Skip to main content
Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit

Stay or go? Roma, Brexit and European freedom of movement

Abstract

The spectre of Brexit has raised issues of concern for Roma communities living and working in Scotland and other parts of the UK. The effective ending of freedom of movement has produced new uncertainties and insecurities for people living outside their EU countries of origin, especially for those who are racialised and stigmatised by `hostile environment' policies. Brexit is best understood as both a process and effect of everyday bordering as well as a continuation of historically embedded structural divisions. This paper looks at everyday Roma life in Glasgow, via the work of the NGO Romano Lay (Roma Voice), to assess how Brexit is impacting on people's lives. Further, the paper examines how Scotland can best move forward in terms of independence and the European project. It is argued that a second independence referendum that gives full political independence to Scotland is the only way to secure future EU membership and freedom of movement.

You might also be interested in :

Applying for Settled Status: Ambivalent and reluctant compliance of EU citizens in post-Brexit Scotland
This article contributes to scholarship concerning the effects of the UK Referendum on EU membership and Brexit on EU citizen rights in the UK (Botterill, McCollum and Tyrrell, 2018; Burrell and Schweyher, 2019; Gawlewicz and Sotkasiira, 2019; Huber, 2019). The paper focuses on applications for…
Complexities of Polish migrant's citizenship attributions in the context of Brexit and the Scottish Independence
This article focuses on the experiences of Scotland's largest foreign-born minority group, namely Poles, in the run-up to the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 and subsequently the UK's EU Referendum.
Uncharted waters: The social and equality impacts of Brexit
This research provides an overview of the potential social impacts of Brexit on individuals and communities in Scotland. It complements economic analyses of Brexit, which tend to focus on impacts on businesses, the economy and GDP.
WE'RE NO' AWA' TAE BIDE AWA': SCOTLAND'S RETURNING DIASPORA
At a time when the world is becoming more mobile, and migration levels are high, relatively limited attention has been paid to return migrants. Yet returners can play an important role in their homeland. In Scotland, with a sluggish population growth fuelled entirely by immigration…

Journal

Scottish Affairs

Author

Colin Clark (United Kingdom)

Article meta

Country / region covered

Year of Publication

Source type

Keywords