The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Citizens’ Rights, which looks at issues facing EU citizens in the UK and Britons abroad, will relaunch in the new year.
New Europeans UK, which acts as the secretariat of the APPG, will hold the inaugural meeting at the House of Commons on 15 January, which will be hosted by British MP Manuela Perteghella.
Once MPs and UK peers have been voted in as officers for the APPG for the new parliament, the meeting will focus on Britons living and working abroad.
Future meetings will inform members of parliament on challenges relating to the rights of EU citizens in the UK.
A recent conference in parliament highlighted issues with the EU settlement scheme, which was introduced after Brexit: UK’s settled status scheme could leave EU citizens out in the cold.
Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy and former Liberal Democrat MP, will speak on the postal vote problems at the last UK General Election. Postal delays meant that tens of thousands of Britons abroad are thought to have been denied their vote.
New Europeans UK and Unlock Democracy teamed up with the British Overseas Voters Forum to conduct a survey during the summer’s General Election on how well the postal vote system performed.
Brake will present the findings of the survey. The meeting will also hear testimonials from Britons living abroad on their difficulties in voting and how many did not receive their ballot in order to be able to return it in time to count at the election.
Among those making contributions will be Sue Wilson MBE, Chair of Bremain in Spain, and Clarissa Killwick, Team member of Brexpats – Hear Our Voice and co-founder of Beyond Brexit – UK Citizens in Italy.
Chair of New Europeans UK, Dr Ruvi Ziegler, will also make the case for the introduction of overseas constituencies in the UK to better represent Britons living and working abroad.
New Europeans UK and Unlock Democracy run a joint campaign for overseas constituencies, which is supported by a range of groups representing Britons abroad.
