“I’m a passionate Conservative. But watching Conservative principles being trashed in Parliament fills me with dismay.

But we will fight it. And if we stick together we will win this battle.”

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"It's easy to understand why some in our movement are beginning to lose hope - but the fight is far from over."

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Located in West London, Ealing European Movement has quickly become one of the European Movement’s most dynamic activist groups. The group came about informally after the 2016 referendum as a way of continuing the positive campaign for Britain’s place in the EU, and for a People's Vote on the Brexit deal - but has expanded considerably over the past year. The group now boasts over 700 supporters and has the support of several local MPs. Ealing Central and Acton MP Rupa Huq (one of the first MPs to support a People’s Vote) frequently attends group events, and both Virendra Sharma and Steve Pound have lent a hand at the group’s street stalls. The group has also developed a close relationship with Ealing Council, who passed a motion affirming their support for a People’s Vote in April 2018.

Ealing is incredibly intertwined with the EU; around 55,000 people living in Ealing are from other countries in the Union. 276 of them are nurses at Ealing hospital. The EU has invested millions of pounds in projects within Ealing, including theatre groups and schools. The local university, the University of West London, benefits from the Erasmus+ student exchange programme - yet another thing that Brexit threatens.

The group’s volunteers reflect the area’s diversity of EU nationality. Group treasurer Geoff Warren explained his group’s motivation for coming together by saying

“Some of our volunteers are EU27 citizens, who have made their home here, unsure of their future status in the UK. Some have UK family members in the EU27 with EU27 partners who could be driven apart. They’re mixed in age and nationality, but united in opposing Brexit”.

The group’s youngest activist Curtis Parfitt-Ford hasn’t limited his efforts to his home borough - he is also a frequent presence at People’s Vote headquarters, where he recently assisted the digital team in developing software to help people more easily contact their MP. Speaking about Ealing European Movement’s considerable expansion, he said:

“The response we've had from all over the borough has been fantastic - we've more than tripled our initial support base over the last year. Our work has been such a success thanks to a strong local team working in partnership with the European Movement on a national level, really pushing out a positive message about a People's Vote across the entirety of Ealing”.

 The group has been an active presence throughout the borough all summer, and as the campaign for a People’s Vote reaches a critical juncture, they have no plans to slow down anytime soon. When asked about the group’s future plans, Parfitt-Ford simply replied “We remain committed to giving Ealing the final say it demands on Brexit. Our voices must be heard, and they're stronger together”.

When asked why he chose to get involved in the People's Vote campaign, Tees4Europe chairman Scott Hunter said:

 “Like most other people who had never taken part in political campaigning before, I watched the 2016 referendum on TV with a growing sense of alarm.  About a week before the vote there was an edition of Newsnight broadcast from Middlesbrough where Kirsty Wark interviewed a group of workers who had just lost their jobs at the Redcar steel plant. These were not the people shouting about sovereignty and Global Britain, but they were all planning to vote for Brexit, and when asked why, they replied that the steelworks had to close down because EU competition laws meant that there could be no tariffs to prevent the Chinese from dumping steel on the European market. Except that this wasn’t true. But it was too late. The referendum was lost, and I recognised that trying to fix that had just become a DIY job”. 

Tees4Europe was only founded in February, but they are already making a huge impact on their local community. At their meeting last week, the group was joined by Shadow Brexit Minister Jenny Chapman MP to discuss the negative impact of a No Deal Brexit on communities in the North East. Chapman told the group that “Leaving without a deal is something that this country should not be forced to withstand. It’s probably fine if you live in the south of England and you are in finance, and are personally wealthy, but if you’re working in a processing industry, manufacturing industry and working in the North-East of England, then you sure as hell will feel it. If we leave without a deal, jobs are going to be on the line”.

Because of their success Tees4Europe is currently in the process of expanding, and they are currently concentrating their efforts on the town of Darlington. Darlington may have voted by 56.2% to leave the European Union in 2016, but there is reason for optimism. According to recent data, the town boasts the highest level of support for a People’s Vote in the Tees Valley. Group chair Scott Hunter said, “when we looked at the figures, we realised that we had to make a move”.

Although the group campaigns in an area which voted Leave in 2016, Hunter says “I am pleased to be able to report that [our group] have shown remarkable resilience over the past months.  Our events are well supported, and people are active on social media”. An above average leave share requires an above average amount of campaigning, and Tees4Europe has certainly risen to the challenge. Members of the group also play an active role in their community beyond the fight for a People’s Vote – their most senior member, Kitty Grove-Stephensen, recently took to the sky in a sponsored flight at the age of 87 to raise money for MS research. 

This summer, the group hopes to continue their recent expansion and intensify their efforts even more. Local groups like Tees4Europe have been crucial to the success of the People’s Vote campaign so far – and, as the campaign reaches a critical juncture, they will continue to play a vital role in what happens next.  

To read more about Tees4Europe, click here.

Paris finance eyes up Brexit spoils

This week included a couple of hot and sticky days in Paris to see what they make of the opportunities that we are insisting on throwing their way – especially in a no-deal Brexit.

Be clear about the scale of what we are bunging to them: the UK financial services industry pays £75 billion in taxes (source: City of London Corporation). This is 11% of all UK tax revenue and equates to about half of spending on the NHS. The loss of some of this tax may be amongst the reasons for Chancellor Phil warning about a £90 billion tax black hole in a “no deal”.

Some of these massive tax revenues flow directly from London’s role as the financial centre of Europe.  That “euro” portion has always been eyed enviously by the rest of the EU and now the cherry picking is getting underway – but they are picking the cherries, not us! So what is the Paris financial community doing about eating our cherries? Prime Minister Edouard Philippe spoke and reminded the audience that two years ago - in the light of the Brexit vote - he had promised 20 measures to attract financiers to Paris. All 20 are now enacted – even if some are still to be implemented.

Like so many other speakers, he was clear that Brexit is a huge challenge, and not only to the UK. He has never believed that leaving the EU is a good thing for us in the UK – but we have made the choice and now “they” must prepare. So a litany unfolded of new international schools, improved transport, turning the Paris region multi-lingual, co-operation with Frankfurt etc.

There will not be a single replacement for London and it is already clear that cities are specialising in their offer. France, Germany and the Netherlands have launched a new campaign to strengthen financial integration to serve the savings of the peoples of Europe. The listings of jobs moved and business re-location enquiries – especially hi-tech – should leave us in no doubt that Brexit has been underway for the financial world since 31 March and some of our prize cherries are already being digested.

But everyone is sad to see us go and feels sure that their government would give us more time – if there is a good reason! More waffling about unicorn backstops did not cut the mustard with anyone. But ask for enough time to mount a properly prepared Peoples Vote… Bien sûr! And good luck with your campaign to Remain. See you here next year!

Graham Bishop is Vice-Chair of the European Movement.

Last night, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt faced off in the first and only televised head-to-head debate of the Conservative leadership contest. 

The candidates traded blows on everything from taxes to Trump, in exchanges that were often heated and personal. But despite the bluster and bravado, neither candidate was able to provide any substantive answers on Brexit. 

Perhaps the most alarming moment of the evening came when the candidates were questioned by a man concerned about the impact that a No Deal Brexit would have on his business. Hunt acknowledged that businesses would be crippled by tariffs, but provided no reassurances other than “We’ll get through it”. Johnson’s answer was similarly insufficient. He claimed that a no-deal exit from the EU would be “vanishingly inexpensive”, despite the fact that the government has already spent an estimated £1.9bn on Brexit preparations.

In that moment, it became abundantly clear that both candidates were willing to put party before country. Recent polling shows that fewer than one in four members of the British public support crashing out of the European Union without a deal. However, Hunt and Johnson do not need to win over the entire country in order to enter Downing Street. They merely need to woo Conservative party members, who represent less than 0.25% of the British population.

According to a recent YouGov poll, 84% of Conservative party members would be happy for their leader to advocate a No Deal Brexit, and a whopping 64% believe that significant economic damage is a price worth paying for Britain to exit the EU.

Both candidates openly admit that a No Deal Brexit would lead to job losses. Yet in last night’s debate, both candidates were more focused on appealing to their base than protecting the British people from the severe economic consequences of a No Deal exit.

No one, no matter how they voted in 2016, voted to lose their job. No one voted to make themselves poorer. There is simply no mandate for the car crash Brexit now being contemplated by both candidates.

Watching the debate last night, it was easy to despair at the current state of British politics. However, the increasing grassroots momentum of the People’s Vote campaign offers significant cause for hope. There are now over 150 local groups (comprised of European Movement branches and our allies) taking the fight for a People’s Vote to their local communities, campaigning tirelessly on doorsteps and at street stalls across the country.

The European Movement, together with the People’s Vote campaign, has also embarked on our most intense period of campaigning yet with our summer of action, comprised of fifteen rallies across the country and culminating in a historic march to parliament square on October 12^th. Our first three rallies in Leeds, Cheltenham and Sunderland have been a huge success, with MPs, celebrities, and local activists coming together to demand that the people are given the final say. Next, we are headed to Uxbridge, Boris Johnson’s constituency.

It would be a democratic outrage for the new Prime Minister, whether it be Johnson or Hunt, to force a destructive Brexit on the people of Britain, without us having the chance to be heard through a final say referendum.

With a new Prime Minister about to take office and parliament still deadlocked, the case for a People’s Vote has never been stronger. It is vital that we continue to put pressure on politicians through relentless grassroots activism. Success is well within reach – this summer, let us be heard.

MacKenzie Horn, Head of Communications

European Movement UK

Across the continent today, people’s thoughts will turn to the sandy beaches of Normandy, and we will pause to remember the brave soldiers who liberated Europe from the terror of Nazism.

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Swansea’s glorious beaches are cleaner and safer than ever before thanks to EU water quality standards. Yesterday (Sat 18 May), local campaigners, with the support of surfers, created a giant sand artwork on Swansea beach to mark the EU’s contribution to cleaner beaches in the area.

The event launched a campaign celebrating what Europe has done for Swansea.

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