All blogs
-
1st March 2019 Insider Briefing
March 21, 2019
Your members' weekly briefing rounds up a selection of Brexit-related news from the UK, the rest of Europe and beyond. Click on the blue links for the full article.
And you can keep up with all the big issues in the Brexit debate by signing up to the InFacts daily newsletter.
The ‘Put It To The People’ march will take place in London on March 23, it was announced last weekend. Online sign-ups for the march are already outstripping the total amount of sign-ups for the first People’s Vote march back in June 2018. Sign up here.
In other news, pro-European centrist MPs have resigned from both the Labour and Conservative parties this week to sit as an “Independent Group”. Meanwhile, Theresa May presses on with talks in Brussels, receiving warm words but no big shifts from the EU. The no-deal cliff edge looms large - although MPs will have a chance to remove that danger in key votes next Wednesday. Brexit uncertainty is also feeding into ongoing economic woe, with Japanese companies who had once seen the UK as a bridgehead to the EU running down their operations - most notable Honda announcing the closure of its Swindon plant in 2021.
Theresa May appeared to accept the need for a Brexit extension this week - if her deal fails to win parliamentary approval. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn finally backed the idea of a People’s Vote, which is supported by the clear majority of party members. Labour is, however, still pursuing other options. And with only a month left to the scheduled departure date, absolutely nothing is clear and business and government are both woefully unprepared for the no-deal Brexit the prime minister still refuses to rule out.
Prime minister’s ‘planning horizon’ seems to extend no further than the middle of next week (Independent)
It would be nice to think that the prime minister has a plan, and is holding back some clever form of words until the time is right, when it is too late for Parliament to quibble. But all the evidence so far is that her planning horizon extends no further than the middle of next week. It is getting shorter – sometimes she seems to be just trying to survive the day.
Theresa May leaving parliament in her car on Wednesday (Reuters)A new Brexit referendum is now essential (FT)
Theresa May’s aim is to convert fear of a no-deal Brexit into acceptance of her bad deal, which would leave the UK at the EU’s mercy. In the end, the rhetoric about “taking back control” has come down to a choice between suicide and vassalage. This march of folly needs to be stopped, for the UK’s sake and Europe’s. The only politically acceptable way to do this is via a new referendum. That is risky. But it would be better than sure disaster.Government: no-deal Brexit may cut UK economy by 9% (Guardian)
The government has issued a bleak warning over a no-deal Brexit, estimating the UK economy could be 9% weaker in the long run, businesses in Northern Ireland might go bust and food prices will increase.You are cordially invited to subscribe to the People’s Vote campaign’s Morning Briefing. Click here to sign up.
From InFacts
Fab U-turn on delay. How about one on People’s Vote? (Hugo Dixon)
Crisis, what crisis? PM’s reckless no-deal tactic exposed (Nick Kent)
Brexit carries big price tag for UK retailers (Bethany Morris)
We need extra time, but not to waste more time (Hugo Dixon)
Brexit is an existential threat to women-owned businesses (Geeta Sidhu-Robb)
From European Movement
Professor Eatwell at Dinner in Eastbourne
Why it's important to attend the Put it to the People March
Why a referendum is the right answer
Video of the Week
Dominic Grieve: “It is perfectly democratic to put this to the people.”
Tweet of the Week
Brexit Comment
If we’re heading for a hard Brexit, then we’re heading for a united Ireland (Guardian)
If Brexit has proved anything, it’s that many Tories don’t give a stuff about the people of Northern Ireland – not even the unionists. If they did, they wouldn’t dream of a hard Brexit because it only guarantees one thing – a border poll… A second referendum is the best way out of this mess, even for the DUP.
Actors dressed as soldiers and custom officers stand next to a mock border wall during a protest by anti-Brexit campaigners, Borders Against Brexit in Carrickcarnan (Reuters)Parliament should use a delay to rethink Brexit (FT)
After years of insistence that Brexit will happen on time, come hell or high water, (Theresa May’s concession) ... is a welcome step towards bringing some sanity to the debate. But it is insufficient. If an extension is to happen, it should be for much longer.Pundits were wrong to write-off the People’s Vote campaign (New European)
Not too long ago, commentators and pundits were gleefully writing eulogies for the People’s Vote campaign. But - whisper it quietly - there is growing momentum for a People’s Vote once again.Losing respect for the 2016 EU referendum result (Chris Matheson, Chester Live)
“The more I hear about what went wrong in that 2016 referendum, the less I actually respect the result,” says MP Chris Matheson. “If that had been a sporting event then the Leave campaigns would have been disqualified months ago for cheating. That referendum is losing its credibility by the week.”
Brexit and the Arts
Woman told to remove Banksy-inspired Brexit mural (BBC)
A woman was ordered to remove a Banksy-inspired Brexit mural on the side of her house after a council said it breached advertising rules.
A large mural depicting the EU flag being chipped away, and attributed to the British artist Banksy is seen with Dover Castle behind, at the Port of Dover (Reuters)
More Brexit News
Trump to EU: Play ball or ‘we’re going to tariff the hell out of you’ (Politico)
US president Donald Trump issued a renewed threat to Brussels that the EU has to "play ball" in trade talks or "we're going to tariff the hell out of you".
(Reuters)Britain faces harsh truths about post-Brexit trade (FT)
On its present trajectory, the Britain emerging from this process will be significantly less, not more, open to the world — losing market access in Europe and striking trade deals elsewhere less favourable than it now enjoys. The nation will be poorer as a consequence, this FT editorial concludes.Labour must challenge the myth working class supports Brexit (New Statesman)
The party must campaign on the values its supporters in the real, progressive, multi-ethnic working class believe in, not on the values of people who will never vote for it.Amsterdam’s Brexit bonanza (Politico)
The Dutch have a track record of wrenching opportunity out of adversity. Nearly a fifth of the country is low-lying land that has been reclaimed from the sea. And so maybe it’s no surprise that Amsterdam is doing its best to turn Brexit into a bonanza.Poll shows Labour fall as Independent Group rises (Times)
Labour’s support has fallen below the combined total for the new Independent Group and the Liberal Democrats, according to a YouGov poll for The Times.
8th March 2019 Insider Briefing
March 21, 2019
Your members' weekly briefing rounds up a selection of Brexit-related news from the UK, the rest of Europe and beyond. Click on the blue links for the full article.
And you can keep up with all the big issues in the Brexit debate by signing up to the InFacts daily newsletter.
There will be another “meaningful vote” on Theresa May’s Brexit deal next week. It’s looking less and less likely the PM can win it, as her attempts to woo hardline Tory backbenchers and wavering Labour MPs continue to stall. A £1.6bn funding boost over seven years for Northern and Midlands communities was written off as a “bribe” and insultingly small. A package promising to protect workers’ rights was called “flimsy” by trade union leaders. Meanwhile talks in Brussels to find “alternative arrangements” to the backstop, as demanded by Brexiters and the DUP, appear to be at a standstill. 
You are cordially invited to subscribe to the People’s Vote campaign’s Morning Briefing. Click here to sign up
Sensible Tories must beware hard brexiter coup (Nick Kent, InFacts)
Moderate Tory MPs need to watch out. Hints are emerging that hardline Brexiters are softening their opposition to the government’s deal. But if Theresa May’s Brexit gets through, hardliners will attempt to oust her and impose a much harder version.
Brexit hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg (Reuters)
Brexiters are refusing to accept their victory (FT)
Brexit hardliners stand in danger of losing everything in fighting for a fiction that Brexit was always about “restoring” the UK as a great trading nation.They have turned an independent trade policy into the wheel on which their dream may be broken.
Simples! How Theresa May's embarrassing Meerkat quip won her closest aide tea at the Ritz worth £58 and opened up the PM to ridicule (Mail on Sunday)
One of Theresa May’s closest aides won tea at The Ritz after getting the prime minister to say ‘simples’ in the Commons. MPs were baffled when May used the catchphrase made famous by meerkat Alexsandr in the Compare The Market television
(Reuters)
How does he survive? The curious case of ‘Failing Grayling’ (New York Times)
While the trials, tribulations and humiliations of Theresa May have occupied centre stage in the carnival of British politics, Chris Grayling has starred in a black comedy sideshow of his own, writes the NYT. He has bumbled his way from one government post to another, accused of making a hash of each, and becoming a byword for haplessness in a golden age of political blundering in Britain.
Hapless transport secretary Chris Grayling (Reuters)
From InFacts
Independent Brexit trade dream gets holed below water line (David Hannay)
PM’s towns fund drop in ocean compared to cost of Brexit (Luke Lythgoe)
BBC reads from Brexiter textbook on threat to UK science (David Hannay)
Six reasons we’ll get bullied by a Trump trade deal (Nick Kent)
Labour MPs won’t be wooed by flimsy workers’ rights pledge (Luke Lythgoe)
Brexiters’ shoddy track record on LGBT rights exposed (Kathryn Breitner)
From European Movement
Brexit and Economic Development
To those who say "Just get Brexit over with!"
Tweet of the Week
Brexit Comment
Dear Europe, Brexit is a lesson for all of us: it’s time for renewal (Emmanuel Macron, Guardian)
“Now is the time for a European renaissance. Hence, resisting the temptation of isolation and division, I propose we build this renewal together around three ambitions: freedom, protection and progress.”
Theresa May 'did not understand EU when she triggered Brexit' (Guardian)
Theresa May and her circle of advisers did not understand how the European Union works, and consequently followed a negotiating strategy in 2016 that was doomed to fail, the former UK ambassador to the EU Sir Ivan Rogers has said.
EU must not forget young people of Northern Ireland (Irish News)
Our Future Our Choice NI, a cross-community pro-European youth group, travels to Brussels to meet Michel Barnier and discuss Brexit issues and the future of young people in Northern Ireland.
Brexit and Drill
“Northern Ireland Backstop”, video by Drill musician Drillminister
“Did the average Joe Bloggs
Understand the EU
Before the referendum?
Propaganda fooled us,
Now we lookin’ to the world like losers.”
More Brexit News
Gridlock and violence imagined by Whitehall (Times)
Senior Whitehall figures have tested responses to the worst-case scenarios of a no-deal Brexit, including the cancellation of the Grand National and violence by the Real IRA. The details come amid claims that the cabinet secretary has played a key role in outlining the dangers of leaving without a deal to the prime minister.
Brexit 'likely to cause cancer test delays' (BBC)
Hospitals are likely to experience delays to cancer testing and treatment regardless of the result of next week's Brexit vote, BBC Newsnight has learned. The Royal College of Radiologists has told doctors to prepare for possible delays for some drugs used to detect cancer if there is a no-deal Brexit.
15th February 2019 Insider Briefing
March 21, 2019
Your members' weekly briefing rounds up a selection of Brexit-related news from the UK, the rest of Europe and beyond. Click on the blue links for the full article.
You are cordially invited to subscribe to the People’s Vote campaign’s Morning Briefing. Click here to sign up.
And you can keep up with all the big issues in the Brexit debate by signing up to the InFacts daily newsletter.
There was no Valentine’s love-in for Theresa May this year as she faced several fraught votes in the House of Commons. This is not yet the “High Noon” we’ve all been promised - that’s been kicked to February 27 apparently - but it does risk shredding the prime minister’s authority. Meanwhile the Labour leader, who is also desperate to buy himself more time, is being threatened by mass resignations from his front bench. The blindfold Brexit being pushed from both front benches is good for no one. MPs are getting wise to that, now they need to move in support of the only way to break the Brexit deadlock - a People’s Vote.
Immigration regime after Brexit ‘risks new Windrush scandal’ (The Guardian)
European citizens, currently residing in the UK under freedom of movement legislation, will have to prove their residency status after Brexit. If they fail to register for settled status, they risk being deported and risking a repeat of the Windrush Scandal.
Brexit delay will serve no purpose, PM tells businesses (Financial Times £)
Theresa May has told businesses leaders that an extension to the Article 50 deadline will not achieve anything. She continues to refuse to rule out no deal, despite the risks this poses to businesses investment and growth.
People’s Vote activists say “No to a blindfold Brexit” (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)
No-Brexit would make Britain less safe, says police chief (The Guardian)
No-deal Brexit would make it much harder for the police to detain foreign suspects, and would leave British fugitives beyond the law in Europe. The loss of access to the SIS-2 criminal convictions database, combined with the loss of the European arrest warrant, risks making Britain less safe.
Theresa May offers concessions to win Labour support for Brexit deal (FT £)
Theresa May has signalled she is willing to work with Labour in order to get Brexit through the Commons, offering concessions on workers rights and legislation to protect the environment after Brexit in a letter to Jeremy Corbyn.
Hard Brexit threatens 100,000 German jobs (Politico)
In a sign that the impacts of Brexit will be felt outside of the United Kingdom, Politico reports that 100,000 jobs will be threatened in Germany, as will 50,000 in France. Most of these jobs are in the car industry.
From InFacts
3-month delay causes no problem for European elections (Pavlos Eleftheriadis)
Pursuit of Brexit is turning parliamentary world upside down (David Hannay)
May is definitely time wasting. But towards what? (Luke Lythgoe)
Corbyn’s plan needs its day in Commons - so he can move on (Hugo Dixon)
With businesses blindfolded, no wonder economy is in trouble (Luke Lythgoe)
Want to keep up to date with all InFacts’ Brexit coverage? Sign up to our daily newsletter.
Tweet of the Week
Remain Labour has worked out that Labour's current Brexit plan would cost £24 billion per year and are calling for Labour to back a People’s Vote. Read the thread here.
More Brexit News
Brexit health care worries for Brits in Spain (BBC)
Currently pensioners who have paid enough in national insurance benefit from reciprocal healthcare rules if they retire in the EU/EEA or Switzerland, meaning they can get healthcare payments from the NHS. There is no guarantee this will continue after Brexit leading many to consider coming back to the UK.
Farm leaders: UK brand on food experts ‘is disadvantage’ (BBC)
Welsh farmers want to be able to use the Welsh dragon on food exports from Wales after Brexit because the United Kingdom does not have significant “traction” in markets that are significant for the Welsh agricultural industry.
Quote of the Week
“I’m on the frontbench because I live in hope that the party will get to the bit of our conference policy where it supports a people’s vote.”
Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South, makes clear the pressure being put on Jeremy Corbyn to back a public vote on Brexit.
Video of the Week
WATCH: No Brexit deal can bring closure. Not May’s deal, not Corbyn’s plan.
They both rely on the Political Declaration, setting out our future relationship with the EU. Nothing in it is legally binding, which means years more of political wrangling. A People's Vote can stop this happening.
EU deputy Brexit negotiator: UK leaving will have limited impact on EU security (Politico)
EU deputy Brexit negotiator says that the UK leaving the EU will have a limited impact on EU security because France and Germany exchange a lot more information than the UK does.
Food industry warns Gove on Brexit ‘crisis’ (BBC)
The UK food industry has threatened to stop cooperating with the Government’s policy consultations because so many staff are having to work on preparations for Brexit due to the lack of clarity offered by the governments plans.
Top Brexit comment
Theresa May stalls on Brexit. Again. And again. And again. (New York Times)
Theresa May is playing for time in order to blackmail MP’s into supporting a deeply flawed deal. While she does this, the UK is failing to negotiate trade deals, meaning that traders will soon be forced to make shipments not knowing if they will have to pay tariffs when the ships arrive.
Ministers will act if Theresa May carries on sleepwalking (The Times £)
Theresa May will have to choose between the pro-European and Brexiter factions in her party, which means deciding whether or not to back no deal. If she does nothing, cabinet ministers will force her hand by supporting backbench amendments to get an extension to Article 50.
The EU looks like the Soviet Union in 1991 - on the verge of collapse (Guardian)
George Soros warns that the EU is going through a period of “radical disequilibrium” where rising discontent in the UK and elsewhere with out-of-touch EU elites risks putting the entire EU project at risk. The solution is for the silent majority to mobilise and defend the foundational values of the EU.
An anti-Brexit float passes Parliament on the day of the latest Brexit votes (Hannah Mckay/Reuters)
Banner making - St Albans for Europe gets creative for the Put it to the People March
March 21, 2019
Convenience isn’t a word I’d normally associate with Brexit – pain, anguish and chaos are more the words that spring to mind. So it was nice last Sunday to have a sea of blue and yellow paint – the colours of both the European Union and, coincidentally, also the colours of the St Albans emblem ̶ all over a local community hall for our banner-making session , in preparation for the Put it to the People March in London on Saturday 23rd March. The colours go together nicely, which is fitting for a city that voted 63% remain.
European Movement Eastbourne - March 2019 Dinner
March 20, 2019
Dale Rodmell, Assistant Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations was the speaker at European Movement Eastbourne's March dinner held at the Hydro Hotel and attended by over 55 members.
Lord Adonis speaks to North Hampshire for Europe
March 19, 2019
Being part of the European Union works for the UK and we should stop pretending we can be half in and half out, Labour Peer and prominent People's Vote campaigner Lord Adonis told a packed meeting in Basingstoke last Tuesday evening. He was speaking just as the Prime Minister’s EU Withdrawal Agreement suffered its second crushing defeat in the House of Commons.
A Bag Full of Thank Yous
March 17, 2019
A very successful campaign day in Tooting Broadway resulted in a bag full of cards for local MP Rosena Allin-Khan. Constituents had been offered to write a thank you note to their MP because she supports the People’s Vote.
Lambeth went to Dagenham
March 14, 2019
8 things that you can do to support a People's Vote
March 13, 2019
The People's Vote campaign has been vital in changing the course of the Brexit debate, thanks to our members and supporters. But want to help more and don't know how? Here are some ideas of how you can get more involved in the campaign to help us secure a People's Vote!
1. Join the #PutItToThePeople March on 23rd March.
Maybe you've joined previous People's Vote marches, or maybe this will be your first one. Either way, if you support a People's Vote, it is crucial to show it in the final few days before the UK is currently due to leave the UK. Join the hundreds of thousands of supporters in London. If you don't live in London, there are plenty of coaches that you can travel on with like-minded supporters. If you really want to help, you can also volunteer to help at the march.
Brexit – Irish/Welsh campaigner walks 200 miles to London to join march for People’s Vote
March 11, 2019
How far would you go to get a vote? A Swansea campaigner, Ed Sides, has just begun a 200 mile walk to London to join the People’s Vote march in the capital on 23 March, which will call for a referendum on the Brexit deal.