Deidre Brock MP has called for the UK Government to scrap plans for EU citizens living in the UK to have to apply to the ‘Settled Status’ scheme and pay a fee in order to have the right to remain here.
The Edinburgh North and Leith MP has tabled an Early Day Motion in parliament calling for the scheme to be amended so that registration and payment of a fee is not required.
Ms Brock said: “It’s bad enough that the UK Government and Labour opposition are seeking to end all our rights to free movement as EU citizens, but to retrospectively remove people’s automatic right to stay in their homes is unacceptable.
“Asking 3.7 million of our friends and neighbours to fill in a form and pay a fee for the privilege of remaining in their homes, is utterly shameful. It is already making this a less appealing place in which to live, and that’s a sorry situation for us all.
“We should welcome EU nationals that choose to come and contribute to our society, rather than making them feel like second class citizens.
“The settled status scheme will force people who have lived here for decades to apply to remain in their own community, amongst their friends and families, because of where they were born. That is intolerable in so-called liberal Britain.
“Enough is enough – the unsavoury xenophobia of the Brexiteers has to stop dictating the policies of this hapless government.
“I’m glad the Scottish Government and our First Minister have stood strong, condemned this scheme, and sent a clear message that EU citizens remain welcome here. It would be refreshing to finally see similar moral courage from the Prime Minister or the leader of the official opposition, Jeremy Corbyn. Otherwise, what kind of post Brexit Britain will they help create?
“The UK Government has it within its power to change the direction of travel, and I urge them to do so. They must scrap these unsavoury, discriminatory plans and make sure all EU citizens remain welcome to stay.”
MPs will begin debating Theresa May’s Brexit plan again today, nearly a month after she postponed the key Commons vote on her negotiated agreement. There will be five days of debate and discussion on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal and future relations with the EU, with an expected vote next Tuesday.
There was a taste of what’s to come when the Government suffered a Commons defeat last night. Twenty Tory MPs voted with opposition politicians to signal their opposition to a no-deal Brexit.
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