Harlow financial adviser: “I voted for Brexit. Now I face a red tape nightmare to retire in Spain”
News / Sun 12th Apr 2026 at 02:22pm
A HARLOW financial adviser has told The I Paper that they face a nightmare of bureaucratic red tape in order to realise his dream of retiring to Spain.
Newhall resident Neil Harrington, aged 57, is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and retire to Spain but it is very complicated.
As the paper points out, gone are the days when you could simply pack up and head for the Spanish sun.
Since Brexit in 2016 (which 72% of Harlow residents voted for), it is now a real challenge.
Most Britons have been limited to spending 90 days in the EU within a 180 day period.
Click below for the full article.
Harlow resident
2026-04-12 15:48:08
Honestly what did he think would happen to his plan?!
AB
2026-04-12 15:48:48
By any objective measure, Brexit was a stunningly stupid act of national self-harm. Many predicted this, others are finding out 'too late'. At least the government is taking steps to ameliorate the damage.
Mark Lavender
2026-04-12 16:43:40
I would not wish to jump to conclusions but this gentleman would fit my perceived stereotype if it is thing. Prove me wrong.
Henny
2026-04-12 21:13:21
I hope Brexit is inconvenient for anyone that voted for it.
HelPo
2026-04-13 07:11:01
Voting for the termination of free movement and then pretending to be surprised that it goes both ways? Typically English 'Have your cake and eat it' mentality. We do not want and need these people in the EU. They wanted to be out, and they can stay out.
Womp Womp
2026-04-13 08:10:12
give me a minute, just trying to locate my tiny violin..
David Forman
2026-04-13 09:18:17
That's why I read the CBI, TUC, European TUC, Centre for European Reform, Campaign Against Euro Federalism, the UN's International Labour Organisation and the World Bank reports before voting. I concluded staying in was the best option. Consequently, the mess we are in comes as no surprise and I can be incredibly smug having been proved correct, much to the annoyance of the Momentum crowd who challenged me in a Harlow Labour Party meeting on my position. It pays dividends to do some research.
David Forman
2026-04-13 09:38:33
The situation we are in is because people applied dogma and ingrained prejudice to decide an economic question rather than logic. I sincerely hope not too many people have invested on the basis of Neil Harrington's financial advice, especially when every organisation in the financial world advised against Brexit.
John Davis
2026-04-13 10:30:40
Brexit has cost us 4-8% off GDP, a massive tax loss to the Treasury forcing other taxes up, and the much touted trade deals are worth only 10% of the lost trade with the EU (something that Brexit supporters never mention). It has destroyed businesses and industries but has provided nothing, absolutely nothing, of any practical benefit. In Harlow twice as many people voted to leave the EU as voted to remain. As we were assured that they knew what they were voting for it must be assumed that they knew it would be hugely damaging and just didn't care. My advice to anyone looking to their future is to acquire a portable skill and emigrate. Do exactly what Leavers told people to do if they didn't like having their future opportunities diminished. That is the one thing they were right about, because almost any other democratic country now offers a better economic future than the UK. Otherwise, if you wanted it and you voted for it, now pay for it. You and your family, as you've forced everyone else to.
voteforme
2026-04-13 12:25:09
This is quite a hilarious article notwithstanding the circumstances surrounding Brexit. Here we have a guy (and perhaps his wife) who voted for a policy lead by anti immigration leader who now wants to become an immigrant in another country. Just hope he doesn't want to come back to use the NHS
Mr George
2026-04-13 14:47:33
Ah, amusing to read but what's not so amusing is far too many of these brexit voters are still believing all the lies for the ills of this country and will vote Reform. As someone who is powerless over this and can only watch, I shall sit back and enjoy further moments of schadenfreude while everything left to crumble around us does so.
Jasper
2026-04-13 15:05:44
I didnt vote for a Labour government but they won, democratically. I didnt ask for another election. I wasnt old enough to have a say on joining the then Common Market but i didnt complain. I voted to leave the EU. The vote to leave was successful. Democratically . Harlow councillors didnt want to give us our democratic right to vote in this years local elections, now that isnt democratic.
Mr George
2026-04-13 16:57:14
Jasper, how was brexit successful? I'd love to see real benefits listed.
Tim smith
2026-04-13 23:27:21
Brexit would've been fine but there have been far too many people making it hard to implement, slowly we will go back bit by bit then reform will smash Labour at the next election and farage will have his dream to stop anyone coming here
Jasper
2026-04-13 23:51:35
Mr George, i was saying it was voted in democratically. If its good or not is another matter. How was the Common Market and then EU successful. Unelected and unmanagable people telling us whats right or wrong.
Guy Flegman
2026-04-14 11:48:14
Before we joined theECC we were a major world player and Europe was a quaint basket case bureaucracy nightmare. We joined the EEC which with mission creep became the EU and now many years later we have been dragged down to that level. Nothing surprising in this really. Even leaving won’t help because the EU really is the ultimate “hotel California”. You know you are no longer relevant in the world when you are more concerned with words instead of action. Everything else is just minutiae.
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