There is no need to make this personal and I do not spread EU propaganda.

And neither am I a tourist; unlike the visitors to Spain, however frequently they visit, I'm an expat who lives here and have lived here for many years.

There appear to be a million of us who have taken the opportunity to live in this beautiful country because membership of the EU has allowed us the choice and has given us all sorts of EU benefits, including full medical cover for qualifying pensioners.

That important medical cover comes from a reciprocal EU scheme and if we were not in the EU we wouldn't have it (along with other reciprocal schemes too numerous to mention).

No British expat intent on staying in Spain could possibly vote for an EU exit, and I won't quote the Turkey and Christmas cliché.

When I first used to visit Spain (on school holidays), my parents were already living here. Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister in the UK. The British allowed us 50 Pounds a year each for tourism and the bank had to stamp the sum, issued in travellers cheques, into the back of one's passport.
50 Pounds lasted a while in those days in Spain, but eventually we would go down to Gibraltar and cash a British bank cheque, give it to Bullshand, an Indian money-changer there, and pick up the Pesetas in Estepona. Later, when Franco closed the frontier, we would do the same thing travelling to Gibraltar via Tangiers.
Which all goes to show, that government interference can be circumscribed, but that it's a bloody nuisance.
Best thing - one free Europe.

It's not the expats vote that will do one thing or another, you are used to a different legal system, albeit being dominated by Brussels but still translated into the Spanish system, that is very different to the British system. Don't expect anyone in the UK to vote for your comforts, you don't care about theirs and they don't care about yours.

720 will do Spain no good at all, the folk that they would like to hammer for tax will simply spend 180 days there and place their Spanish property within the wrapper of a Ltd company in their place of domicile.

As for the the overwhelming parliamentary opinion that the UK would never vote to leave the EU, why are they so scared of giving them a vote?

Agree, if it's a done deal, that we would never vote to leave, let's have the vote now not in 3 years time, let's get it out of the way once and for all and move on. Like you say, UK based Brits couldn't care a jot what happens to expats, and vice versa.

I was referring to HBG,s comment re visas, which obviously would not help any country with tourist industry, not saying that they would have to introduce them. Still way things are going who knows what may happen.

Everyone has the occasional mouth bleed, even me , why not let sleeping dogs lie?

I've found that British people do care about their expats, they hate them, right from the top down to the relatives that come to stay with us in the summer. They certainly wouldn't vote for their expats comforts, far from it.

It's perfectly understandable, we've managed to escape to live in the sun and they haven't. The prices have levelled out now, but until recently you could live like a Lord on a small British pension.

You could sell a semi in Essex and buy a large villa with a swimming pool on the Costas, and still have money left in the bank.

Whatever the British public vote for, it will not be for the comforts of us expats in Spain.

Well said...but will I still be able to get Red Leicester, if we leave the EU...!!!!!
And , And would I still be able to smuggle pork pies, in my Handluggage.

I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, but two really daft posts in such close succession is more than coincidence.

But that would deny Mr Cameron his bait to remain in power. I myself think that at the moment if people could be bothered to turn out to vote then the outcome would be for UK to leave. Cameron may win that over if he can get the EU to change and I Dont think that is just a UK view either. HBG's point re UK citizens not going to vote to benefit expats is very true.

HGB even hates his relatives, who the hell votes for the comforts of folk so consumed with hate?

If that's your interpretation of what I've written, then you've got things a bit mixed up. You've probably got me mixed up with someone else.

It's us residents in Spain - those who would be most affected by Britain's withdrawal - who don't have the democratic right of a vote on the matter.

It's actually been more commonplace amongst the Spanish, though to suggest anyone would do it for entertainment is cynical beyond belief.

Not sure how you work that out, if we come out, I've learnt here that UK is going to sink like a stone, we'll be going to hell in a handcart. As for the vote, bit like expat Jocks wanting a say on Scottish Independence, of course they shouldn't have a vote.