Prime minister will have to decide whether to carry through with call for election if EU offers lengthy extension

• MPs reject Boris Johnson’s attempt to fast-track Brexit deal
• Labour to back general election once EU approves delay
• What happened last night and what comes next?

1.09pm BST

The home secretary, Priti Patel, just read a statement to the Commons on the discovery of 39 bodies in a shipping container in Essex. She said that police were called to an industrial park at 1.40am. The bodies of 38 adults and one teenager were found. The vehicle is believed to be from Bulgaria and entered the country at Holyhead. A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

I think the whole house will agree that this is a truly shocking incident. My thoughts and my condolences are with the victims and their loved ones at this utterly terrible time and I’m sure the whole house will also convey their condolences at this sad time.

12.53pm BST

Here’s our story on that meeting between the prime minister and Jeremy Corbyn.

Related: Johnson and Corbyn fail to agree timetable for 'paused' Brexit bill

PM and Labour leader hold meeting but fail to agree way forward for withdrawal agreement bill

• Brexit latest - live

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have failed to agree a timetable for pressing ahead with the “paused” Brexit bill at a meeting.

Despite the prime minister’s threat on Tuesday to pull the withdrawal agreement bill (Wab) and press for a general election if MPs rejected his fast-track timetable for approving the legislation, Downing Street confirmed that the pair had met.

How European leaders are responding to recent developments in Westminster

• The day’s political news – live

After MPs voted against Boris Johnson’s accelerated timetable for passing the Brexit withdrawal bill through the Commons, the prime minister said he would pause the legislative process. Johnson insisted MPs were not seeking to scrutinise the bill but merely to block his plans to leave the EU by 31 October. He said he did not want a delay and would continue to talk with EU27 leaders until they decided whether or not to grant one. Downing Street sources said if the government was forced to agree to an extension up to 31 January, as stipulated under the Benn act, Johnson would seek a general election. Important note: the new exit date of 31 January proposed in Johnson’s request is “fungible” (a term inherited by the EU from Theresa May’s Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins), meaning it can be traded away for an earlier end date, if the bill is ratified ahead of time.

Irish PM and head of European parliament give their support to three-month extension

• Latest Brexit developments – live updates

The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and the European parliament’s president have backed Donald Tusk’s call to grant the UK government a Brexit delay up to 31 January 2020.

Following a phone call between Tusk, the president of the European council, and Varadkar on Wednesday morning, the two men agreed the EU27 should agree to the request reluctantly tabled by Boris Johnson on Saturday.

Johnson isn’t just risking Northern Ireland by agreeing border controls in Irish Sea. He’s threatening Scotland and Wales.

The post PM is shaking the UK to its foundations appeared first on InFacts.

Your reactions below the line to the government winning one vote but losing another

• Latest Brexit developments – live updates

I’m sure I heard Boris talk of scrapping the bill – but now it’s a pause? Maybe that idea has gone under the cardboard bus as well as Boris. I, for one, cannot stand more months of this pissing about. It’s affecting my mental health, and probably [that of] many others in the country. Call a second referendum and scrap this bill. How can any of this possibly be better than where we are now? The government has proposed no financial, economic and wellbeing benefits for leaving the EU in this state. AnotherAlan

In a vain attempt to ram through his deal, the PM yesterday told another pack of untruths and made yet more fishy promises. We expose them.

The post 6 more porkies and 6 more fishy promises from Johnson appeared first on InFacts.

It has gone horribly wrong from the very beginning and yet it just keeping going painfully, hilariously on and on and on

• Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
• Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

MPs blamed for letting Boris Johnson nudge his deal forward but blocking his self-imposed deadline

With the complexity of a Brexit delayed but not denied to cover, Wednesday’s papers worked hard to make sense of Boris Johnson’s latest setback, with Parliament bearing the brunt of the criticism.

The Daily Telegraph leads with “Brexit is in purgatory” after MPs thwarted Johnson’s “do or die” pledge to leave the EU at the end of October. Later versions of the story say the PM has “put Britain on a general election footing” after the latest setback, in which MPs refused to allow him to rush through the legislation without proper scrutiny. The Matt cartoon riffs off the Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot.

Parliament votes to reject government’s timetable for passage of bill that would implement Brexit deal

• Tusk: EU likely to grant extension
• Withdrawal bill: what does it say?
  

10.39pm BST

That’s all from us this evening. Here’s a summary of the day’s events:

Related: MPs reject Boris Johnson's attempt to fast-track Brexit deal

10.23pm BST

If, as expected, Brexit is delayed until the end of January, a general election would have to follow, the Press Association reports, citing an unnamed No 10 source.

Parliament and Corbyn have repeatedly voted for delay. On Saturday, parliament asked for a delay until January and, today, parliament blew its last chance. If parliament’s delay is agreed by Brussels, then the only way the country can move on is with an election. This parliament is broken.

The public will have to choose whether they want to get Brexit done with Boris or whether they want to spend 2020 having two referendums on Brexit and Scotland with Corbyn.

No10 source tonight.

Three points.

1). Parliament hasn’t blown its last chance. The 31st deadline was set by Brussels. The PM has said it’s his final deadline but Brussels is open to an extension.

2). Benn Act was passed by MPs but PM sent the letter.

1/ pic.twitter.com/FywKxdufYM

Johnson is the author of his own misfortune. He only tried to bounce his deal through parliament because he knows it will not withstand scrutiny. A Brexit deal driven by the ideology of deregulation must be stopped.

Former chancellor and eight other independents help ensure effort to rush deal fails

Philip Hammond led a group of nine Tory independents in torpedoing Boris Johnson’s plans to rush through his Brexit deal in three days, in a sign that they were unconvinced by a promise to give parliament a vote on stopping a crash-out in 2020.

The group of independents, who had the whip withdrawn for voting to block a no-deal Brexit last month, were instrumental in the failure of Johnson’s bid to accelerate his legislation on Tuesday night.

It’s hard to tell which is more scary: the PM giving an impression of empathy, or in narcissistic meltdown after losing a vote

Sulk wants. Sulk must have. Sulk can’t have. Sulk angry. Sulk throws toys out of pram. Sulk wants Mummy. Classic Boris. Classic Dom.

This wasn’t how it was meant to be. Boris Johnson had imagined himself as the nation’s saviour. The gaslighter-in-chief who had gone out of his way to bring a country to its knees was now on the verge of leading it to a Promised Land. OK, it wasn’t really much of a Promised Land. More of a shithole really. But from where the country was standing right now any shithole could be confused for a Promised Land.

Opposition MPs react after parliament voted against Boris Johnson's extremely tight Brexit bill timetable, which the government said was necessary to reach the prime minister’s target of leaving the EU on 31 October. 

Jeremy Corbyn said MPs had ‘refused to be bounced’ into debating the deal over just two days, while the Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told Johnson to secure an extension to the Brexit process in order to hold a people's vote, allow proper scrutiny of his bill or hold a general election.

Donald Tusk says ‘we should treat the British request for an extension in all seriousness’

The EU is set to accept the Boris Johnson’s reluctant request for a Brexit delay up to 31 January with the option of leaving earlier after Donald Tusk said he would recommend to heads of state and government that they sign it off without need for a summit.

“Following PM’s decision to pause the process of ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, and in order to avoid a no-deal #Brexit, I will recommend the EU27 accept the UK request for an extension,” Tusk tweeted. “For this I will propose a written procedure.”

MPs have voted for the bill to go forward, but that doesn’t mean they all back it – or that the saga is ending any time soon

It’s not over. For a few anxious, or jubilant - depending on which tribe you belong to – minutes between 7.15pm and 7.30pm, it seemed as if the Brexit saga might just be on the verge of resolution, after three and a half agonisingly long years. The House of Commons voted to allow Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement bill to advance to the next stage, a prize that had eluded Theresa May not once, not twice, but three times.

What’s more, MPs gave it a green light more emphatically than even the most ardent Brexiters had dared hope. While May had been crushed by triple-figure majorities, Johnson won his meaningful vote by 329 to 299 votes, a majority of 30. Put another way, and as if to reflect this divided nation through what have become the defining numbers of the Brexit era, he won by 52% to 48%.

Boris Johnson won one vote and lost another over the withdrawal agreement bill

In brief: the bill seeking to put into law Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal was passed by MPs on its second reading, the initial opportunity that MPs have to vote on a bill. It passed by 329 votes to 299, the first time the Commons has formally approved a Brexit plan. However, only 20 minutes later, MPs rejected the government’s so-called programme motion, which set out the accelerated timetable for the bill, by 308 votes in favour to 322 against.

The House of Commons last night successfully put the brakes on the prime minister’s attempt to deliver Brexit at breakneck speed. Parliament must now attempt to steer Britain away from the rocks of a Brexit deal which was hastily conceived and which, if enacted, would leave the country to repent at leisure. Boris Johnson will claim, with justification, that the backing by MPs of a second reading for his withdrawal bill, by a majority of 30, was a significant victory. After all, Theresa May never managed as much. But the defeat of the government’s programme motion by 322 votes to 308 means that the prime minister will not be able to force MPs to vote on it by Thursday evening.

Having failed to rush his legislation through parliament, Mr Johnson has announced his intention to pause it, while the EU considers the request that he was forced to send for an extension beyond the 31 October deadline for Brexit. The prime minister will urge Brussels to make that extension short. Whatever its length, MPs who oppose his version of Brexit, which pushes the country towards a deregulated, disunited and poorer future, must now use the time to devise a coherent cross-party plan to achieve a better outcome. The Labour MPs who voted for a second reading of Mr Johnson’s bill will receive fierce criticism. But most did so not because they back Mr Johnson’s deal, but with the intention of amending and softening it, perhaps through a customs union. All options and potential compromises must now be explored by the opposition parties, because Mr Johnson’s version of Brexit cannot be allowed to stand.

MPs have foiled PM’s plot to ram his deal through the Commons in three days. Now we have time to expose its flaws.

The post Now let’s strip the lipstick off Johnson’s pig of a deal appeared first on InFacts.

PM fails to restrict scrutiny of bill to just three days in effort to meet 31 October deadline

Boris Johnson’s plan to fast-track his Brexit deal through parliament in time for next week’s 31 October deadline was blocked by MPs on Tuesday night, even after he threatened to pull it and press for a general election.

The prime minister said he would speak to EU leaders and urge them not to agree to a prolonged Brexit extension after former Tory cabinet ministers Philip Hammond and Rory Stewart joined with Labour to inflict a humiliating defeat on the government.

Boris Johnson has confirmed he will set aside the bill that would implement his Brexit deal, despite the fact the Commons has backed it by 329 votes to 299, after his proposal to fast-track it through parliament was rejected by MPs.

MPs voted to reject the government’s timetable for the passage of the bill that would implement the prime minister’s Brexit deal. They voted against by 322 to 308; a majority of 14.

The prime minister said he does not want a delay and will continue to discuss with EU27 leaders until they decide whether or not to grant one

Among the ‘smashed avocado metro-elite’ is a generation of young people radicalised by Brexit

A remainer was once defined as a voter who wanted the UK to stay in the EU. Then the term got looser, scooping up politicians who pledged to fulfil the referendum mandate while failing some other test of Eurosceptic rigour.

Even some of the MPs who endorsed Boris Johnson’s deal on Tuesday night, bringing Britain far closer to the Brexit point of no return than it came when Theresa May was in Downing Street, will not qualify for True Leaver status; not in the eyes of zealous anti-Brussels puritans.

Karl Turner, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, likened how long it took him and his wife to choose a sofa to the length of time given to MPs to debate Boris Johnson's Brexit bill. Turner said MPs required more time to debate 'this incredibly important bill', adding that Nikki da Costa, the PM's legislative adviser, had suggested the House needed at least four weeks to consider the legislation

The many thousands of civil servants who, like me, work on no-deal Brexit preparations know that Twitter is increasingly a more reliable guide to what’s about to go down than anything our bamboozled civil service bosses pass on to us. This is partly the result of a prime minister whose showmanship has turned zombie and started gorging itself on our institutions, and partly the result of the fact that we just can’t seem to get enough of it. The conventions of political theatre – not proper risk management – are now ensorcelling hundreds more staff into Operation Yellowhammer, the government’s planning for a no-deal Brexit, as Michael Gove so portentously announced to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday.

The official reason we are given for this new phase is that the UK, thanks to its self-hating parliament, can’t be sure that the EU will grant a Brexit extension, thus making no deal more likely. But the real reason, of course, is to help to terrify craven MPs into voting for the deal by carrying out a pre-Halloween dress rehearsal of what no deal will actually feel like.

Hopes for a second referendum on Brexit are receding, as more and more Tories show their true colours and fall in line behind Boris Johnson and his controversial deal. They have passed through all the stages of grief to arrive at acceptance of a Brexit that they know will make Britain poorer and weaker. One of their leading lights, the former home secretary Amber Rudd, explicitly acknowledged that the deal would “hurt the economy” – but she said “it’s the right thing to do because we had a referendum”.

Related: Johnson threatens to scrap Brexit bill and seek election before Christmas

The prime minister said he would abandon his Brexit bill and call for a general election if MPs voted down the government’s three-day timetable. Johnson told parliament if the programme was rejected and the EU confirmed a delay to the 31 October exit, he would instead push for a general election

There’s more to life than money. Or to be more specific, your money, along with your job and any public services you may be unlucky enough to rely on.

That was the gist of Sajid Javid’s extraordinarily ill-judged letter to the Treasury select committee, in which he grandly declined to provide it with a proper analysis of how Boris Johnson’s last-minute Brexit deal will affect the economy. There is more to delivering Brexit than “spreadsheets or impact assessments”, said the man whose actual job is making such assessments so the rest of us know where our money’s going, because really this is about securing voters’ trust in politicians. What happens to trust if the economy craters because MPs were intimidated into blindly backing Brexit without understanding the consequences? Well, let’s hope we’re not about to find out.

Last night the PM published 115 pages of turgid text he wants MPs to agree in 3 days. We’ve waded through as much of it as we can.

The post 7 horrors in Johnson’s Brexit bill appeared first on InFacts.

PM wants MPs to pass the “WAB” in 3 days. This is an abomination. MPs and peers have ways to ensure proper scrutiny. They should take them.

The post 8 hurdles Johnson has to jump to ram through his Brexit Bill appeared first on InFacts.

Although Boris Johnson was left frustrated after days of drama, all is not lost for him

• Latest Brexit news - live updates

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

Jean-Claude Juncker has spoken in the European parliament as his five-year term as president of the European commission comes to an end. He said Brexit had been a waste of time and a waste of energy and that Brussels would be watching Westminster closely as it votes on a withdrawal agreement. Boris Johnson will make a final attempt on Tuesday to force his deal through by 31 October

• Brexit: Johnson launches final bid to get UK to leave EU on 31 October - live news

The Speaker has refused to hold another vote on Boris Johnson's Brexit deal in the Commons on Monday, saying it would be 'repetitive and disorderly'.

John Bercow said it would break a 1604 convention for MPs to debate and vote on the deal, little more than two days after Saturday’s 'super sitting'. The convention was aimed at ensuring the 'sensible use of the house's time and proper respect for the decisions that it takes', he added

Speaker blocking second Brexit deal debate plays into PM’s ‘people v parliament’ narrative

Yet another potential crunch day for Brexit in the Commons has proved less decisive than it might have been. So what do we know?

By saying he won’t extend transition, PM is putting UK in awful position for trade talks. How can any Labour MP or moderate Tory back him?

The post Johnson’s deal means crash-out in a year or a crap FTA appeared first on InFacts.

Could the Commons back PM’s deal, an all-UK customs union or a second referendum?

• Latest Brexit news: live updates

As the longstanding political maxim goes, the first rule of being a party whip is knowing how to count. There will be a lot of totting-up of votes this week as MPs consider Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and a series of possible amendments to it.

There are 650 MPs in the Commons, but with the seven non-sitting Sinn Féin representatives, as well as the Speaker, John Bercow, and his two deputies not taking part in votes, the magic number for any victory is 320.

Boris Johnson told Parliament a pack of untruths & sprayed around false promises. But some former Tory MPs plan to back his terrible divorce deal. They shouldn't.

The post PM’s new 3 untruths and 2 promises appeared first on InFacts.

Despite his latest defeat, PM intends to bring withdrawal bill to the Commons within days

• Latest Brexit developments – live updates

The prime minister tried to have a meaningful yes/no vote on his Brexit deal on Saturday, but parliament passed an amendment withholding support until full legislation on the withdrawal agreement has been scrutinised. This meant he had to send a letter to the EU requesting a three-month extension to article 50.

The shadow Brexit secretary told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show that his party could vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal if a second referendum was added to the withdrawal agreement bill. His party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has previously said Labour could not vote for Johnson’s deal even with a promise of a second referendum

• Labour could back Brexit bill if second referendum attached, says Starmer

The chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, has told Sky News's Ridge on Sunday that despite the prime minister being forced to send a letter to the EU requesting a further Brexit delay, the UK will leave by 31 October. He said the government had 'the means and ability to do so'

• Brexit: Johnson sends unsigned letter asking for delay, and second arguing against it

From morris dancers to a man dressed as death and everyone in between: the Guardian followed anti-Brexit protesters in London on Saturday as they marched to demand a fresh referendum. Organisers of the march said the turnout was comparable to that of another second referendum rally six months ago when a million people gathered in the capital

• People’s Vote march: from every corner of the land they came to join a very British rebellion in the rain

Boris Johnson has suffered another defeat in the Commons after MPs voted by 322 to 306 for the backbench Letwin amendment to withhold final approval for the PM's Brexit deal until relevant legislation has passed. Meanwhile, an estimated one million people marched on Parliament Square to demand a second referendum 

• No delays, vows Johnson after humiliating Commons defeat
• What does the Letwin amendment mean for Brexit timetable?
• March organisers hail ‘one of the greatest protest marches in British history’

Will Boris Johnson still try to get his deal through – and will he ask the EU for an extension?

What happens now the Letwin amendment has passed?

The former Tory minister Oliver Letwin’s amendment passed 322 to 306. This means Boris Johnson did not get the clean yes or no vote on his Brexit deal that he had hoped for in Saturday’s “super sitting” and must by law request an extension. In short, it pushes the focus of Brexit decision-making into next week.

Johnson is twice a loser. He failed to get his deal through Parliament and now must ask EU for extra time, something he said he’d never do.

The post Momentum is now with a People’s Vote appeared first on InFacts.

What are the Letwin and Kyle amendments to the PM’s deal being put before the Commons?

• Latest Brexit news - live updates

MPs have a packed timetable for “super Saturday” – the first time the Commons has met on a Saturday since 1982.

The PM’s Brexit plan loosens the economic ties to the EU, so what would be the impact?

• Latest Brexit news - live updates

The PM’s renegotiated deal opens the way to a much looser relationship with the EU than envisaged by his predecessor, Theresa May, and allows for more “divergence” with EU regulations.

PM’s attempt to bounce through Parliament tomorrow a momentous decision determining many aspects of our lives is outrageous.

The post Johnson treats UK like a banana republic appeared first on InFacts.

Turn up and march on Parliament Square just as MPs decide our nation’s future. People power can make a difference.

The post 5 reasons to join tomorrow’s march appeared first on InFacts.

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. 

Donate Join Us

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.