Earlier this week I accused Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg of “putting his foot in it again” by advising Britons to holiday in Portugal, not Spain in order to avoid long queues at Spanish border controls.
“If the Spanish don’t want British custom, there is no need to spend your hard-earned money in Spain. The basic advantage is democracy.” That is the advice he game a member of the public on BBC’s Question Time when challenged over the fall out from Brexit, which has led to longer queues at passport control.
Rees-Mogg said: “I don’t get held in Portugal because the Portuguese Government has given us access to their E gates because they recognise having British tourists is a good thing to do. So, you should go where you are welcome.”
I mentioned this remark to some Spanish friends of mine and to my astonishment they supported him.
Not only for telling it like it is, but for only bringing up the fact that Portugal has done what it can, whether Brussels like it or not, to make it as easy as possible for visitors from third party countries, in particular to visit the country and invest in the economy.
Why has not Spain done the same considering with the new EU travel visas and finder print checks coming into forces next year, border controls in Spain for Britons are only going to get worse? One has to wonder if Brits are wanted any more.