This is one of my rare threads but it's about free movement and I really care about it

So I went and listened to what Gove said this morning on @BBCr4today about whether Brits will still get free health care and be able to study with Erasmus as from next year

@BenPBradshaw

To be fair, he doesn't actually lie

It's worse. He disingenuously deceives people into thinking the answer is yes, by talking about a "period" - without mentioning that "period" means you have to already be here in the EU over the next THREE WEEKS or be already studying

if you want to get free health care or study. The people sending in the questions were obviously asking about the future, not just the next three weeks

Which begs the question why journalists don't challenge this and I think it's actually worse than you might think

I seriously believe most British journalists haven't even realized that ending free movement works both ways. I always remember that the BBC "fact checking" website defined EU free movement as "the right of EU citizens to live and work in the UK"

That was it. No mention that it was reciprocal even though over decades many more millions of us have taken advantage of living, working, studying and retiring in the EU than the other way, despite the recent surge since 2005 of EU new accession members

For example, the sudden flurry of articles last week when serious journalists seemed to be quite surprised that the EU was going to "punish" Brits by not letting them work or retire in the EU after Brexit.

Even one of the very best GB journalists (who I like so won't name !)

only last week said he'd been shocked to read in the Sunday Times that the EU might apply the "90 day" rule even to Brits, putting paid to their hopes of retiring in the EU like they always could.

Hello ? That's what ending free movement means - it's OUR free movement

For 5 years there were zillions of reports about "EU migrants" in the UK - but I think I saw (and I watch a LOT of Brexit stuff !) 2 ? maybe ? reports about elderly Brexit-voting Brits swigging sangria in Torremolinos. No mention that 80% of us actually work here.

There we are, another of my gripes about free movement but it's enhanced my and so many millions of other Brits' lives so much. It's been taken away, they're pretending it hasn't and journalists don't even realize it

Hence this long thread. Merci de l'avoir lu !