What will happen to current British MEPs if the UK votes for Brexit?

What will happen to current British MEPs if the UK votes for Brexit?
By Seamus Kearney
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Questions are being asked about the likely future of the current British MEPs if the UK votes to leave the bloc

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Questions are being asked about the likely future of the current British Members of the European Parliament if the UK votes to leave the bloc.

Some insist that legally there would have to be at least two years of negotiations before anything changed.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a German Liberal MEP, told Euronews: “For the time being the British MEPs and the British Commissioner should stay. They are obliged to represent the pan-European interest, not just the British interest.”

Out of 751 MEPs, 73 are from the UK. Twenty four come from the UK Independence Party, 20 from Labour and 19 from the Conservatives.

But even if the vote is for a Brexit, some believe things could be handled in a pragmatic way.

Richard Corbett, a British Labour MEP, told Euronews: “Probably most British MEPs would abstain from voting on questions for the future of the union – that Britain would then not belong to.

“But we might still vote on current things, like this year’s budget, which we are still contributing to.”

However, some believe that if Britons vote to leave the EU in a referendum on June the 23rd, there would be an immediate withdrawal of some British MEPs.

Martin Schulz, the President of the EU parliament, said: “Some of them, who want to leave first, perhaps the UK Independence Party members, who can’t wait until they have the right to leave, I presume they will leave immediately, and not go back to the European parliament.”

But it seems concrete answers on the subject will only come when the final result of the referendum is known.

The only jobs that will be lost are the jobs of British commissioners & MEPs. #VoteLeavehttps://t.co/k5kvkHDvhm

— Young Eurosceptics (@Y_Eurosceptics) June 3, 2016

'UKIP is only British party whose MEPs receive [EU pay & allowances] while actively fighting for Britain to leave' https://t.co/ui3mNfai2J

— Sarah Ludford (@SarahLudford) June 8, 2016

If the #EU is so great, why do 28 out of 73 British MEPs want to #VoteLeave (with 5 undecided) and lose their jobs? https://t.co/ePXwvejjS4

— Nicky and Davina (@NickyandDavina) May 28, 2016

British MEPs probably facing redundancy alright. https://t.co/2vRxPRP5wF

— Conor Reidy (@ConorJReidy) June 4, 2016

Letter “It is British ministers accountable to our parliament and elected MEPs who make European laws” #StrongerInhttps://t.co/fU0dWjwNXL

— Emma Reynolds (@EmmaReynoldsMP) June 8, 2016

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