Let's keep the benefits of EU membership

We republish with kind permission this  press release from MoVEM (Mole Valley European Movement), Leatherhead.

Increasingly people are becoming involved as they see the advantages of the EU denigrated.  The European Elections prove that the EU Parliament is not unelected.  Every voter has the chance to have their say and make their choice.

Campaigners ask what benefits of the EU do people want to lose?  Hassle-free travel; friction-less trade; mutual aid; relative prosperity; NHS doctors, nurses and carers; high standards of food production; peaceful cooperation on security and fighting crime; collaboration in medical research; free health cover in Europe; peace in Northern Ireland; companies investing in the UK, bringing jobs and boosting tax revenue to our government; free mobile phone roaming; the chance to live, work, study and trade with minimal restrictions across 32 different countries; access to a motivated workforce especially for the hospitality and agricultural sectors; opportunity to sell to a market of 500m consumers; clean beaches; maternity leave and limits to working hours; investment in roads, bridges and infrastructure in deprived areas; support for farmers to look after our countryside; elected MEPs; clout at the UN; a say at the top table in making and agreeing all the rules and working together in peaceful unity with our neighbours?

 Under Theresa May's proposed Withdrawal Agreement we would continue to follow EU rules, but will have given up any say over how they are made – the biggest single loss of sovereignty and control in British history.

Three years on from the EU Referendum, opinion polls show a majority of voters in most constituencies across Britain now want their say on any Brexit deal agreed by Parliament, and the UK would now vote to stay in the EU and keep the countless unsung advantages.

That includes some people who voted leave in 2016, as well as those who voted remain, because they now see that the promises made in the last referendum cannot be delivered, that any Brexit deal will hit our economy, trade and influence, and that the UK’s negotiations over its future relationship with the EU will go on and on for many years.

Tim Evans, who is a spokesperson for the People’s Vote Campaign in Leatherhead, Mole Valley, said:

“The People’s Vote Campaign is not a political party and it would be wrong for us to tell people which specific party to vote for.  But we are supportive of those parties which have a manifesto commitment in these elections to the public having a final say on Brexit.

The Brexiters want you to stay at home and not vote so they can win.  There is a clear choice.  If you believe in a modern, outward looking and inclusive country then get out and vote for a Pro-PV Party.  Or don’t vote and let the Brexiters and their isolationist, backwards vision for Britain win.

 Why chuck out all the benefits?  The best deal is the one we have now.  There is zero evidence that any new agreement will be any better.  Those who promised the undeliverable during the referendum campaign in 2016 have now resigned.  Nobody told us the consequences of voting Leave.  The only way to deliver a stable settlement that can command the confidence of both Parliament and the country is a Final Say.  It's time to press the Re-start button and think again.”

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