I no longer feel any loyalty to this country.”

Everything that smells of advanced civilization is still there, like the flower pots hanging from the lampposts. But when the carpet that hides the Brexit debate is lifted, it is easy to find testimonies from Europeans who denounce the growing xenophobia and distrust of foreigners. “The British promise of multiculturalism has been broken,” laments Ulises. “And, in addition, they are privatizing many things. The beauty of the famous parks is that they are for everyone. When they are privatized, the gardens lose their essence.”

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