Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

• Long-Bailey sets out vision of hope in Labour leadership pitch
• Can Momentum survive after Jeremy Corbyn stands down?
• Afternoon summary

5.50pm GMT

My personal view is I think it’s good to engage with all programmes on all channels.

'Why do I pay my licence fee? I don't watch it. I don't agree with it.'
Culture Secretary @NickyMorgan01 tells Political Thinking podcast that’s what she hears on doorstep BUT "We do need a national broadcaster with a very strong international footprint" https://t.co/yHe5z6dK9V

5.34pm GMT

This is from Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexiter leader of the Commons.

To quote Edward Gibbon “The first of earthly blessings, independence.” https://t.co/4IlhCKpfvB

History ... is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.

Withdrawal agreement bill receives royal assent, leaving Tories cheering and SNP angry

• Follow all the latest political news on our live blog

Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal has become law after it received royal assent from the Queen, having cleared all its stages in parliament.

Tory MPs cheered the deputy speaker Nigel Evans as he confirmed in the House of Commons on Thursday that there was now a European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act.

Chancellor tells CBI in Davos there will be no unnecessary regulatory divergence

Sajid Javid has sought to reassure business that there will be no wholesale dumping of EU regulations as he pledged there would be no divergence after Brexit for the sake of it.

Speaking at the CBI lunch in Davos, the chancellor addressed the question of whether the UK would stay aligned with the EU rulebook – seen as a crucial issue by aerospace and automotive companies in the UK.

Boris Johnson is a chameleon, constantly changing. Shouting about austerity and neoliberalism is no way to defeat him

I come not to bury Johnson but to praise him. For all the thousands of words I have written criticising this ruthless, amoral being, it is stupid not to recognise what he has achieved. This is the bit where you call me a Tory, but I am not. I just happen to think moping is not a strategy for opposition. Saying nasty things about the prime minister is easy; effectively combating him requires analysis and agility – qualities clearly lacking in the dregs of the Corbyn project.

We don’t need self-serving arguments about authenticity. Wake up! Leadership now is not simply a matter of authenticity, but often its opposite: what the University College London professor Ken Spours, in a paper for the thinktank Compass, calls shapeshifting. Johnson is a chameleon, and modern conservatism is opportunism presented as modernisation: it has an ability to meld wildly different views, and adapt.

Opposition MPs condemn government after defeat of Dubs measure on child refugees

Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill has cleared its last hurdle after the government overturned five House of Lords amendments to it, including one that would have restored the right of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with their families in the UK.

The legislation is expected to gain royal assent within days after peers agreed to end the parliamentary “ping-pong” phase where it moves between the two houses until agreement is reached.

Britain is still a part of Europe. Though we’re leaving the EU, there are still huge issues to play for

It’s as though a meteorite like the one that destroyed the dinosaurs has landed in our midst. Overnight, Brexit has gone from dominating British politics to suffering a form of political extinction. When the electoral meteorite hit on 12 December, Brexit became the issue that no one – not even Boris Johnson – wants to mention any more. In some ways it is a huge relief, not least to political commentators.

We all need to heal our wounds. So does the country. But while the essential issue has been settled, the conspiracy of silence that has followed needs to end. The UK needs to learn to think about Brexit again.

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happened

• Senior Labour figures in ‘red wall’ seats back Starmer or Nandy
• PMQs - Snap verdict
• Lisa Nandy’s morning interviews - Summary and analysis
• Nandy’s welfare speech - Summary
• Afternoon summary

6.28pm GMT

6.19pm GMT

Peers have now voted to accept the Commons’ changes to the bill.

That means that the bill has cleared parliament. It will get royal assent, and become law, very soon.

Controversial salary floor for skilled workers expected to be replaced by points system

Boris Johnson’s new post-Brexit immigration regime is likely to mean an end to the controversial £30,000 salary floor for skilled workers, government sources have confirmed.

The independent migration advisory committee (MAC) is expected to report shortly on whether the threshold should be retained.

Politicians warn low take-up of settled status may be driven by anti-migration rhetoric

There are growing concerns over the relatively low numbers of EU citizens in Wales who have applied for post-Brexit settled status.

Leading Welsh politicians are worried some people have not applied because they are upset over anti-migration rhetoric and fear that a sudden loss of EU citizens could lead to shortages of workers in some key sectors.

JLR’s night shift cuts come amid £2.5bn cost saving drive to invest in electric vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s largest carmaker, has revealed that as many as 500 jobs are at risk as it ends the night shift at its Halewood factory in the latest blow to workers in the embattled UK auto industry.

About 10% of the jobs at the factory could be affected, JLR said on Wednesday. The plant near Liverpool employs just under 4,000 people, as well as about 500 agency workers. Across the UK, JLR employs about 33,000 workers.

Physical document would be ‘pragmatic and common sense’ way to show evidence of rights

Private landlords have backed calls for the government to issue a physical cards to EU citizens to prove they have the right to be in the country post Brexit.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has previously cautioned that EU citizens risk discrimination if they do not have a card showing their status when looking to rent properties.

New Tory MPs have promised to transform the region, but its greatest threat will come in days, when Britain leaves the EU

Boris Johnson and his ministers have made huge promises for the United Kingdom after we leave the European Union next week, particularly for “the north” – that unfamiliar land which can now be mined for Tory votes, if no longer for coal.

Conservative MPs elected in former Labour strongholds have pledged to “hunt like a pack” for infrastructure improvements – of which there has been no sign over the past decade of Tory government. The north is promised bounty from the “shared prosperity fund” – the cynically named, back-of-an-envelope replacement for EU structural funds, which for decades have invested billions in Britain’s regions to encourage economic revival.

Peers vote to restore right of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with families

The government has suffered five defeats on its Brexit deal in the space of 24 hours in the House of Lords, with the heaviest defeat in a vote to restore the right of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with their families in the UK after Brexit.

There was a vote of 300 in favour and 220 against, giving a majority of 80 in support of an amendment, proposed by the Labour peer Alf Dubs, requiring the UK government to maintain the principle of family reunion for child refugees fleeing conflict.

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

• Full story: Jess Phillips quits Labour leadership race
• Phillips’ statement in full explaining why she is withdrawing
• Lisa Nandy: withdrawal bill changes ‘threaten workers’ rights’
• Afternoon summary

6.04pm GMT

BREAKING NEWS: The Assembly has voted to withhold consent on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill. pic.twitter.com/nd3rFn8knp

Increasingly Sajid Javid is looking completely out of touch with the reality our businesses are facing. He is reneging on the commitment that [Boris] Johnson gave to manufacturers during the election campaign that they would be protected. Jobs are being put at risk by Javid’s rightwing ideology overriding common sense.

5.44pm GMT

My colleague Heather Stewart has written an excellent long read giving the inside story of how Labour lost the election. It’s here.

Related: 'Crushed by Brexit': how Labour lost the election

Leaving the EU confronts my former colleagues with a greater challenge than Whitehall has faced for generations

• Philip Rycroft was permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2019

We will finally leave the European Union on 31 January. Big Ben won’t toll after all, but a giant clock will be projected on to No 10. Some will celebrate; some will mourn. And the government seems to hope that we will breathe a collective sigh of relief and then move on. It’s almost as if Brexit has become a distraction, something to be got out of the way. The next five years, we are assured, will be about other things.

Related: Many civil servants are depressed – including me. Brexit will do that to you | The civil servant

Elsewhere alarms bells were ringing about the UK’s future outside the EU

Welcome to the Guardian’s weekly Brexit briefing, which, after more than three and a half years and nearly 170 instalments, will be landing in your inbox for the last time on 4 February – four days after Britain formally leaves the EU.

Full live and daily coverage of the key talks on the future relationship between the bloc and its first ex-member will, of course, continue in the Guardian as they advance, while our Brexit Means … podcast will provide monthly in-depth insights.

The chancellor has dashed any hope that the government might move beyond slogans

Shockwaves ran through industry over the weekend following the chancellor’s alarming interview with the Financial Times. If anyone thought Brexit would be wisely “done” once election posturing was over, what a disappointment. Sajid Javid has shown that political positioning still shapes policy, and that ministers are still under threat from Dominic Cummings, the bully “adviser” of No 10, with his “continuous appraisals” and “delivery dashboard”.

Related: Brexit: Javid comments on non-alignment with EU prompt warnings of price rises

The UK departure from the EU isn’t a solely British issue, yet Europeans have connived with Brexiters in pretending it is

“Brexit will never happen. Too complicated, too damaging to the British economy, too anachronistic.” How many times in the last three years – from Rome to Berlin, Paris to Bucharest – did we hear this belief asserted so confidently as to admit no discussion? The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union is now imminent. Yet much of Europe’s public and many of its politicians have not truly grasped the consequences of the historic break that is about to take place, nor have they tried to understand the reasons.

On 31 January the first concrete step in Boris Johnson’s political game plan will be achieved. And, even if no new barriers will immediately be apparent at the borders, we will from this date start to drift apart. Johnson won his bet using a simple strategy: he sold the illusion that the politicians who lead Europe’s nation states still hold the reins of power in a globalised world. He won on the false promise that Brexit allow the British people to “take back control”.

In his first interview of the new year with BBC Breakfast, Boris Johnson refused to rule out the UK and the EU failing to reach a trade deal by the end of 2020. Asked what the chances were of the two sides achieving a comprehensive trade deal by the end of 2020, the prime minister refused to give a percentage, but said it was 'very likely'. 

In the past, ministers including Michael Gove have categorically ruled out the UK and the EU failing to agree a trade deal by the end of the year. 

• Latest politics news - live updates

The two leaders may have attended the same school but they are treading a diplomatic minefield

If the European School in the leafy Uccle suburb of Brussels teaches its high-flying pupils anything, it is how to be diplomatic.

It came as little surprise then that a meeting of two of the Eurocrat school’s former pupils offered up broad smiles, oodles of platitudes and reminiscences over shared teachers but also a few gentle but pointed signals as to the hurdles of reaching a trade deal by the end of this year.

EU figures continue to express concern over limited time for talks during 11-month transition

Welcome to the Guardian’s weekly Brexit briefing. If you’d like to receive this as a weekly email, sign up here. You can catch our latest Brexit Means … podcast here, and for daily updates head to Andrew Sparrow’s politics live blog.

Boris Johnson refused to answer questions about claims he is on course to deliver a 'harder Brexit' after he altered his Brexit bill this week to make it unlawful for the government to extend the trade talks into 2021, giving negotiators an unprecedented 11 months to reach a free-trade agreement.

While visiting British troops in Estonia on Saturday, he would only say: 'What everybody wants to do is put Brexit behind us on 31 January and move on, and there’s a lot of goodwill and a lot of energy now about building the new deep and special partnership, and that’s what we’re going to do.'

• Johnson dances around Varadkar claims he is on 'hard' Brexit path

Key changes cut parliamentary scrutiny and point to Brexit being done Boris Johnson’s way

• Latest politics news - live updates

This is the second version of the withdrawal agreement bill, which was first published in October.

It is needed to enshrine the deal Boris Johnson struck with the EU in October in UK law and legitimise the transition period before full departure on 31 December 2020.

MPs vote to pass the revised withdrawal agreement bill by a comfortable margin, with 358 voting for and 234 against. 

The vote paves the way for Boris Johnson's promise that Britain would leave the European Union by 31 January

The prime minister opens the debate on the second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill, MPs’ first opportunity to vote on Brexit since the 2019 general election

• Brexit: PM asks Britons to 'move on' as MPs debate withdrawal bill

How events are likely to unfold as the UK enters an 11-month transition period from 31 January 2020

• Latest politics news - live updates

With the starting gun fired on the Brexit legislation’s journey through parliament, Brexit day is virtually guaranteed on 31 January.

While Boris Johnson agreed a deal with the EU last October, it does not have legal effect in UK courts until his withdrawal agreement bill (Wab) is passed.

Key bills include law to formally take UK out of EU, an immigration bill and law to guarantee level of NHS spending

• Politics latest - live news

Thursday’s Queen’s speech is Boris Johnson’s second in just over two months. The more than 30 pieces of legislation will be the basis of his political agenda for the year. Described as “radical” by the prime minister, it leads on his law to formally take the UK out of the EU. There are also plans to overhaul immigration and put into law investment in the NHS.

Workers’ rights, state aid and environment protections among EU conditions

• Politics latest - live news

Boris Johnson’s decision to outlaw an extension to the Brexit transition period is being widely seen as a purely political gesture. But it is a high-risk approach, which Theresa May’s former Brexit adviser Raoul Ruparel has said will lead to a “narrow and shallow” deal.

“A very narrow and shallow deal would not be very different to no deal and you would likely have to take some political pain to get it,” said Joe Owen, Brexit programme director at the Institute for Government, referring to the concessions Johnson’s would probably have to make.

The prime minister quoted Ronald Reagan as he addressed his new cabinet for the first time since the general election. Johnson told his ministers: 'We should have absolutely no embarrassment about saying we are a people’s government, this is a people’s cabinet, and we are going to be working on delivering the priorities of the British people. And that’s what they want us to do.'

• Brexit: Boris Johnson will amend bill to outlaw extension

PM says period of ‘vassalage’ should not extend beyond end of 2020 - but what does this mean?

• Latest politics news - live updates

Boris Johnson has said he will legislate to legally prohibit the government from agreeing to an extension of the 11-month transition period due to come into force after the UK formally leaves the EU on 31 January.

When the history of Brexit is written, the Lib Dems’ decision to let Johnson hold this election will be seen as a key strategic error.

The post Why we lost – and where we go from here appeared first on InFacts.

We can kick Johnson out. So brave the elements and vote for the candidates with the best chance of beating the Tories.

The post 7 reasons to vote Johnson out appeared first on InFacts.

Relying on the WTO for our trade was always a terrible idea. Now that the US president has ripped a hole in it, it’s economic suicide.

The post Trump sabotages Brexiters’ last-ditch safety net appeared first on InFacts.

Good news from YouGov poll is Tory lead is shrinking. Bad news is they are still ahead because too many pro-European votes are being wasted.

The post With a final tactical voting push, we can beat Johnson appeared first on InFacts.

A Tory victory means more chaos. The only way to end the arguments over Brexit and fix our real problems is to vote them out.

The post Johnson won’t stop the chaos – that’s just propaganda appeared first on InFacts.

Johnson yesterday hinted he would axe the licence fee. This had two purposes: cover up his NHS blunder and pummel the BBC into submission.

The post Tories bully BBC because it’s easily cowed appeared first on InFacts.

PM rips off Love Actually in his video but misses out the punch line: “Just because it’s Christmas and at Christmas you tell the truth.”

The post At Christmas you tell the truth, but not if you’re Johnson appeared first on InFacts.

Right-wing press has branded Corbyn unelectable. They are right - he is. Not for the reasons they suggest, but because of simple maths.

The post Don’t worry about voting tactically for Corbyn. He won’t win appeared first on InFacts.

To cover up Johnson’s NHS disaster, Tories fabricate story about Labour activist punching Hancock aide.

The post Tory “punch” propaganda backfires appeared first on InFacts.

Not only is Johnson lying about surrendering to the EU demand for an internal UK border, he isn’t ready to deliver a deal by December 2020.

The post Johnson’s dishonesty and disorganisation on Irish Sea border appeared first on InFacts.

In the weeks leading up to the general election triggered by the Brexit crisis, Phoebe Greenwood and Ekaterina Ochagavia have driven the length of the border that has proved one of the most contentious issues in the Brexit debate. We hear from the people living along it, and what they think is at stake in the election 

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over whether the future of Britain should be capitalist or socialist as they presented two wildly different visions for the country in the final leaders' debate. From austerity and the NHS to Brexit and racism, these are the highlights of the night

• Johnson v Corbyn: who won the day?
• BBC debate: Corbyn hits out at Johnson's ‘racist remarks’
  

The Labour leader has produced a leaked report on Northern Ireland and customs checks, describing it as 'cold hard evidence' that Boris Johnson has been misleading people about his Brexit deal. Corbyn revealed the confidential document, titled Northern Ireland Protocol: Unfettered Access to the UK Internal Market, at a press conference in central London on Friday.

• General election: Corbyn reveals 'confidential' Northern Ireland Brexit report – live news
  

Donald Trump has said he would not be interested in putting Britain's National Health Service (NHS) on the table during trade talks with the UK even if it was 'handed on a silver platter'.

Trump, who is in London for a Nato summit, said: 'We have absolutely nothing to do with [the NHS], and we wouldn't want to. If you handed it to us on a silver platter, we'd want nothing to do with it'

In his opening statement at the press conference, the prime minister made a pitch to Labour leavers with plans for more state aid and 'buy British' policies after Brexit. Boris Johnson said the government would adopt a more interventionist approach to business after Brexit, taking advantage of the fact the UK would not longer need to comply with EU state aid rules

Tees4Europe Chair Scott Hunter reflects on Andrew Adonis visiting his group, and how the group's youngest campaigner highlighted the one good thing about Brexit. 

On 16 September, Andrew Adonis kindly agreed to come to address an audience at an event hosted by Tees4Europe. We booked the hall, circulated tickets, picked Andrew up at the station, and   then promptly upstaged him. We had decided that among our other speakers there should be a young person. One name was suggested, and, without asking too many questions, we booked her. Millie, it turns out, was not the sixth former we were expecting. She is 14. It would be an exaggeration to say that at this point that I started to panic, but it certainly had me on edge. But I needn’t have worried.  In the space of five minutes, Millie spoke cogently on just about every Brexit-related topic you could think of. It was a breath-taking performance.  It hasn’t been easy to select highlights to present here, as there were so many, but here goes …

“As an aspiring Royal Navy engineer and somebody with a keen interest in STEM, standing for science, technology, engineering and maths, the effects of leaving the EU on the UK’s defence, military and STEM is of great concern to me. The EU’s member states work together on a number of defence-related issues, such as researching new defence technologies and joint military deployments. The UK contributes financial support to EU security activities, which fund numerous missions such as the combat of piracy off the Horn of Africa and the prevention of human trafficking in the Mediterranean to name but two. Therefore, it worries me deeply that our exit from the EU will damage both the UK’s military and defence, as well as that of the EU. We are stronger together; we are safer together …

“Now, there is one good thing about Brexit. I know, I know, I’ve been talking about what a disaster leaving the EU would be for the last 5 minutes, but don’t panic. In the past, I think young people have viewed politics as something they need to worry about when they’re older, and something for adults to deal with. Since the Brexit referendum, I believe that young people have become increasingly interested and invested in the politics that will affect their futures, and much more willing to make their voices heard…”

And thus Millie Sheridan brought the house down.

It is not over yet. We will keep fighting, but we need your help. 

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Or tell Boris Johnson that:

No Deal is not democracy

Despite some awful weather forecasts in the preceding days and the start of the school holidays, big crowds gathered at noon in Park Lane last Saturday. As publicity had been limited everyone was pleasantly surprised by the turnout - given the inevitably short timescale to protest against the seemingly unstoppable coronation of “Boris” -. Yet it was on a scale that enabled us all to march comfortably all the way to Parliament Square and hear the excellent speeches (and music!)

1066 Branch was delighted to have the new EM campaign banner – vividly stating “I’m a European!” It drew great attention as we waited in Park Lane. We were delighted to be joined by three ladies from Bath for Europe to help carry it – essential given the size! While we were waiting, we handed out huge wadges of the new EM leaflets round the March. They flew out of our hands!

A great aura permeated the warm streets of London – with a wonderful feeling of togetherness by an amazingly diverse crowd. But it was tinged with a slightly harder edge this time - people like us will not permit such a folly as Brexit to happen – many banners called for “revolt”.

Together, we marched to Parliament Square and managed to hold up our banner at the foot of the Churchill Statue. Judging by his great European speeches founding the European Movement, he would have approved thoroughly!

Most encouragingly, we Remainers are clearly getting kitted up for demos now – judging by the intensity of flags, hats, whistles etc. The whistling outside Downing Street was almost painful in its intensity. 

Graham Bishop is Vice-Chairman of European Movement UK and Board member of the Kangaroo Group.

Eastbourne European Movement Dinner July 2019

Clive Black was the speaker at our July dinner. He opened his talk by stating that the legal

services sector is a UK success story. It is the second largest legal services market in the

world, the largest within the EU, contributes over £26 billion to the economy and is the

jurisdiction of choice for international commercial transactions, dispute resolution and

arbitration.

Thanks to a series of ground-breaking directives which apply across the EU, law firms and

lawyers are granted many rights including being able to: practice as a solicitor on a

permanent basis, give advice on English, EU & international law, to appear in national and

European courts in conjunction with a local lawyer, and to requalify, without an equivalent

exam, after 3 years of practising host state law. He illustrated this liberating effect by stating

that it is easier for a lawyer qualified in Estonia to set up a legal practice in Portugal than it is

for a lawyer in New York State to set up practice at the California Bar.

He went on to explain the challenges Brexit poses to this remarkable achievement. After

Brexit, these ground-breaking directives which allow so much freedom, will be replaced by a

system whereby the professional bodies such as the Law Society and Bar Council may need

to negotiate with 31 national regimes, lawyers will face challenges over market access and

practice rights, individuals over judicial cooperation and the UK over its global status of

English and Welsh law.

He gave an analysis of the impact of Brexit on a number of scenarios including a ‘no deal’

Brexit which could cost the sector up to £3 billion by 2025. The impact could also mean that

judgements made in UK courts not being enforced in EU countries, consumers not being able

to enforce their contracts in EU states, difficulty in claiming for motor insurance accidents,

loss of cross border co-operation in family law matters and could lead to the end of

collaboration on security and policing. His talk gave a fascinating and informative insight

into the UK legal sector and how it might be impacted by Brexit.

Our next dinner is on 11 September where Prof Anwan-Scully will talk about Brexit and the

Disuniting Kingdom. If you would like to come along please call our Chair, Paula Welch on

07510 851722 or visit www.europeanmovementeastbourne.uk

Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London, was the speaker at our June dinner held at Eastbourne's Hydro Hotel and attended by over 80 members and their guests.

He opened his talk, ‘How to win a second referendum’ by saying that lessons needed to be drawn from the Leave and Remain campaigns of 2016. He looked at the reasons why the Leave campaign had won. In 2016 the campaign was at an immediate advantage following many years of negative messages in the media. Polls showed that the British never felt as European as other EU countries and politicians never made much of an effort to sell the upside of EU membership.

The message of ‘Take Back Control’ was simple and powerful as was the counter message ‘Project Fear’. The outcome of Brexit was deliberately vague so the Remain campaign found it difficult to counter. The Leave campaign was well planned, had charismatic leaders, very good data gathering and technical ability and was clever about using it, targeting people who wouldn’t normally vote.

He then looked at the reasons why the Remain campaign lost. It was predicted that Remain would win and it was just assumed that people would think the economic risk too high. The messages were complex and not easy to get across and the thrust of the campaign was overwhelmingly negative.

The Chancellor’s claim that each person would lose several thousand pounds was not credible. Many businesses did not want to come out publicly on the side of Remain. David Cameron made demands on the EU that were never going to be met. The campaign had no counter attack to the immigration issue. Jeremy Corbyn sat out the campaign and Labour voters were not given the cue from their party and the campaign did not target people who rarely vote.

Finally, he made suggestions that might help any future Remain campaign: use real working people, not celebrities, use simple, powerful messages about people who are disenfranchised, utilise SME rather than big businesses, don’t let outsiders get involved or interfere. The speaker at our next dinner on 10 July 2019 will be Clive Black talking about Brexit and the Business of Law.

If you would like to come along please call our Chair, Paula Welch on 07510 851722 or visit www.europeanmovementeastbourne.uk

Councillor Richard Thomas shares his experience of campaigning with the 1066 European Movement Branch in Bexhill.

The good news from Bexhill (one of the more strongly Leave supporting areas in the constituency) is overwhelming! When the 1066 branch did a Brexitometer Day in January, two options got quite strong support: No Deal and Remain, with Remain gaining the most support.  Opinion has shifted dramatically as No Deal is now rejected by 50:37. Staying in the EU is overwhelmingly favoured by at least twice as many people as in January. Moreover, support for a People’s Vote has nearly tripled since January. 

These are sensational results and undeniable evidence of very significant shifts in public opinion, reflecting both local and national efforts. So last Saturday was a massively rewarding day – see Brexitometer below. This was an incredibly encouraging result in the heart of a constituency that voted 58:42 to Leave, gave the Conservatives 67% of the 2017General Election vote, and 57% to hard Brexit parties at the European Parliament Election in May. 

Councillor Richard Thomas 

In Brussels this week to attend the 40^th anniversary of the Kangaroo Group – founded to provide the initial impetus to what became the Single Market just a few year later.

This week sees the 79th anniversary of the evacuation of 338,226 servicemen forming the backbone of the British army from Dunkirk. Officially known as Operation Dynamo; it is also described as the miracle of Dunkirk. The French port has found its way into the British conscience through the expression – the Dunkirk Spirit. A description of British ingenuity and resolve against adversity.

The polls failed to spot rising pro-Remain sentiment in May

London4Europe Committee member Michael Romberg compares the story told by the opinion polls for London with the actual results. A parallel blog published today looks at the results and asks What if?. A separate blog compares the results in 2019 with those in 2014.

1) The EU is history's most successful peace project

The EU was created to ensure peace in a continent torn by centuries of conflict that culminated in WW2. Within the European Economic Area, there has been no war since 1945; this peace, known as Pax Europaea (European peace), is the longest since the end of Pax Romana in 180 CE. For this achievement, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

Travelling with my parents from the age of 10, at first in France, was – I now understand – an instructive and exhilarating rebirth. People in villages, seeing our British car, would stop and wave the most joyous of welcomes, others – to our astonishment – would cross restaurants to shake us by the hand and thank us for liberating them.

To me, Europe Day represents something unique in the history of our continent - an unprecedented period of peaceful co-operation between peoples previously so often at war among themselves.

I was born in 1951, soon enough after the war to experience the black dread amongst all the "grown ups" I met at any enquiry about "what it was like in the olden days before I was born". Everyone had happy memories of the 20s and early 30s, but no one could speak of the War period at the end of the 30s and early 40s. During the war, my relatives, like many others, had met refugees from Europe, many of whom had left a big impression. Just down the road from where we lived was a Polish family, who had escaped the German invasion of their country to fight for the allies. "War heroes" we were told. It was clear that WWll was a war with Europe, not against Europe.

At European Movement, on Europe Day (9th May), we asked our members to let us know why that day is important to them. Here are some of their responses: 

"It is important because it gives us the opportunity to show that we are Europeans" - Vicky Seddon

"The UK is made up of many races. My own family tree is made up of Celts from North Wales, Irish from Cork, English and even some from Scandinavia. The country is more European than it realises." Kelvin Lewis 

"The reason that Europe is important to me is very simple... peace, cooperation and friendship" Derek Leak

"We organised a Europe Day discussion with pro-Remain MEP candidates in Derby (Green Party, Lib-Dems, and Change UK). We had invited Labour and Tory remainers, but Labour dithered and then declined at the last minute, and the Tories never replied. We focused on positive reasons to vote in the election, the role of an MEP, what they can achieve, what they can do for their regions, and what the new Parliament might do in the next 5 years." Simon, European Movement Derbyshire 

Image provided by Simon from European Movement Derbyshire

First Epping Forest, then the world

London4Europe Committee Member Michael Romberg writes.

London4Europe's Chair, Richard Newcombe, moonlights as Chair of EM Waltham Forest 4 Europe. In that capacity he wrote recently to the Epping Forest Guardian calling for a referendum under the banner We need to know the will of the people in 2019. 

The local press - both on paper and online - is an under-utilised resource for Remain campaigners. Local press is seen as a surprisingly trustworthy source of local news according to a survey undertaken for local press campaign group Local Media Works. The tables have not been published. But it was undertaken by Yougov - so there will be some foundation to the claim. 

We have to win the argument with Leave voters who believe that the EU’s refusal to give the UK the sort of deal promised by Brexit campaigners is a punishment. London4Europe Committee member Michael Romberg writes

Punish v tr 1. Cause an offender to suffer for an offence. 2. Inflict a penalty for an offence (Concise Oxford Dictionary)

For such a widespread idea, it is quite hard to pin down what it means. It is easy enough to find the EU’s motivation to which it refers: the EU could not let the UK leave the EU and retain all the benefits of club membership without club obligations. Tick; that must be true – but is not of course punishment. Those who use the punish motif also refer to human emotions: annoyance at the affront to the EU’s self-esteem, say. Maybe; though it is hard to believe that would survive the reality of trade talks.

L4E secretary Andy Pye talks to his friend and former business colleague Chris Rand, who came down from Cambridge to experience his first London march for the People's Vote campaign.

The campaign is now more than a protest. We are, as Mike Galsworthy says, building a community. A community which is based on a solid foundation, is here to stay and will sustain until the end of the Brexit episode. It is a community which can put comfortably over a million like-minded people onto the streets of London. A community which is based on a solid foundation, is here to stay and will sustain until the end of the Brexit episode. It is a community which can put comfortably over a million like-minded people onto the streets of London.  How extraordinary that as many as 1 in 40 of the entire population of the UK took time off to visit London and protest - just think of what that means.

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.

Join us on the march for a People’s Vote on the 23 March in central London and show again that the will of the people is now to get a vote on the final Brexit deal. 

History is unfolding in front of our eyes, dizzyingly fast and with all the votes, amendments and amended amendments it can be easy to lose track of where we are and the fact remaining is still possible. This last week in Parliament, through all of the twists and turns of voices and votes lost, a couple of things are clear.

Sovereignty, freedom of movement, national identity

London4Europe Committee member Michael Romberg sets out the case. The harms of Brexit are real but we have a positive case to argue for. Economic prosperity is important but still just a means to an end. Leavers are right in this: the EU is a political project; the issues that matter are sovereignty, democracy, freedom, sense of community with particular reference to freedom of movement, sense of national identity. 

A huge Government defeat but not yet a victory

Charles Parselle reviews the government’s latest defeat and asks what will it take for MPs, so confident in their own ability to vote and vote again, to trust the electorate on whose behalf they supposedly hold their positions.