It's time to get stuck in, argues former Broxtowe MP and campaigner Anna Soubry.
Last month I joined the European Movement. I had been a registered supporter for many years but decided the time had come to be a fully paid up member. If you are not already a member, I very much hope you will do the same.
It doesn’t give us any pleasure, but the numerous predictions we made about Brexit are coming true. Those who led us out of the EU and supported the Government’s Brexit deal will use Covid and any other crisis or device, to mask the damage that is being done.
I believe that they must not be left unchallenged but instead must be held to account.
British business is already suffering the consequences of extra paperwork and checks. It faces critical shortages of workers in a variety of sectors including HGV drivers and agriculture.
Our departure from the EU threatens the Union to destabilise our politics further, most notably in Northern Ireland. There the “problem” is not so much the Northern Ireland protocol, as the fact that this Government prizes its hard Brexit ideology over pragmatic and practical solutions.
EU citizens have been forced to apply for the right to stay in the place they call home, and thousands are falling through the cracks in the system. Young people have lost the opportunities offered by the Erasmus scheme and its replacement is underfunded and second rate.
There are many more examples of the harm Brexit is causing our country and the damage it is doing to our international relations and reputation.
Frankly, I’ve had enough of sitting and fuming from the side-lines!
I believe it’s time to come together, to hold the Brexiteers to account, where possible to offer practical solutions to the problems caused by Brexit and advance the arguments for closer cooperation with Europe until we can re-join the EU.
By joining the movement for just £5.00 per month, you can take the next step and be right at the heart of our resistance.