Let’s Make Sure Brexit Isn’t Ignored This Election

The general election is upon us. The British public deserve honesty on the issues defining our lives. So why are our politicians completely mute on Brexit?

Time is running out: we need to work together to pressure our politicians to come clean with voters on Brexit. Leaving the EU has hurt our country in so many ways, but our major parties won’t commit to plans to address this damage.

Donate to our urgent campaign fund to get Brexit onto the agenda at the general election and beyond.

Voters deserve a choice on Europe

This is the first election since we left the EU and only a fool could ignore that. Our economy, workers’ rights, environmental protections and global reputation have gone up in smoke. And 55% of Britons regret leaving the EU*.

*(Statista polling, Feb 2024)

We need to know how any new government will fix this mess. Which of our vital rights will they reinstate? How will they rebuild relations in the EU? And what European values do they share?

With the British public on our side and the soul of our nation at stake, it shouldn’t be controversial to talk about improving our relationship with Europe. In fact, it’s wildly irresponsible not to.

Yet Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are desperate to avoid the subject. They’re treating it as a taboo subject, despite Brexit’s huge impacts on our economy, our quality of life, and our international standing. It’s the elephant in the room.

When voters come to cast their ballots in the general election, the millions of us who believe Brexit was a mistake deserve to see our views represented. But because of the political silence from mainstream parties, we are being denied a choice.

We are stronger, more prosperous, and have more influence when we work with our neighbours. 

Let’s not beat around the bush - voting to leave the EU in 2016 was a catastrophic decision, exacerbated by the chaotic, hard Brexit delivered by our government.

In post-Brexit Britain, we are all paying the price of leaving. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says that economic productivity is down even more than expected, whilst our trade is down 15% and investment in the UK is now the lowest in the G7. 

As a result, businesses are struggling, crippled by extra bureaucracy, import costs and . Food prices are higher.

In the NHS, medicine shortages have become the norm. Our live music sector is drowning in red tape. Young people have been robbed of the opportunities to study, work and travel across Europe that previous generations enjoyed.

The list goes on. Yet all we hear from political leaders are tepid promises to ‘make Brexit work’. This isn’t good enough. 

During the 6-week election campaign, we have a crucial opportunity to put our message in front of politicians and make sure they can’t keep burying their heads in the sand.

Addressing Brexit damage must be a priority for the next Parliament. The groundwork to make that happen starts now.

Over the coming weeks, we will:

• Launch a mass lobbying action of political candidates, to make sure they know how important addressing Brexit is to voters
• Create a ‘Manifesto for Europe’ with key policy asks for the next government
• Equip our network of local groups and activists with the tools they need to campaign on the ground 
• Bring together pro-European politicians from across the spectrum to create a powerful network to lobby for change
• Amplify the stories of businesses across the UK to highlight the negative impacts Brexit is having on our economy
• Support efforts to mobilise British citizens living in Europe to vote and have their voices heard
• Keep on pushing to reclaim rights and freedoms that Brexit took from us, such as access to Erasmus+, and;
• Ramp up our press and creative campaigning to reach more of the public with our positive, pro-European message.

All this will take focus and resources to deliver.  We have the facts on our side, an army of local activists and volunteers behind us, and a best-in-class professional campaigns team poised to deliver this work. We just need to raise the funds to make sure we can get our message across and have real impact in this critical period.

The European Movement isn’t funded by big donors or shady behind-the-scenes lobbyists. Instead, we are made up of thousands of people across the UK who care about what Brexit has done to our country and are willing to chip in to help, whether it’s a lot or a little. 

We are a cross-party movement, home to everyone who shares our pro-European vision. As the polls show, more and more people are coming over to our side. Many people who voted to Leave now realise they were misled. Our membership is increasing. Our critical mass is building. 

But our campaign has powerful well-funded opponents who want to isolate our country further to serve their own narrow interests, and will block any efforts to rebuild ties with Europe. So we have to be ready, to use our collective power, and work together to make sure they don’t succeed, this time around.

There is a way forward. Together, we can rebuild our country from the toxic Brexit years, take practical steps to restore trade and cooperation with our neighbours, and unite around a more hopeful, collaborative European vision for the future. But first, we have to get our politicians to listen. Your donation will help make this happen.