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It's not a re-run of 2016

April 02, 2019

Leavers think so; but the question is different

London4Europe Committee member Michael Romberg looks at the opinion polls and sets out the arguments to make to those who think that a referendum on the terms would just be asking the same question again until Leave voters get it right.

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South West Surrey joins the People's Vote March

April 02, 2019

Residents from South West Surrey joined the million people from all over the UK who had travelled to London on Saturday to march for a People’s Vote on Brexit.

Put It To The People

March 28, 2019

On Saturday 23 March, I joined well over one million others to call for a public vote on whatever Brexit deal finally emerges from this dysfunctional Tory government.

The biggest pro-European March in History

March 28, 2019

Three people who took part in the People's Vote March from Tunbridge Wells - IN (TW-IN) have written their accounts of the day. Read below:

Vanessa's report

Real people took part in this, handmade banners named many who could not come.

A warm yet sad atmosphere at the impending loss of our belonging in Europe and yet a sense that at least the whole of us had one mind about changing the nation‘s mind in a second vote.

Children cheered and marched to the beat of the bands and everyone had a smile for their neighbour.

Green parakeets cheered us on.

Worcestershire for Europe joined 1,000,000+ for the People's Vote March

March 27, 2019

In June 2018 we manged to fill two coaches for the People's Vote March. In October 2018, we were up to six but for the Put It To The People March, we topped out at twelve (including one from Worcester University). If you add the independent travellers, and there were quite a few, there were over 1000 protesters from our area. All the county towns were represented and marched as a group. This upturn in support reflects the change in support across the county, as more and more people support a People's Vote. But the important thing to remember is that the constituency of Worcester City is the 'indicator' marginal in General Elections. Back to the point...the team had a fantastic day out and through cunning planning and experience made it to Parliament Square for the speeches. It was great to be part of one of the largest protests in UK history. We counted them all out and counted them all back, Worcestershire has it's supporters back in place and ready for a People's Vote.

Veterans for Europe attend the People's Vote March

March 26, 2019

An important day the 23^rd March 2019. Not just because of the one million plus supporters of a People's Vote winding their way through the streets of London but also because the Veterans for Europe were marching with their Commanding Officer, Brigadier Stephen Goodall.

European Movement 1066 attends the People's Vote March

March 26, 2019

Among the million or so people from all walks of life and all regions of the country who marched peacefully in London on one of the biggest demonstrations in British history on the 23rd March were members of EM1066 from Hastings, Bexhill, Battle and Rye.

People’s Vote campaigner arrived in London after 200 mile walk from Swansea for the People's Vote March

March 25, 2019

How far would you go to get a vote? A Swansea campaigner, Ed Sides, walked 200 miles from Swansea to London, to join the People’s Vote march in the capital, with over a million other people, calling for a referendum on the Brexit deal.

Ed was be joined at the march by around 130 people from Swansea, who were part of a contingent of several thousand from Wales.

Hundreds of campaigners from Ealing take part in the Put It to the People march

March 24, 2019

Campaigners from across Ealing travelled to London on Saturday 23rd March, to join a mass demonstration to demand a People’s Vote on Brexit.

More than a million people from across the UK took part in the People’s Vote “Put It To The People” march in central London.

People made their way to London from every corner of the country including Shetland and the Highlands of Scotland.

More than 200 coaches brought marchers into the capital. More than 500 people also travelled from the West County on a specially chartered train.

Organisers of the march were been taken aback by the numbers of people who signed up for the demonstration from Leave-voting areas. Coaches brought protestors from places including Chesterfield, Doncaster, Lincoln, Peterborough, Stoke and Sunderland, which all voted to leave the EU by heavy margins in 2016.

One man, Edmund Sides, walked his way the march from Swansea, and a team of cyclists rode their bikes all the way to London from Sheffield.

People travelling from Penzance in Cornwall faced one of the earliest starts, leaving at 3.50am. But campaigners travelling from the Highlands and Islands faced the longest journey – starting out from Inverness at 8pm the previous day, on Friday 22nd.

Some of the coaches being used to get demonstrators to the capital were sponsored by well-known local names, including: actor Jason Issacs Liverpool); broadcaster Joan Bakewell (Manchester) advertising executive and film producer Trevor Beattie (Birmingham) comedian and actor Steve Coogan (Manchester) businessman and chair of Stoke City FC Peter Coates (Stoke) Joe Hemani, Chairman of tech firm Westcoast PLC and Vice President of Chelsea FC (various locations) actor Natascha McElhone (Brighton) TV Cook and majority shareholder of Norwich City Football Club Delia Smith (Norwich), broadcaster and historian Dan Snow and actor Sir Patrick Stewart (Huddersfield).

Many Britons living abroad also travelled home to take part in the march, from Australia, the US, Malaysia, Africa and hundreds from across the EU.

The government is still desperately trying to secure the backing of Parliament for its heavily criticised Brexit plan and the mass demonstration in London took place just days before the UK is scheduled to leave to the European Union.

The Put It To The People march started on Park Lane and made its way to Parliament Square for a mass rally and speeches.

Young and old walked side by side, through the centre of London, including several generations of the same family, World War Two veterans in their 90s, families pushing buggies, grandparents, teenagers, students, office workers, celebrities and Members of Parliament.

Curtis Parfitt-Ford from the Ealing European Movement said:

“The Put it to the People March was a fantastic success, with more than a million ordinary British people turning out to protest in the centre of London.

“Brexit is already causing deep damage to Britain, threatening local jobs, businesses, the NHS and living standards in Ealing. EU nationals – a large number of whom have contributed to our community for decades – face uncertain futures, our hospitals are under threat, and local businesses (including Heathrow) stand to lose out.

“The discredited Brexit deal, Theresa May is still trying to force on Parliament, bears little resemblance to what was promised in the 2016 referendum.

“The only way to solve this political crisis is put whatever deal is decided by Parliament back to the British people and let them decide.”

/ends

January 25th 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.

Theresa May has stood by her Brexit agreement despite its overwhelming rejection by parliament and is threatening to let the country crash out without a deal. Parliament is preparing an amendment for next week that could force May to seek postponement of Brexit. Business have raised deep fears of economic disaster in the event of a disorderly departure on March 29 while the Tory membership is increasingly clamouring for the catharsis of schism with continental Europe. With legislature and executive apparently divided, a popular vote is becoming increasingly the rational and democratic solution.

(Reuters) In the face of government division and paralysis over Brexit, Britain’s parliament is moving to assert its powers in a way rarely seen in modern history.

Labour whip ready to back Yvette Cooper no-deal Brexit amendment (Guardian)
Labour is looking set to oblige its MPs to back Yvette Cooper’s amendment, paving the way for legislation that would mandate ministers to extend article 50 if a no-deal Brexit looks imminent. Brexit militant Jacob Rees-Mogg has said the Queen should suspend parliament in order to stop Cooper’s bill.

Sony to move Europe headquarters to avoid Brexit disruption (BBC)
Sony will move its European headquarters from the UK to the Netherlands to avoid disruptions caused by Brexit.The company said the move would help it avoid customs issues tied to Britain's exit from the EU.

Brexit backer Dyson makes ‘global’ switch to Singapore (The Times)

England’s rebel spirit is rising – and it wants a no-deal Brexit (John Harris, Guardian)
In the face of political stasis, the seductive myth of Britain standing alone against its oppressors is taking hold.

“It is a disgrace that more than two years after the result of the 2016 referendum, businesses are still unable to plan properly for the future. And we, along with many of our peers, have repeatedly called for clarity. But, we still have no idea what is really going on here".

“Please don't listen to the Brexiteers' madness which asserts that because we have huge plants here, we will not move and we will always be here. Brexit is threatening to destroy a century of development based on education, research and human capital.”

Video of the Week

Dominic Grieve explains why he thinks a People’s Vote is necessary: "Despite two and a half years of trying to see a silver lining in this particular cloud, I think Brexit remains the biggest historic mistake the UK has made."

Brexit Comment

Who is really in control of Brexit? (New Statesman)
The House of Commons is deadlocked, so prepare for an election – or a chaotic departure from the EU.

Brexit and Ireland: a danger to peace (Guardian editorial)
The Derry bombing this weekend is a stark reminder of what is at stake in Northern Ireland with Brexit: decades of peace where arguments are settled with words not weapons. In reopening the question of whether the physical border between the North and South of Ireland might return, Brexit threatens to turn back the clock to a far more dangerous era.

Londonderry attacks raise fears Brexit is giving rise to violence (FT)

Theresa May’s government lives on, and so does the Brexit chaos (New Yorker)
If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, and the other members of the government should be confined to a psychiatric hospital.

If parliament cannot resolve Brexit, a new referendum is needed (FT editorial)
Ultimately, parliamentary gridlock over Brexit would represent a constitutional crisis of such a magnitude as to outweigh the pitfalls of a new plebiscite. If the people’s representatives cannot resolve the most momentous political issue in a generation, the people must once again have their say.

(Reuters)James Blake from emergency food storage.co.uk fills one of the company's 'Brexit Box' kits which contains dehydrated food, water purifying kit and fire starting gel at their warehouse in Leeds.

More Brexit News

France and Germany renew post-war vows of friendship (Guardian)
As the EU comes under unprecedented pressure from Brexit, Donald Trump and increasingly strident nationalist governments in Italy, Poland and Hungary, both Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron are eager to limit the gains eurosceptic parties are expected to make in European parliamentary elections in May.

Poland's prime minister wants to see more workers return from UK (BBC)
Poland's prime minister, concerned about the effects of Brexit on his country, says he wants to see more Polish workers return from the UK to help its domestic economy grow.

Liam Fox explains failure to replicate EU trade deals (FT)
International trade secretary Liam Fox has blamed his department’s failure to replicate EU trade deals ahead of the UK’s planned departure from the bloc on foreign countries’ refusal to believe that a no-deal Brexit could occur. A Whitehall memo, revealed last week by the FT, found that Britain will not have agreed replacements for all the EU’s trade agreements before its scheduled exit on March 29.

Stephen Crabb 'deeply pessimistic' for Conservatives' future (BBC)
Former Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb says he is "deeply pessimistic" for the future of the Conservatives following the Brexit process. Mr Crabb said Brexit is a trauma "ripping right throughout our political system". He told the BBC a "deeply irresponsible" chunk of his party is fomenting support for no deal.

(Reuters)

150,000 members desert Labour in Brexit backlash (Sunday Times)
The Labour Party is haemorrhaging members amid a growing backlash over Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Brexit, according to party insiders. A Labour insider said the downswing had already cost the party about £6 million.