To find our more about our campaigns, and to get more involved, read on or follow one of the links below.
Find out about our local groups
List and contact details for all of the local groups that support Grassroots for Europe.
Campaign ideas
Discuss and add campaign ideas.
Resources
Access our library of resources.
Events Calendar
Events from the UK’s pro-European movement.
Where Now for Remain?
General Election Aftermath
It goes without saying that we are all devastated by the result of the General Election on 12 December. Clearly, we all need time to absorb the implications and to discuss the situation with our fellow Remainers, before picking ourselves up and working out how to move forward.
Where now For Remain?
However, we cannot afford to let the disillusionment of our supporters turn to disengagement. We have built an extraordinary movement over the last 3 years – the strongest pro-European movement in Europe. We must preserve what we have built and move quickly, but with care, to providing a new sense of purpose for our campaigners.
The Conference
With this in mind, we arranged a national conference, held at Central Hall, Westminster, on Saturday, 25 January 2020 – to which all pro-European organisations and individual campaigners were invited – to take stock and start to formulate a strategy for our movement going forward.
We are made contact with all of the other pro-EU campaign organisations, including the European Movement, Best for Britain, the People’s Vote constituent organisations, as well as non-aligned campaign groups. We wanted to bring all stakeholders together.
Draft Programme
During the conference we covered the following topics:
- What Were They Thinking? – public attitudes to Brexit and Boris Johnson
- How We Lost Again, What Can We Learn? – the grassroots view of the post-referendum campaign
- The Post-truth Age – can we bring trust & honesty back to politics?
- A Hostile Environment – defending EU citizens in the UK & UK citizens in the EU
- Brexit Isn’t “Getting Done”! – keeping the public informed as the Brexit chickens come home to roost
- Let’s Stay Friends – building new links & partnerships with Europe
- Democracy In Crisis – how do we achieve a parliament that represents all the people?
- Getting Ourselves Organised – who is going to lead the fightback?
Speakers
We carefully selected speakers, not on the basis of celebrity, but on the basis of their ability to help us to achieve our objectives i.e. contributing insight and practical ideas for the way ahead for our movement. Speakers included:
- Naomi Smith, CEO of Best for Britain
- Irina von Wiese, Liberal Democrat MEP (London)
- Polly Toynbee, Columnist, The Guardian
- Richard Corbett, Labour MEP (Yorkshire & Humber)
- Professor AC Grayling, Philosopher
- Stephen Dorrell, Chair, European Movement UK
- Ros Taylor, Remainiacs Podcast & LSE Brexit Blog
- Denis MacShane, former Europe Minister
- Elena Remigi, Founder, In Limbo Project
- Mike Buckley, Director, Labour for a Public Vote
- Dr Mike Galsworthy, Scientists for EU
- Henry Stannard, Project Marshall
- Sue Wilson, Chair, Bremain in Spain
- Steve Bray, SODEM
- Sharon Leclerq-Spooner, Pro Europa
Road to Rejoin Meetings
Every Wednesday evening, the team at Grassroots for Europe are proud to host the official “Road To Rejoin” Meetings on Zoom. These meetings are free for anyone who wishes to attend.
Answering questions this week…
Peter Jukes
(Byline Times)
and
Mike Galsworthy
(Scientists for EU / March for Change)
With much of the old-style print media caught in a downward spiral of increasingly unhinged and unquestioning support for a government and a Prime Minister for whom the truth is an alien concept, how do we navigate ourselves to reliable and balanced analyses of the world around us?
How do journalists of integrity compete with those whose priority is securing clickbait and a cosy relationship for themselves with those in power, whom they are supposed to hold to account?
With social media taking an ever more significant and, potentially, damaging place in our national discussion, how do we fight back and make sure that the truth gets through to the people?
This is your chance to put your questions to Peter and Mike and find out how Byline Times and the regional Bylines network are attempting to subvert the power of the media giants and bring high quality citizen-led journalism to the largest possible audience.
Feel free to take part!
PLEASE NOTE: This Zoom meeting will be recorded.
Attendance will signify consent to being recorded by video, audio and in minutes.
*** THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT ***
(But the tickets are free YAY!)
To grab yourself a ticket head over to:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/leedsforeurope/501191
Wednesday, 31 March 2021
7.30pm – 9pm
Letters
Pro-EU groups from across the UK have appealed directly to the European Union to keep all options open on Brexit – including the possibility of Brexit being cancelled or reversed. They have also called for the rights of British citizens as European citizens to be protected.
In November 2018, 121 grassroots campaigning groups signed an open letter to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, asking him not to do anything that would place obstacles in the way of a new referendum – and urging him to make provision for the possible revocation of Article 50.
In January 2019, this letter was followed up by a further letter – this time signed by 124 grassroots groups – to the Brexit Steering Group of the European Parliament, which is chaired by Guy Verhofstadt. This second letter asked the European Parliament to commit to safeguarding the rights of all citizens of the EU throughout the Brexit process and to consult with UK citizens to ascertain whether they agree to the loss of such rights. The letter also reminded the parliament of the UK’s right to unilaterally revoke Article 50, asking the parliament to send a positive signal confirming their willingness to welcome the UK’s revocation and to allow time for this to take place.
A third letter, in March 2019, highlighted the rapidly growing strength of pro-European sentiment in the UK and asked for the EU to be ready to grant an extension to the Article 50 deadline of sufficient length to enable a People’s Vote referendum to be held.
You can read and download all three letters, together with accompanying Press Releases, below.
Grassroots for Europe have sent a letter to President Biden and Vice-President Harris urging them to protect the Good Friday Agreement and make a stand for truth and justice against those who would jeopardise the peace in Northern Ireland that we have enjoyed for over 20 years.
Grassroots for Europe have sent a second letter to Donald Tusk. Signed by over 100 grassroots pro-EU groups, the letter draws attention to the growing strength the pro-European movement across the length and breadth of the UK. It urges Mr Tusk to be ready to grant a long extension to the Article 50 process – of sufficient length to enable a People’s Vote referendum to be held.
In the letter, we acknowledge that a long extension would mean the UK participating in European Parliamentary Elections. We actually welcome this possibility.
The letter also makes the important point that the UK is currently in the frontline of the fight against the rise of far right extremism in Europe. A victory for us against Brexit could mark the turning of the tide and embolden democratic forces across Europe who, like us, are fighting to drive the nationalists into irrelevance.
