In 2020 the UK left the European Union. For us Brits one of the fantastic benefits of leaving the EU has been the loss of our freedom of movement. Now when we enter a European Union country we are allowed to queue up at immigration control and get our passports stamped.
One way to gauge the rip-roaring success of Brexit is to explore the Truck Border Crossing Times & Sea Crossing interactive map. For example, at the port of Dover this map shows that at this very moment there is a huge 6 km queue of cars, full of eager people excitedly waiting to have their passports stamped. When Britain was in the EU the port authorities would have just waved all those cars onto the waiting ferries. Now though they have to check & stamp every single passport. Resulting in the huge tail-backs of traffic now being experienced by the residents of southern England.
Obviously having your passport stamped is well worth the 4 hour delays that ferry passengers are currently facing trying to travel to France. The authorities in Kent have even declared a major incident as a direct result of this Brexit success and all the traffic currently blocking the roads in southern England. They also report that there are currently over 3,000 trucks parked on the motorway, waiting for the chance to clear customs.
Conversely if you check the border at Veurne-Ghylverde the map shows that there are currently no delays for those wanting to travel between France and Belgium. Those citizens of countries unfortunate enough to still belong to the EU will never get to experience the joy of waiting four hours in a traffic jam in the summer heat, and watching a ferry that you missed sailing off & disappearing over the far horizon.
1 comment:
Yes. We are so lucky in England. One day I'll have all those stamps in my passport to commemorate the time I've wasted.
Post a Comment