European Movement CEO Anna Bird spoke to our special General Meeting on 11th September 2021, setting out the movement's outlook for the coming months.
Brexit isn’t working. Here’s what we’re doing about it and how you can help
Brexit isn’t working. We know it isn’t working because there are empty supermarket shelves. There are driver shortages. Tensions in Northern Ireland are increasing.
These are not teething problems. These are real issues created by Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit. The Government is under pressure as a result and it’s our job to keep that pressure high. Our campaign strategy for the Autumn does that in three ways.
Telling local stories.
The impact of Brexit is not abstract. It is local, human, personal. Our 100+ local groups are the eyes and ears in their communities, there to bear witness to local Brexit impact. In Oxfordshire, European Movement campaigners have highlighted how driver shortages have led to missed bin collections. In Hull, EM campaigners have been investigating the impact of staff shortages on older people’s social care support.
EM will support our groups to tell those stories, through funding, campaign materials, political networks and media profile. We will hold a national campaigns day in the autumn, to bring all this great local campaigning together nationally, to build a true picture of the cost of Brexit.
Campaigning step by step for a better UK-EU relationship.
Our job is not just to protest; we need to offer solutions. Key first steps include improving the deal on food and farming, restoring our access to Erasmus, and fighting for the rights of EU Citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU. You may have seen our ad van on the streets of London in July, part of a campaign against the arbitrary deadline for EU citizens to register for settled status and calling for an extension – there’s much more of this to come.
We are building campaign partnerships with experts on each issue so that our demands of government are robust and workable. Current partners include Save British Farming and the Young European Movement.
Building Bridges.
Ultimately, our aim is to make it politically possible to campaign to rejoin the EU. To do that, we have to get out of our bubble and change minds. We are investing in work by our local groups to build bridges in their communities. Funded projects will help us start to engage with fishing communities, leave voters, farmers and local business owners.
We cannot do any of it without you, our members and campaigners.
So a huge thank you for all your support. We are a growing community – our membership has doubled in the past year! – but we need to keep growing if we are to build the mass movement that will return us to the heart of Europe.
Here’s how you can get involved today.
- Become a member Become a member, to help us to fund our campaigns and make sure you are the first to hear how to get involved
- Join your local branch Our grassroots groups are keen to welcome for new campaigners as we ramp up activity this Autumn
- Spread the word follow us on Twitter and Facebook and share our posts with family and friends.
- Stand for members’ Council We are seeking nominations from members to stand for election to our Council and help direct future campaigns