Then he must have lived in UK at one point to claim his status.

I voted to leave the EU, losing FOM for UK citizens isnt a concern for me, and most of the UK electorate. It it was, Starmer would be looking to bring it back, he isn't. If the man who fought for a second referendum, and was trying to do anything and everything to stay in the EU when he was shadow Brexit secretary isnt trying to bring it back, that alone should tell you all you need to know.

The full benefits of Brexit will never been seen in full until there is a government who believes in it and wants to implement it fully. That is down to the Tories. Personally speaking, I have done very well out of it financially. That's not a gloat, just facts

Living in the UK at one point (enough to apply for either settled or pre-settled status) is not the same as adding permanently to the resident poulation, as per your earlier post.

Of course lots of people came and went - that's the advantage of free movement. In fact it's less likely that people will stay put if they're free to move about at will than if they have to go through a lengthy process of applying for permission in advance and paying all the attendant fees currently demanded of people moving to the UK. I'm a regular listener to a radio slot about Portuguese nationals who've moved abroad, any number of whom have spent time in the UK but many of whom have moved on subsequently.

In 2021 there were 4m EU citizens resident n the UK. Still a very large number to accommodate if the govt didn't increase/upgrade services, housing etc The real figure i am sure was larger. The 6m I quoted were applicants,

Ah - the old "not been done properly" line, eh?

An admission, if ever there was one, that there have been none of the promised benefits.

It hasn't even been implemented according to the agreements that were signed for the simple reason that to do so would cause more damage than has already been done. As for the rest of what doing it properly might be code for, the fact is that the UK is no longer a member of the EU and that completely fulfils the enactment of the result of the referendum. It could have been done with far less damage and still satisfied the leaving the EU requirement (as touted by even some of the most hardline Brexiters shortly after the referendum) but the headbangers saw to it that it wasn't.

Mr Minister for Brexit Opportunities might have liked to hear from you back in the day. He and the massed ranks of the Sun readership failed to identify any potential benefits worthy of the name.

Where does that 4m figure come from?

Who delivered Brexit? Labour, the Lib Dems, the Raving loony Brexit party? - no, the Tories.

And what eiements of implementation are missing?

Conveniently forgetting the (quantified - look it up) contribution that those EU citizens have made to the UK.

Headbangers? Intelligent stuff, well done.
It wasn't implemented as was voted for because May/Johnson et al didn't have the guts to do it.
Far less damaging I guess would have been staying in the single market etc ? Then that would have been a pointless exercise, because, whether you like it or not, ending FOM was a big driver in the referendum result.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.u...0Italy%20(7%25).

So what, precisely, was voted for?

You seem to have missed the point I was making ref , services, housing etc
Or decided just to ignore it?

Leaving the EU . My ballot paper didn't say leave the EU. but keep certain parts of it, did yours?

Which parts, precisely?

No, I haven't - I refer you back to the contribution.