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IT’S a complicated situation, we are all entering the unknown if the UK decides to leave the EU

Donald Rumsfield famously said “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” 

As I think about this I’m sitting in Las Columnas in Palma de Mallorca. The weather is a balmy 18°C and I have just been in a meeting with a Spanish client. Earlier today I met with an Italian artist, and before that I had a coffee with a French colleague. Now I’m working on my regular column for the Euro Weekly for the British residents of Spain. 

I’ve lived in Mallorca for almost 12 years now, but last weekend I went back to the UK for a quick visit. It was exciting to see the new restaurants and products which you can get in the shops there, and it was lovely to catch up with old friends, but would I really want to live there anymore? I really don’t know. 

With the EU referendum coming up my husband and I have both checked we are registered to vote, and we intend to. We hadn’t felt we had the right to vote for the UK general elections, after all, we don’t live there any more. We would love to have the right to vote in the Spanish ones, but apparently, according to Spanish politicians non Spanish EU members just don’t have the interest in politics, so why should they bother changing the law? 

It’s a complicated situation: we are all entering the unknown, the British politicians don’t know any more than we do what might happen if the UK decide to leave the EU, they also don’t know what would happen to people like me. I’m a Brit, with a green residencia paper (currently being upgraded to permanent status thanks to Mallorca Solutions) but if my country of birth leaves the EU, will I lose some of the rights that I have here in Europe? 

On the other hand, what if it improves the situation for us? If Britain is no longer a member of the EU, perhaps I will be able to vote in the National and Regional elections… what a treat that would be, to have a say in how my taxes are distributed. 

My friend Kate tells me I shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the local elections and the power of our mayors when I grumble about it, she’s right I don’t really understand about the direct impact they can have on my quality of life. I voted in the last local elections here on the island, did you? 

Are you registered to vote? If you aren’t registered why not? It’s your duty, and your right to have your say. I am still a British passport holder, but if it came to it, would I relinquish my status and become a Spanish citizen? 

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