Brexit Dilemma

20 May, 2023 0 Comments

As I have mentioned elsewhere here, I lived the first twenty years of my life in England. However, I have lived most of my adult life in Norway. So although I now live in Norway, I am still British and hold a British passport. Therefore, I still have some thoughts about the Brexit Dilemma.

Post-Brexit Period

This was not a problem as long as the UK was part of the EU; as Norway, although not a member country of the EU, has a special agreement with the EU. The EEA agreement brings together the 27 EU member states and the three EFTA states Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein in the internal market, governed by the same basic rules.¹³

Fortunately, the Norwegian and British governments reached new agreements in the post-Brexit period.¹⁴ In other words, I was worried about my status in the post-Brexit world and thought about applying for dual citizenship. However, this seemed to involve sticking your hand into a hornet’s nest, as the application could lead to various negative consequences (too complex to describe here). But, after a long wait for the required new ID card for British citizens residing in Norway, I have finally allowed my paranoia to subside.

British Documents and Benefits

Of course, I have ‘lost’ all my British documents; this includes my national insurance number and driving license. The old national registration cards might come in handy if I return to England; that is, if I can find out my national insurance number. The number is probably necessary if one needs medical assistance in the UK. However, this is hardly a crucial issue for now. The queues in the British national health system seem to be so long that you are probably already dead by the time you reach the front of the line.¹⁵

Of course, this is not a problem for the rich. The king and queen of Britain already have/had private health care. This enabled them to almost reach the magic figure of 100 years. Prince Philip beat his wife by three years in the ‘race to avoid death’. He died at the age of 99, while she died at the age of 96. Without going into some statistical investigation, this means that the privileged classes in Britain live some 30 years longer (roughly) than the underprivileged classes.¹⁶

Ironically, a short time before the death of Queen Elisabeth, she appointed a new neoliberal prime minister in September 2022, Liz Truss, whose budget, favouring the rich, resulted in a collapse of the GB pound. In other words, the Truss Tory government seem to be focused on making the rich richer by continuing the disastrous neoliberal policies of Reagan and Thatcher.¹⁷