BRITS living in Spain are on their way home after joining the 670,000-strong People’s Vote march in central London calling for the public to have a final say on any Brexit deal – and for this vote to include an option to remain in the European Union. Bremain in Spain, a campaign group fighting Brexit with over 5,200 members on its Facebook site, joined the march with their slogan ‘Brexit is Bonkers’ and wore yellow baseball caps and blue T-shirts.
Many of Bremain in Spain’s members and supporters have begun posting their own photographs of the day’s march on social media, which show a wealth of imagination among remainers. The most-liked so far reads: “My mother-in-law lives in Spain. Please don’t make them send her back here!”, while other popular banners read: “Even Baldrick had a plan;” “Jacob’s Crackers,” in the style of the popular water biscuits and referring to Tory hard-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg; “Ikea has better cabinets;” “Nice one, Dave,” referring to British prime minister David Cameron who held the referendum on leaving or remaining in the EU; “June 24, 2016: Worst hangover ever,” referring to the day after the referendum; “This is the worst trade negotiation since Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,” and even, “This is like when Geri overestimated her viability as a solo artist and left the Spice Girls;” although the latter may not be the best analogy, given that Geri Halliwell had two number one singles and two best-selling albums within as many years of leaving the band.
A mother and daughter walked side by side carrying blue banners with the EU sign of a ring of yellow stars, the mother’s reading: “Pulling out doesn’t work,” and the daughter’s, with an arrow pointing to her mother, reading: “My mum.”
A counter-protest by the pro-Brexit association Leave Means Leave attracted just 1,200 marchers, whilst the People’s Vote march filled the streets wall-to-wall from Marble Arch to the British Parliament building.
Read full article in Think Spain…
Harry Shindler MBE emailed us today to send the following message to supporters of the Votes for Life campaign. His case will be heard at the European Court of Justice on November 26 2018.
Summary from the Action for Expats Crowdjustice page –
The ruling given on 26th November in Luxembourg is disappointing. “Catch 22” one might say. It can be read in full HERE.
To summarise: the service of Article 50 Notice and the negotiations have not resulted in any loss of citizen rights since the final agreement is not yet signed and there has been no ‘final act’. The Article 50 Notice is only ‘preparatory’. So the court cannot make any ruling until the rights have been lost (!).
By that time the UK will be out of the EU. Catch 22 indeed.
Note however that the ruling implicitly admits that the Article 50 Notice itself is NOT a final act, merely preparatory. That may be of some help to the Maugham case currently being heard in the CJEU.
It is astonishing that the judges made no mention of the core claim of the case: the discrimination against those UK citizens who were denied a vote in the 2016 referendum. Surely this is matter of EU law in itself , and should not depend on proof of loss of other rights?
Julien Fouchet will be submitting an urgent appeal to the Court against its ruling of 26 November within the next few days. We need to raise more funds. The target will be increased to £60,000. Please support if you can, and share this call for funds with others. Thanks from all at the AFEV team. Harry Shindler never gives up, nor will we!
You can read the ruling in full by clicking here and The Guardian’s report on the ruling here.
Following on from the incredible success of the People’s Vote March on Oct 20th 2018, we at Bremain in Spain want to provide you with all the information and tools required to ensure that we keep up the pressure and momentum to secure a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal, with the option to Remain.
We need the support of all of our members and to make things easier, we have brought together links to all current and upcoming campaigns and events. You can choose to participate in as many as you would like, but would suggest that you join in all. Please don’t forget to share far and wide with family and friends – just copy and paste the link into your Facebook timeline or share it on Twitter.
This video below will hopefully motivate you to get writing and clicking! All of the links from the video are listed underneath.
Best for Britain – Demand a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal – with an option to Remain – by writing to your MP today.
Your voice counts.Tell your MP you want a Final Say on Brexit by leaving a Voicemail.
Politicians have had two and a half years to make Brexit work. Parliament is deadlocked. The best way forward is to take this decision back and let the British people vote. It is time to let us decide.
I want the final say on our terms with the EU, with an option to stay in.
People, not politicians, must have the final say.
Write this Wrong – MPs will vote on the final Brexit deal in just a few weeks. It looks like it’ll either be a bad one or no deal at all.
But there’s another option – a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal. So we can judge for ourselves whether it’s what we were promised.
They’ll only do it if they feel enough pressure from voters. So take a minute now to email your MP:
Personalise the template email. Even just a sentence on why you want a vote.
Include your full address. So your MP knows you live in their area. Be polite…. Your MP is more likely to respond.
Not Buying It – Write to your MP today. People’s Vote have made it really easy:
1 Tell them what worries you most about the Government’s miserable deal
2 They’ll personalise a message for your MP
Write to any Peer
Beginning of email/letter… Dear Lord/Lady X
End of email/letter… Yours sincerely
Envelope… The (Rt Hon. the) Lord/Baroness X
Address your email to a specific member and send to: contactholmember@parliament.uk
Bulk emails to members are not accepted. If more than six copies of the same email are received, all will be deleted and you can only send six per day.
There is a list of some Peers’ personal email addresses in the Files section of the Bremain Facebook Group.
People’s Vote Petition
We, the undersigned, demand a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal.
The Independent Petition
In 2016, the people were given their say on the principle of whether to stay in the EU or leave.
Now the facts are becoming clearer, it’s time for the people to have the final say on the real deal – before it’s too late.
Christian Broughton, Editor, The Independent
The Independent Final Say Petition
Some further useful lobbying tips:
Write a personal message and send it directly to your MP, explaining how Brexit affects you and your family and be clear about the action you are asking them to take, e.g. support a #PeoplesVote referendum, support the Overseas Electors Bills. Ask what you can do to support them to back you. Please also cc the Chief Whips – Julian Smith ( julian.smith.mp@parliament.co.uk ) for the Conservatives and Nick Brown (nick.brown.mp@parliament.co.uk ) for Labour.
Here are some quick and effective golden rules to mention in your letter:
‘As a British citizen living in Spain, I, like many others, have no representative in Parliament. Therefore, whilst I appreciate that you are under no obligation to reply to communication from anyone who is not a member of your constituency, I would ask you to make an exception.’
You could also add that you still have influence in their constituency as you have family & friends living there.
Writing directly to your representative is one of the most effective means of making your voice heard, and is vitally important at this late stage. If you have already written – your job is to ask as many friends and family members to write too. Offer to help them, show them a copy of your letter, do everything you can to make them pick up a pen (or open their laptops) and get them to write.
If you don’t get a reply, don’t give up and write again. Keeping in regular touch over Brexit is a good idea so keep their inbox full. Just because they may not have responded does not mean that they have not taken notice. The more correspondence they receive, the more concerned they are likely to be.
If you are a member of a political party, you have the right to contact the party Leader directly. As a British citizen, you have the right to contact any member of the Cabinet & Shadow Cabinet – you just need to be clear that you are writing to them in their official capacity i.e. Dear Mr Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.
While many people dismiss local media as no longer relevant, we can be sure of two things:
MPs read and pay attention to it.
17% of people in the UK get almost all of their news from local print media.Almost one in five (17%) use printed local or regional newspapers and one in seven (15%) say they use social media for local news.
Because of this, it’s important that we engage local press and it’s easier than you’d think.
Firstly, make a note of your local papers and how you can get in touch both by email and on the phone. Use a search engine like Google to find the local paper relevant to your U.K. constituency. Next, we can do two things:
Make the local press aware of actions you’re taking as part of Bremain in Spain to
fight for a No Brexit/peoplesvote/Votes for Life option to be on the table.Make sure you mention that you’re disappointed if your MP hasn’t publicly supported a No Brexit option.
Write in to your local paper’s opinion page expressing your unhappiness if your MP hasn’t publicly supported keeping the option of No Brexit/People’s Vote on the table. Talk about how Brexit is affecting you and your family and why you’re disappointed in your MP. The more personal, the better. If they are supportive, then it’s always good to thank them publicly. You can also mention you’re a member of Bremain in Spain.
While you may already be connected with Bremain in Spain on social media, if you’re not already, a great way to influence your friends and family is to share our posts and add your reasons for sharing. You can share articles directly from our public Facebook Page, website or any article once opened in our closed Facebook group. Don’t forget to like and share friends’ posts.
Think about beginning the post with something neutral that personalises the piece like “this matters to me because” or “this is a really interesting read because” as opposed to starters like “another obvious reason why we shouldn’t leave.” We want to try and open up space for a conversation and not shut it down.
If friends and family comment, decide whether it’s helpful to have an exchange or just let it go. This can be the hardest thing to do (we all feel passionately!) but sometimes it’s the best way.
You can check our social media profiles regularly for new content.
If you don’t already, follow us on Twitter (@Bremaininspain) and like and follow our Facebook Page. Join Bremain as a member and receive our monthly newsletter – Bremain in Spain
Here’s a link to all Brexit related petitions: Brexit Petitions
There are several extremely important Court cases coming up and we would ask that you support them as much as possible either financially by donating or sharing on social media:
Action for Expat Votes – being heard in the EU court in Luxembourg on 26th November, which is fighting for those who could not vote in 2016 and are EU citizens. If this court case wins – a BIG problem for Brexit. This is the case involving Harry Shindler MBE who has been very supportive of our Votes for Life Campaign. Action for Expat Votes
You can also like and follow Bremain’s Votes for Life Facebook Page
UKinEU Challenge – which has been given a 2 hour Oral hearing on Friday 7th December: ”Unusually for this type of matter, the Government will also be attending and making representations via its top Barrister, First Treasury Counsel, Sir James Eadie QC. Sir James represented the Government in the Gina Miller Article 50 proceedings: ‘R (Miller) vs Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union’ As many of you are aware, the lead claimant is our Bremain in Spain Chair, Sue Wilson and the other claimants are Bremain members too. Click for the UKinEU Challenge Crowdjustice page or visit their Facebook Page
Wightman case – will be heard on November 27 at the ECJ to determine if Article 50 is revocable. More information can be found here.
Fair Vote Project – asking for a public inquiry into the EU referendum result and the alleged illegal activity. More information can be found here.
If you would like further advice or support about lobbying, please get in touch with us enquiries@bremaininspain.com
On Saturday October 20th 2018, more than fifty Bremainers joined an estimated crowd of over 700,000 people to march for a #peoplesvote.
The purpose of the march was to demonstrate the strength of feeling up and down the country for a #finalsay on whatever Brexit deal is negotiated, with the option to Remain, and was organised by both the People’s Vote group and The Independent newspaper’s Final Say campaign – links to both are at the bottom of this page.
Many Bremainers taking part had also bought Bremain branded T shirts and Baseball caps – they will be available soon for anyone to purchase – and they carried UK, Spanish, European and Bremain flags.
The atmosphere was incredible with many chanting for a People’s Vote (as well as another saying well known to the Remain community!). Bremainers also met some people marching who had voted Leave in the referendum but regret their choice and now believe that we need to have a say on what that deal looks like.
Bremainers met at Green Park Tube station at 11:15 and left to join the march at 12:00, but due to sheer numbers, it took them three hours to get back to Green Park! There was plenty of Remain themed music along the route too and we’ve used one of those tracks to share with you in our video below.
In order to keep up momentum following the March, the People’s Vote group have a new campaign called Write this Wrong. It’s about sending a message to MPs, who will vote very soon on the final Brexit deal, that we want a people’s vote. You can take part by clicking on this link – Write this Wrong
Over one million people have now signed The Independent newspaper’s petition for a Final Say. If you haven’t yet signed it, please click this link to do so – The Final Say Petition
Please share these links with family and friends and encourage them to share widely too.
Bremainers March in London today. What an amazing turnout – 700,000!
This is their experience….
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in London at the weekend to demand that the British government hold a final public vote on the terms of Brexit, among them dozens of Brits who had flown over from Spain.
On the second anniversary of the Brexit referendum, around 100,000 people marched on Parliament holding banners and waving EU flags to call for a ‘People’s Vote’ on the final deal.
Among them were British citizens living in Spain who travelled to the UK to support the cause.
See the full story and pics on the The Local
🌍 A future-focused relationship with Europe is essential for growth, opportunity, and security.
Help us push for an inquiry into all the options for our future ties. Sign the petition and make your voice heard! 🇬🇧🇪🇺
Well worth a few minutes of your time
The new co-presidents of European Movmement UK @CarolineLucas and @dominicgrieve_ on why we must rebuild our ties with Europe to join again, & the current political silence on Brexit damage
via @euromove @YouTube
Why devolving control of immigration to Scotland is a realistic prospect
The food & drink industry, tourism sector, intl higher education institutions, and many of Scotland’s leading industries relied on the freedom of movement provided by EU membership
The shortest amount of time it's taken a country to join the EU is 3 years.
We are pretty much already fully aligned - We can beat that record!
We just have to press the Start button and apply.
Chop, chop, politicians - it's a representative democracy isn't it?
#RejoinEU
