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OPINION: A vote to disaster – a decade after Brexit, the people of Britain (and us expats in Spain) are still paying the price

15 0
21.09.2026

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OPINION: A vote to disaster – a decade after Brexit, the people of Britain (and us expats in Spain) are still paying the price

FOR many it was a vote that resonated with their heart.

They were either travelling on the velvet bus of snake oil salesman Nigel Farage, or hoping for the best deal that David Cameron could fetch us. 

But either way, when the UK voted to leave (just 48.1% to 51.9%) the long-lasting consequences touched the daily lives of the thousands of British expats in Spain.

From freedom of movement issues to pension problems and from driving licence kerfuffles to 90-day visa restrictions, we’ve had to deal with them all.

And why? So a gullible, maligned group of angry Brits could explode an economic bomb below our country.

It came at a time when some of us were only just getting over the 2008 credit crunch.

READ MORE: Brexit 10 years on: From ‘I voted leave and I’d do it again’ to ‘nothing good has come from it’ – What Olive Press readers really think about the UK’s decision to leave the EU

Business was just starting to get back to normal and the property prices in Spain were just coming out of a very long and bitter recession.

Tourism was picking up and no surprise with the pound standing at 1.40 to the euro, meaning British visitors were set to see a rapid growth in the years following June 23, 2016.

After the vote, when the vast majority of expats in Spain cried into their morning........

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