2024 has been an important year for pro-Europeans, giving us, as it has, a Labour government in the UK and Trump in the US. July 2024 marked the end of five years of a ferociously Brexiteer Tory government, purged to resemble a revolutionary vanguard, and determined to reshape the politics and culture of the UK. Rejoiners were just one group among many whom the Tory Brexiteers identified as enemies, as we shared that honour with the BBC, the legal profession, teachers, universities, the Woke of every description, and of course the EU itself; among many others. Over those five years the atmosphere in the UK was highly polarized and, despite seeking to be a broad church, pro-Europeans were placed in a position of direct antagonism to the government.
Now, six months after the election, the situation is transformed, and everything is much more complicated. With Labour in power, we move from polarization to ambiguity. We know that most Labour MPs, members and voters are anti-Brexit. But holding an opinion and deciding a course of action from that opinion are very different things. Though we hear and read pro-EU opinions from Labour quarters often enough, action moves very slowly. There is clearly an active dialogue between the UK government and the EU commission on a number of fronts. Those involved in campaigning for rejoining Erasmus, the EU student exchange programme, will feel some encouragement from discussions over youth mobility, though agreement still seems a good way off. Progress on other key areas, security, fishing and the veterinary agreement, is also slow and halting.
Meanwhile, having lost the government, the Brexiteer centre of gravity has migrated, and now bestrides the Atlantic. Trump has been hostile to the EU since his first administration, and many commentators anticipate that he will use the stick of tariffs and the carrot of a trade deal to coerce the UK away from the EU and toward economic subjection to the US. In that event we would be required to sacrifice much of what we value. The biggest sacrifice, probably, would be our health. We would be required to abandon many of our food standards to allow US imports; and we would be expected to open our National Health Service to predatory US healthcare provider companies. Moreover Trump’s ally Elon Musk is threatening to use his colossal wealth and influence to undermine the present UK government. And they have a serviceable outrider in Farage. He evidently sees himself as Trump’s representative on earth, and given his political skills, its likely that he will perform that function very effectively. So, having endured five years of a home-grown Brexit hegemony, we will now be facing four years of the transatlantic version. Does Starmer have the guts to stand up to this? De we?
As to the European Movement itself, I quote Chair Mike Galsworthy’s end-of-year message to members emailed on December 27th. His list of achievements is as follows:
- “Our movement now holds the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Europe – a move welcomed by the government and which has huge potential to drive political change from the heart of Westminster.
- Our movement welcomed Caroline Lucas and Dominic Grieve KC as our new Co-Presidents, backed up by a stellar new line-up of Vice-Presidents and patrons.
- Our movement ran our first Europe Day in collaboration with the National Liberal Club, bringing Guy Verhofstadt from Brussels to join us.
- Our movement launched a Manifesto on Europe during the general election and sent it to thousands of political candidates, making their replies available via our online tool.
- Our movement has launched nationwide campaigns, with Face The Music, This is Erasmus, and a call for an inquiry into the future UK-EU relationship.
- Our movement is now getting into national press more frequently than ever before and we’re building media capacity fast.
- Our movement now has 24,000 members – and is growing every day
In addition to all that he is asking for ideas from members on what the EM should be focusing on in 2025. Reply to info@europeanmovement.co.uk
Other pro-rejoin organizations have also been active during the year. These include broadly focused groups such as Grassroots for Europe, the Rejoin Party and the March for Rejoin, as well as specifically focused organizations such as Thank EU for the music, and the Festival of Europe (see our ‘Get Involved’ page for links to these). The March for Rejoin successfully organized the second annual march, in London, in September.
New Year is a good time for reflection and reappraisal, and Mike Galsworthy’s request for ideas is worthy of a response. So, when it comes to thinking outside the box, there’s no time like the present.
Happy New Year
Stephen Wilmot
derby4europe 