Brexit and my holiday???

I don’t normally indulge in politics in my posts, but this is beginning to get personal.

I have booked a camping space on a site near Oosterbeek, Netherlands from 17^th to 25^th September 2019.  Those who follow this blog will understand why.  I have also booked my ferry from this small island to the mainland of Europe.

With all the current shenanigans I have no idea if my passport, car insurance or travel insurance will be valid after 29^th March.

Let me be clear.  I voted to join the European Economic Community in the 1970s.  I thought it was a good idea.  In my working life and my re-enactment hobby I have found many friends in Europe.

I was never given any say in the subsequent creation of a pseudo “United States of Europe.”  In the 2016 referendum I voted to leave the EU, because in my opinion we were beginning to lose our national identity and our parliament’s ability to govern Britain independently.  (I little understood that, thanks to the aftermath of the referendum and a subsequent ill-conceived General Election, our Prime Minister would be rendered incapable of governing anything more than a large house in Downing Street, Westminster.) 

I understood at the time of the referendum that the intention was to actually leave the European Union, not to piss about for a couple of years and then have another think about it.  I admit that neither side gave a full appreciation of what would be involved before we were asked to vote, but I never thought that the famously quoted “£350m to the NHS” bus slogan meant what it was interpreted by the uneducated masses to mean.  The wording was very clever, and never actually promised £350m to the NHS.  If in doubt, check what it actually says.

Enough petty politicking.  All I really need to know is:  After March 29^th 2019 will my current British/EU passport still be valid, or do I need to apply for a new one?  If so, how long will it take?  The British passport office appears to have no useful information yet…