I'm starting to fear for the UK in the negotiating process with the EU that will start once Article 50 has been triggered. One of the issues that could affect me directly is the question of UK citizens living in the EU. I read this morning that a cross-party amendment in the House of Lords (where the government does not have a majority) to guarantee - in advance of negotiations - the position of EU citizens living in the UK is expected to secure the backing of most peers. However, it is expected that the Commons will reject this amendment. Ye gods.. This is surely one of the key negotiating cards and it makes me question the sanity of those gentle, well-meaning, but hardly worldly-wise folk in the House of Lords. If this amendment was to be accepted in the Commons, the offer would be swallowed in one gulp by EU negotiators with no quid pro quo. More here. Time to start investigating dual nationality I think. (Procedure here for others who may be thinking of doing likewise)The title is a fragment recalled from Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" - those long hours spent in dusty English classrooms were not, as I thought at the time, entirely wasted.
