Why this Brexiteer’s tweet has made him the most mocked man on the internet

Although we’re technically in a year-long ‘transition period’ before parachuting out of the EU, the first effects of Brexit are starting to be felt.

Funnily enough, despite three years of promises about what Brexit means, it’s emerging that maybe the government didn’t actually communicate effectively about what it would actually entail (perhaps because… they didn’t know).

That breakdown of communication apparently even extends to the very people who voted Brexit and were ardently celebrating it finally happening less than a month ago.

Which seems to be the reason why a Twitter user, who goes by the name "Colin Browning", posted an angry tweet bemoaning the service he was receiving in Amsterdam’s Airport Schipol.

Alongside a picture that appeared to show a queue within the airport, Colin wrote: “Absolutely disgusting service at Schiphol airport. 55 minutes we have been stood in the immigration queue. This isn’t the Brexit I voted for”.

His tweet subsequently went viral because unfortunately… it is exactly the Brexit he voted for.

After the UK leaves the EU, those with British passports will no longer be able to use the faster lanes at passport control for designated EU citizens. For obvious reasons.

And although this rule isn’t meant to officially kick in until 1 January 2021, there’s been documented cases of staff in European airports directing British passport holders to the queues non-EU citizens.

There’s also new passport expiry rules that the government failed to warn the public about, which mean that passports that have been valid for 10 years are considered ‘expired’ for non-EU member countries.

So if you originally got your current passport on 30 June 2011, its expiry date would be 30 March 2022 – fine under British regulations and accepted while the UK was in the EU.

Now however, while that expiry date means the passport is seen as valid in the UK and non-EU countries, within the EU it will be regarded as expiring on 30 June 2021.

And to travel in the EU, you need at least six months left on a passport before it expires.

So if you try getting on a plane on New Year’s Day 2021, you could be turned away.

It’s just one of the previously unexplained consequences of Brexit.

Like the one Colin Browning discovered, which has led to much mirth across the internet.

There was the observation that karma is an interesting beast.

Others wondered how long it would take for more Brexit voters to realise some of the unintended consequences of the vote.

Some imagined how the airport staff were feeling about the entire debacle.

And then there were those who let their feelings be known via two syllables.

For his part, Colin remained defiant.

An exciting sneak peek at our future after the next 12 months!

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