One of the most unpopular decisions made by the Liz Truss government has resulted in a screeching U-turn in the middle of the Conservatory Party conference. The decision to abolish the 45% tax rate for the highest paid 1% of the country has been reversed. While Truss, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and Treasury Secretary Chris Philp argue about whose daft idea it was in the first place, the spin machine is going into overdrive.

Humility and contrition but no apology

An official statement from the chancellor described the 45p tax rate as a “distraction” from the government’s “overriding mission to tackle the challenges we face”. In a quote re-iterated by Truss herself, Kwarteng said “we get it, and we have listened”. However, who they had listened to wasn’t made clear. It’s unlikely that they listened to the public if, indeed, they ever engage with them on anything. Their recent mad-cap ideas would suggest otherwise.

Perhaps, instead, they had listened to the markets. Or perhaps to their donors, who journalist Robert Peston said had told the party “We don’t need the money, we don’t want the money and you are bringing us into disrepute”.

Why did @KwasiKwarteng and @trussliz drop the abolition of the 45p top tax rate? Because super wealthy donors to the Tory party told them “we don’t need the money, we don’t want the money and you are bringing us into disrepute”. This is the highest political farce

— Robert Peston (@Peston) October 3, 2022

Or, heaven forbid, did the government listen to some genuine economic experts? Or was it just the cries from their own, baffled and worried backbenchers that caused the reversed ferret?

What we do know is that Kwarteng is “happy to own the humiliation” but not willing to say sorry for the worry or the damage. Presumably because, like Truss, he genuinely believes it was the right move in the first place and it’s just that the country doesn’t understand his genius.

We get it and we have listened.

The abolition of the 45pc rate had become a distraction from our mission to get Britain moving.

Our focus now is on building a high growth economy that funds world-class public services, boosts wages, and creates opportunities across the country. https://t.co/ee4ZFc7Aes

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) October 3, 2022

The damage is done

Despite subsequent efforts to downplay the significance of the proposed tax cuts, Kwarteng had saved that particular announcement until last in his mini-budget speech last Friday. The tax cut proposals drew immediate and vehement criticism, not least from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The pound responded so badly that the Bank of England was forced to take the unprecedented step of a £65bn emergency intervention, in an effort to restore order.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the abandonment of the policy comes too late for families paying higher mortgages and prices. The Tories, she said, “have destroyed their economic credibility and damaged trust in the British economy”. The whole strategy of trickle-down economics had been “discredited”, she said, with the government “making it up as they go along”.

The PM has been forced to abandon her unfunded tax cut for the richest 1%.

But it comes too late for the families who will pay higher mortgages and higher prices for years.

The Tories have destroyed their economic credibility and damaged trust in the British economy. 1/3

— Rachel Reeves (@RachelReevesMP) October 3, 2022

Labour MP Chris Elmore also expressed concerns about mortgage rates, after lenders withdrew hundreds of mortgage products as a direct result of the chancellor’s actions. Not only were many facing “massive hikes in their mortgages”, Elmore said, but first-time buyers were being “frozen out”. He added, “the damage is done”.

Pressing on regardless

Of course, the abandoned tax cut was not the only issue of concern over the government’s economic policies. If you can call them that. The whole idea that cutting taxes will stimulate growth would be laughable if it wasn’t so scary. Worse still is the prospect that any cuts in tax will be funded either by increasingly expensive borrowing or by public sector cuts. And let’s not forget, borrowing has now become more expensive thanks to rising inflation caused largely by [checks notes] government actions.

But, never fear. Truss and Kwarteng have everything under control. Their energy price guarantee “will support households and businesses with their energy bills”. Better yet, their policy of cutting taxes will “put money back in the pockets of 30 million hard-working people and grow the economy”. Not sure what will happen to all those who don’t ‘work hard’, but then you can’t win them all.

Finally, in his U-turn statement the chancellor said the government was “driving supply side reforms”, whatever that is supposed to mean. Apparently, that includes accelerating major infrastructure projects – “to get Britain moving”

Move along now

The government will be hoping, if not expecting, that this latest U-turn will draw a line under its recent, and catastrophic, misjudgements. Even if some are prepared to give Truss and Kwarteng the benefit of the doubt, for others this latest debacle will just be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.

The public are waking up, Tory donors included. Multi-millionaire and former Conservative Party donor, Gareth Quarry, has just defected to Labour. He described Truss and Kwarteng as “two zealots” following a policy of “GCSE economics”. Quarry said their proposals were like “a game of roulette where they’re just betting everything on one number coming up in the next spin”.

Former Tory donor, says "the Tories’ behaviour over several years has made the UK a laughing stock," accuses them of being "zealots" pursuing "GCSE Economics" policies – and donates £100k to Labour.

What a scoop. What an interview. No paywall. ~AAhttps://t.co/wtTEPdtrJU

— Best for Britain (@BestForBritain) October 3, 2022

While Truss and Kwarteng may hope for forgiveness, or at least for short memories, they are ignoring what, for most of the country, is the bleeding obvious. Even though the tax cut for the relatively few paying the highest rate of tax has been abandoned, it is what this government wanted. Truss’s government believed in it – and still does.

We have listened. All it took was tanking the pound, wrecking the economy, wiping $500billion of the market and the Bank of England spending £65billion to save pension funds. We get it.

— Parody Prime Minister (@Parody_PM) October 3, 2022

Truss and Kwarteng might now expect credit for doing the right thing, but they were forced into it and it was against their better judgement. The Conservative Party is now seen as the party that tried to cut taxes for the very richest people in our society in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis affecting millions. Not only would they have forced further hardships on those already facing poverty, but they expected us all to pay for it, not just now, for years to come.

So, please, can we just bring on the general election and let’s rid the country of Trussonomics and KamiKwasi thinking. The country gets it, and we have listened. And we don’t want to hear any more.

Before Liz Truss had even got her feet under her desk at Number 10, she was already preparing her excuses. In advance of her meeting with the President Joe Biden, she was telling the country why a free trade deal with the US was not on the cards. Probably for years.

As world leaders assembled in New York on Wednesday for the United Nations summit, Biden and Truss were preparing to meet. It appeared as though both would come to the table with very different agendas. The president’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, had already made it clear that Biden would want to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol “in some detail”. Truss, meanwhile, was insisting that a UK/US trade deal was not on the agenda and there were no negotiations currently taking place. “I don’t have any expectation”, she said, “that those are going to start in the short to medium term”. That timescale looks certain to be after the next general election.

BREAKING: Britain may not strike a free trade deal with the US for years, Liz Truss has admitted ahead of her first bilateral meeting with Joe Biden.https://t.co/F5GyJwXrnZ

— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) September 20, 2022

Waking up to reality

On becoming trade secretary in 2019, Truss regarded a trade deal with the US as her main priority. She was “confident that things were moving in the right direction”. Not any more, it seems.

It was also seen as a major priority for Boris Johnson when he became prime minister. Not only was it regarded as a seemingly straightforward task to do a “great deal” but we’d be “first in line”.

A former adviser, Ben Ramanauskas, said Truss “did try very hard” in earlier negotiations with Biden but was now forced to accept that “reality” had caught up with her. A trade deal with America was, according to the BBC, now “on the back burner because Truss knows it is unattainable”.

“We will do a great deal with the US and it will open up opportunities for UK business, particularly service companies in the US” (Boris Johnson)

“A trade deal with the Biden is on the back burner because Truss knows it is unattainable” (BBC today)#BrexitLies

— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) September 20, 2022

Not so special relationship

The most pressing issue affecting any potential trade deal, for Biden at least, is the Northern Ireland protocol and protecting the Belfast Good Friday agreement (GFA). While Truss insists that the government’s controversial Northern Ireland protocol bill itself provides protection for the GFA, it is not a position that many outside the government support. Least of all, the US president. While Truss will be seeking to distance any discussions of trade deals from those on the protocol, Biden will be keen to link them inextricably together.

However, not all issues surrounding trade negotiations, or the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries relate to the protocol. On the UK side there are issues – for the British public and farmers, at least – relating to food, health and animal welfare standards, such as hormone-treated beef and chlorinated chicken.

On the American side, there are issues over policy – currently British economic policy. As Truss admitted that her economic proposals would benefit the rich the most, Biden said he was “sick and tired of trickle-down economics”. The Americans, he said, were “building an economy from the bottom up and middle out”. The right-wing economic theory – suggesting that cutting taxes for the wealthy would “trickle down” to the less well off – “has never worked”, he added. Although not a specific condemnation of Truss and her policies, Biden’s comments ahead of their meeting will not have improved already strained relations.

I am sick and tired of trickle-down economics. It has never worked.

We're building an economy from the bottom up and middle out.

— President Biden (@POTUS) September 20, 2022

Steadfast allies

If the mood music before the meeting was cool, Biden and Truss made an effort at the UN. Presumably keen to demonstrate their similarities of purpose rather than their differences, Truss described the US and UK as “steadfast allies”. The words ‘special relationship’ were never uttered.

Both sides reiterated their commitment to the GFA, even though they have very different ideas on how to provide the protection they both seek. Biden said he was looking forward to hearing what was on Truss’s mind and to further discussing how to make sure that the GFA was “upheld into the future”.

The president is planning a state visit to the UK in the first half of 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of the GFA. In effect, the visit will provide a deadline for resolving the issues surrounding the protocol.

Rewriting history

With the prospect of a quick trade deal with America dissolving, Brexit supporters are attempting to change their stories. A US/UK trade deal was never promised, they say. It’s not important to the UK economy, they say. And the always familiar Brexiter refrain, they need us more than we need them.

Alternatively, they say that everything is going to plan/going well, or going exactly as they anticipated. Or that all will be well if we just wait long enough. In other words, the same tired excuses and lies we hear every time the truth about Brexit becomes blindingly obvious, even to those wearing rose-tinted goggles.

So no US trade deal. Another of the big Brexit lies nailed. And on they go pretending it is going to plan, going well, can be made to work and none of our economic problems have anything to do with it. Liars and charlatans. They should never be allowed anywhere near power again

— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) September 20, 2022

The pro-Brexit campaigns sold the prospect of doing free trade deals around the world – and especially with America – as one of the biggest wins of leaving the EU. Even as recently as August 2020, the Expresswas talking about a “Brexit trade breakthrough”, with a headline claiming that the Remainers had been “silenced” as a “brilliant US/UK future deal plan revealed”. Just this week, their own headline tells a very different story, as they admit that the deal “might take years”, and describe Biden as “uninterested”.

Having witnessed the kind of harmful compromises the British government have already made when making post-Brexit trade deals, many will see any delays to a US/UK deal as a relief. Not least British farmers, and the British public, concerned about the cost to our valued health and food standards.

As regards the damage to our economy that a failure to secure a deal would bring, this perhaps is the least of our economic concerns. Damaging as the situation might be, it pales into insignificance when compared with what we have already lost.

Behind all the talk about growth are two simple truths. They have destroyed our biggest trading relationship and can't conclude one with the world's biggest economy. https://t.co/livibyaXnd

— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) September 20, 2022

If leaving the EU was about enabling our freedom to deal independently with countries around the world, it has failed. Either the Brexiters were lying or they were overly optimistic about their own talents. Or both. In the process, they have destroyed our biggest trading partnership with our closest and most important neighbours, and without accepting any responsibility whatsoever. That’s more than just a spectacular failure. It’s criminal negligence, and they seem to be getting away with it.

Biden is smart. He can see through this government’s nonsense. Thankfully, finally, it would appear that the British public can too.

Once, it was widely known and accepted that Britain had its fair share of republicans, but these are strange days in British society. Right-wing tabloids, commentators and a rise in nationalism mean that we must watch our language. Not showing enough reverence to royalty, the country, and even Brexit can land you in unpatriotic deep water. Indeed, criticism can even get you arrested.

Yet here we are. We have witnessed the new British prime minister get through an entire leadership contest, meet the Queen and subsequently King Charles with hardly a mention from mainstream media that she, a former Liberal Democrat, was a republican who campaigned for the abolition of the monarchy. When her previous views were reported, well before the death of the Queen, there was no criticism. Indeed the Daily Mail’s front page reporting was of her regret and mistake.

While social media responded to Truss’s bizarre attempt at a curtsy/bow, now dubbed ‘the burtsy’, with a mixture of cringe and humour, we should consider the abuse Jeremy Corbyn received on front page spreads when ‘he didn’t bow deeply enough’ at the Cenotaph.

FURY at Liz Truss in woke capitulation as she makes new gender neutral ‘burtsy’ greeting to King. pic.twitter.com/r4MvLlqB2M

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) September 10, 2022

The hypocrisy of the government-supporting media

Truss and her supporters would say it’s irrelevant because she was young, or she has changed her mind. So let’s pretend it was Keir Starmer or Nicola Sturgeon who campaigned for the abolition of the monarchy when young.

It is undeniable that the right-wing, Conservative-supporting media tabloids, like the Daily Mail, Sun and Express, would attempt to annihilate them over their stance. After all, the Mail ran 13 days of front-page coverage over ‘Beergate’ in line with the advice of their old pal Goebbels who said, “repeat a lie often enough it becomes truth”. Sorry, folks, it doesn’t change the law though.

Every time Corbyn interacted with the Queen, he was regularly attacked and criticised for his republican beliefs and perceived lack of respect, as these headlines show.

‘NATIONAL DISGRACE Jeremy Corbyn refuses to bow to Queen.’

‘Leftie who hates royals will kiss Queen’s hand to grab £6.2 million.’

‘Jeremy Corbyn snubbed Queen with ‘deeply insulting’ refusal: Don’t expect to kneel’

‘Jeremy Corbyn branded ‘disloyal’ after refusing to sing national anthem.’

‘”Scruffy and disrespectful” Corbyn is slammed for his appearance at Cenotaph service.’

The speech

In her previous incarnation – before she became a Conservative and a monarchist – Truss was president of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats and very much an anti-monarchist.

In 1994 she made a ‘monarchy-bashing’ speech at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton. If a ‘leftie’ spoke these words previously, the tabloids and so-called ‘patriotic’ commentators would likely be foaming at the mouth:

She is referring to the expression ‘the emperor has no clothes’, which describes a situation in which people are afraid to criticise something or someone because the perceived wisdom of the masses is that the thing or person is good or necessary. It is often used in political and social contexts for any obvious truth denied by the majority despite the evidence of their eyes, especially when proclaimed by the government

Truss, the ardent Remainer

In the six years since the Brexit referendum, Truss has gone from being a vocal and ardent supporter of remaining in the European Union to being a ‘born again Brexiter’.

In May 2016, Truss, then secretary of state for the environment, addressed the Food and Drink Federation to speak about the benefits of the European single market and encourage them to vote remain. It is a speech worth listening to because, for once, she was spot on.

She was right to be concerned. The value of food exports to the EU dropped by £2.4bn in the first 15 months after Brexit, according to analysis of HMRC data.

She also said:

Right again. This is becoming impressive. Maybe Truss is a clairvoyant?

It wasn’t just trade – Truss campaigned for remain for our children’s future benefits

Speaking in 2016, the Conservative MP then said she championed Britain staying inside the EU to protect her daughters’ future and the environment.

Truss called this one right too. Brexit is cited as a factor in the recent sewage scandal, allowing water companies to increase how much sewage they discharge into Britain’s waterways and oceans.

Is she now happy that her daughters are hampered from growing a business due to extortionate costs? Does it fill her with glee that her children are now unable to travel freely, with no limits, to work, marry and retire in 26 other countries?

In Brexit Britain – you can change your mind – but only if it’s in the ‘RIGHT’ direction

UK government members are no longer traditional Conservatives. The party’s lurch to the populist right has been ongoing since those same forces brought about Brexit.

It has become a country where all polling shows that the majority of the UK now thinks Brexit is a failure and mistake and evidence abounds of its damage. Yet, discussion in addressing issues around Brexit is shut down. People who express these opinions are called traitors, remoaners, and unpatriotic.

Liz Truss can turn from anti-monarchist to monarchist and Remainer to Brexiter without being crucified by the tabloids, because her words align with the people and forces pushing the hard-right political agenda in Britain. She is now their figurehead who will willingly do their bidding and be protected for as long as she toes their line.

The hard-right of the party now drives Conservative policy. The ERG, Taxpayers Alliance, and Net Zero Scrutiny groups are just some examples. I recommend reading this investigative report by Byline Times and this article by Ann Moody in Yorkshire Bylines, which expose that Truss’s Cabinet appears to be ideologically aligned with some of the most controversial themes of far-right activism in the USA, including women’s (abortion) rights.

Six of Truss’s Cabinet appointments and four of her advisors have funding ties to Conservative organisations connected to American billionaires, the Mercers. The Mercer lobby has been called “the chief financiers of the fascist movement”.

Will Truss stick or twist?

In an LBC interview with Eddie Mar in March 2019, the conversation with Truss went like this:

Eddie: “People can change their minds, can’t they?”

Truss: “But they were told in the referendum in 2016 that their vote would be implemented.”

Eddie: “What about people who have changed their minds between then and now?”

Truss: “I don’t think people have changed their minds.”

Eddie: “You have.”

Truss: “I have, that’s true. In the other way, though.”

Ah, that’s ok then, and who knows, maybe the winds of politics will change direction, and Truss will become an anti-monarchist, liberal Remainer again. She might even regain some of her previous convictions. However, we can be reasonably sure that the right-wing, Conservative-supporting tabloids wouldn’t let her off so lightly if she shifted in the other direction.

The day after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, on Thursday 8 September, Prince Charles became the oldest heir, at 73, to ever accede to the throne. From St Paul’s Cathedral, King Charles III gave his first speech to a nation in mourning. The speech was warmly received and described as “remarkably personal” (The Telegraph) and full of “heartfelt tributes” to his mother (The Times).

But what did the new king have to say about how he might handle his new responsibilities and what his priorities would be?

The first official photograph of King Charles III taken in the Blue Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace after his first official speech as King

A picture of his mum Queen Elizabeth beside him#QueenElizabeth #QueenElizabethII #KingCharles #KingCharlesIII #GodSaveTheKing pic.twitter.com/E8uRVhDbl1

— HRH Prince William, Prince Of Wales ➐ (parody) (@HRH_William_) September 9, 2022

Continuity and service

The speech contained affectionate praise and respect for his mother’s long service and a promise to renew that dedication to the nation personally. King Charles spoke of the Queen’s “profound personal commitment” to the Commonwealth – a commitment he clearly shares.

The most politically interesting passage in King Charles' speech yesterday was that he expected William to follow his lead to "inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given".https://t.co/6SVYE3K9Lh

— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) September 10, 2022

In what was described by chief political commentator (The i), Paul Waugh, as the “most politically interesting passage” of the speech, Charles referenced how he anticipated his son Prince William would follow his lead. Charles expects William – who succeeds him as the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cornwall – to “inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given”. A reference, perhaps, to the increasing gap between the rich and poor in our society, and to the cost-of-living crisis; or indeed to the many sections of society who feel excluded.

A new era

Charles spoke of an ethnically diverse nation of many religions and beliefs and how the institutions of state had changed over the last 70 years. His upbringing, he said, had taught him to have the “greatest respect” for the “precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government”. He also expressed his “deeply routed” faith in the Church of England and the “values it inspires”.

Regardless of where you live in the United Kingdom, or in British realms or territories, and irrespective of your background or beliefs, Charles promised to serve all equally with “loyalty, respect and love”.

The implications of new responsibilities

In the past, the former Prince Charles sometimes caused controversy supporting causes close to his own heart – causes such as architecture, interfaith dialogue, the environment, and alternative medicine. In total, he previously supported at least 19 causes and 17 charities and foundations, including the Prince’s Trust, Red Cross, Children in Crisis and the National Wildlife Federation.

He acknowledged in his speech that with his new responsibilities, he would no longer have the time or the energy to dedicate to these causes. Of the many that Charles has supported, climate change has been at the forefront. He now passes the baton to the “trusted hands of others”, and in the case of the environment, this is something his son William has already taken up.

A reminder of the views of our King.

"The source said: “[Charles] said he was more than disappointed at the policy. He said he thinks government’s whole approach is appalling. It was clear he was not impressed with the government’s direction of travel.”https://t.co/WXuEwIwFae

— Shoaib M Khan (@ShoaibMKhan) September 9, 2022

Apart from having less time for important causes, Charles will also have to rein in any personal comments regarding government policy. His recent remarks regarding the Rwanda immigration scheme were considered outspoken and misplaced by some, even as the son of the monarch. As King Charles, he will no longer be in a position to make such direct criticisms of government policy, much as he might wish to at times.

Family ties

Apart from his affectionate, loving and “heartfelt” comments about his “beloved mother”, Charles also took the opportunity to express his love, affection and respect for his wife and children. He concluded his speech with the recognition of the “loyal public service” given to him by Camilla, during their 17 years of marriage. He fully expects, he said, that she will bring the same “steadfast devotion to duty” to her new role as Queen Consort.

The new Prince and Princess of Wales were also praised, and Charles gave a special mention to his younger son Harry and wife Meghan, expressing his love as they “build their lives overseas”.

The speech ended with thanks to the nation for their condolences and support and with the mention of laying his mother to rest in a week’s time.

Moving forward

In a week that has seen a new prime minister and a new monarch, it is difficult to predict what difference these significant changes will make. Our divided country is facing many serious problems. For many, the Queen was the glue that held us together and that crossed divides between rich and poor, left and right, and across political boundaries. For anyone under 70, she was the only monarch they have ever known – a symbol of stability and continuity when our political landscape is anything but.

For those of a more republican persuasion, perhaps this is the time to start a conversation about the future of the monarchy. For monarchists, it is an unsettling time of immense sadness and of wondering what the future will hold. King Charles III’s role as head of the nation must be to speak for the whole country, republicans and monarchists, rich and poor, left and right, alike. It won’t be an easy task, but it is one he has been preparing for his whole life.

This is the end of an era and the start of a new one. A reminder that in this modern, global world, we cannot live in the past, nor should we wish to. We have reached that turning point that we have been anticipating for years. King Charles III, and the nation, must grab this moment in time with both hands and take the country forward.

“The Queen is dead. Long live the King.”

The first National Rejoin March will take place in London this Saturday, 10 September. It has the support of dozens of UK-based, pro-European groups who will travel from across the country to attend. But what motivates those coming from further afield? I spoke to some fellow British immigrants living in Spain and asked them why they were making the effort, at considerable personal expense, to attend an event that lasts just a few hours.

Attending the National Rejoin March: Sheila

Sheila and her husband live in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands and are retired. Her husband has health and mobility issues, yet, at considerable expense and disruption, will take the four-hour flight to London, arriving after midnight the night before the march and flying back the day after.

They have been living in Spain since 1993 and are well settled and legalised, with Brexit not causing any specific problems for them personally. So why make an effort at all?

Sheila spends time on forums helping people in crisis because of Brexit. Whether it be denied residency, advice on health, driving, families separated due to different immigration statuses or a friendly, supportive ear. She sees the stress and difficulties Brexit has wrought on many people’s lives. People have had to leave and sell their homes. Lives shattered.

Sheila’s son has lived in France for 15 years. She fears they may need his support as she and her husband get older. Brexit makes that extremely difficult. UK nationals have rights in their host country but lost their freedom of movement and must adhere to the 90/180-day rule in the rest of the Schengen zone.

Sheila, like many UK nationals residing in the EU, did not have a vote in the Brexit referendum due to the 15-year limit. She wants to voice her opinion. “Brexit has caused so much damage to so many people.”

Attending the National Rejoin March: Hilary and Stewart

Hilary and her husband Stewart will be flying in from Valencia. They are both passionate pro-Europeans and have attended protests previously.

Hilary told me:

Attending the National Rejoin March: Vanessa

I came across Vanessa a couple of weeks ago as she reached out for help on a Facebook group. She has an elderly mother in Spain who has sadly had a stroke and needs care. Brexit has made it impossible for Vanessa to stay and take care of her mother. Her tenaciousness and attitude are admirable. She has tried every avenue to get help and her story heard, including contacting many Spanish authorities, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Sky News, the BBC and LBC radio, and is still looking for solutions.

Vanessa must leave Spain on 8 September and leave her mother for three months before returning, or she will be deemed illegally overstaying. I couldn’t practically help Vanessa, but I was able to tell her story, which you can read here in full.

Attending the National Rejoin March: David Eldridge

David continues: “To those that say it’s too early to campaign to rejoin the EU (we’ve been dubbed ‘extremists’ in one tabloid). I know the UK isn’t going to rejoin soon, and rejoining will be a long process involving profound changes to British society and the political system. But we can start on that path immediately after the next election if the political will is there and embark on a step-by-step process. Erasmus, Horizon, an amended treaty encouraging UK-EU trade rather than inhibiting it, eventually leading to rejoining the single market and customs union, the restoration of reciprocal free movement rights until the time is right to take the next logical step and become full EU members again.”

Attending the National Rejoin March: Sue Wilson MBE

Sue is chair of the citizens’ rights group Bremain in Spain and one of the guest speakers at the event. Before Brexit, Sue was not interested in politics but was devastated by the referendum result. She was the main plaintiff in a case that took Theresa May to court over the legality of the Brexit referendum. The government accepted the referendum broke electoral law and that had the result been legally binding, it would have been overturned. However, even though it was treated as binding by the government, it was, in fact, merely advisory; therefore, the court ruled that the result should stand.

Let down by our government

What I note most strongly when speaking to UK migrants in Spain is the sense of feeling let down. Let down by a government that didn’t tell them or the country the truth about what Brexit would mean. Saddened that so many UK nationals don’t fully understand the far-reaching consequences of Brexit, what the loss of freedom of movement truly means and the difficulties it brings. After all, it was only the British that lost this right.

The Brexit referendum was six years ago and no one born this century voted for Brexit. Evidence abounds that Brexit is damaging the fabric of Britain, its investment potential, growth and the UK’s world standing. Almost half of all businesses have ceased trading with Europe due to costs and red tape.

While the Conservatives, Brexit-supporting media, and even the Labour Party may want to avoid the B word altogether, many say it is time for an open and honest conversation about the damage of Brexit and how it is exacerbating all the UK’s issues. And how the most simple solution to so many problems would be to rejoin the single market at the very minimum.

These people are no longer Remainers. They are Rejoiners, and they are not going away.

On Saturday 10 September, the National Rejoin March takes to the streets of London. It will be the first time since before the pandemic that pro Europeans will rally to the cause of rejoining the EU. The march will include many well-known speakers from the political world and from pro-EU campaign groups, all wanting to make the case for a reversal of Brexit and a return to common sense. But is now the right time?

Time to put our efforts into campaigning for these guys. MAKE IT BIG! https://t.co/mpok99jZwc#EnoughIsEnough #RejoinEU pic.twitter.com/Ch5CjxKVpW

— National Rejoin March Sat 10th (@PoIitics4You) August 12, 2022

Time for a serious debate?

Lord Alan Sugar recently raised the issue of rejoining the EU on Twitter. Lord Sugar had earlier tweeted that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove – “the biggest liars in 2016” – should both go to jail for misleading the British public during the referendum. He followed this up with the question “what would it take for us to reverse Brexit and re join (sic) the EU”, and asked for a “serious debate” on the subject.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>This might sound a stupid if not naive question but what would it take for us to reverse Brexit and re join the EU. Serious debate please. <a href=”https://t.co/T4l30EDpfo”>https://t.co/T4l30EDpfo</a></p>&mdash; Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Lord_Sugar/status/1564157036975333376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Whist that debate may be starting to happen on social media, there is no evidence, as yet, that it is happening in political circles, though it certainly ought to be.

Will the EU have us back?

There seem to be two main arguments against any serious debate on rejoining the EU, or even the single market and customs union.

Firstly, the EU won’t want us back. We’re a bunch of trouble-makers, any lost business can easily be made up elsewhere and we can’t be relied upon not to change our minds again at some future juncture.

What struck me during my UK trip:

There seemed to be strong doubt whether “the EU would take us back if we wanted to rejoin”.

So let me say this:

You still have millions and millions of friends in the EU.

No matter what happens, we will always leave a light on.

🇪🇺❤️🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/neN0jDb1PY

— Terry Reintke (@TerryReintke) July 3, 2022

Terry Reintke, German MEP, and one of the speakers at next weeks’ rally, begs to differ. On a recent trip to the UK, she was struck by the UK’s doubt that “the EU would take us back if we wanted to rejoin”. She responded by stating we have “millions and millions of friends in the EU” and that “no matter what happens, we will always leave a light on.”

This is a view that is supported by former Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, who has retweeted the details of the forthcoming rally with the following comment:

Mike Galsworthy, founder of Scientists for EU, and Campaigns Strategy Manager at the European Movement UK, also tweeted recently that the EU’s attitude should not be a matter of concern. He said he has been reassured by trusted contacts in the EU that “there would be a real supportive appetite on the other side”, and even some room for flexibility.

Now is not the time

The other pervasive argument against rejoining the EU is to do with the timing. It’s too soon, they say. We must wait a decade, or even a generation, before the country is ready to even think about Brexit again.

That argument may have held some weight in the early days of Brexit, but it’s now over 6 years since the referendum, and Brexit still hasn’t been fully implemented. All the earlier government talk of not mentioning Brexit, then the realism that Brexit still wasn’t “done”, makes the waiting even more pointless. Are we supposed to wait for Brexit to be fully implemented before we can even start a sensible, serious discussion on Brexit damage, and how to rescue the country from the Brextremists?

Brexit is reversible.
It can be reversed in 5-6 years.
It is defeatist (& unfounded) to talk of 'decades' & 'generations' – that's what the Brexiters want, in hopes of entrenching divergence from our friends & kin in the rest of Europe.
Fight to get back our rightful place!

— A C Grayling #FBPE 3.5% #Reform #Rejoin #FBPA 🐟 (@acgrayling) August 23, 2022

Sorry, but no. How can it be too soon for debate? How can it be too soon to attempt to prevent further damage, or to start to fix the many problems that Brexit has, and is, causing?

As Professor A.C Grayling says, to talk of delay is “defeatist”, and plays into the Brexiters hands. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Brexit is reversible”, says Grayling, and rejoining can be achieved in 5-6 years, which means we are over halfway there already. Now that’s a timescale I can get on board with!

What would it take to rejoin the EU?

In answer to Lord Sugar’s question, Galsworthy responded with a list of four requirements for rejoining and an offer of drawing up a business plan:

A stable, substantial, popular majority for Rejoin.
A competent campaign to keep it in the spotlight.
Both Labour and Tories with high Rejoin numbers.
A willing EU.

It would take the following:

1) Stable, substantial, popular majority for Rejoin (stable majority already exists – needs to be bigger)

2) Competent campaign to keep it in spotlight (@euromove & @MarchForRejoin)

3) Both Labour & Tories w/ high Rejoin MP numbers.

4) Willing EU

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) August 29, 2022

Galsworthy added that the requirement that is not given enough consideration was point number 3). Not only was it important to prevent “the UK dancing the hokey-cokey down the decades (in out in out)”, as different parties took power, but also to rebuild the one nation, pro-EU, pro-single market, Conservative base.

The best catalyst for the rebuilding of the Conservative party would be a dramatic loss for the party at the next General Election, and the new government dispensing with the unfair and undemocratic first-past-the-post voting system. Considering the latest voter intention polls show a 14% lead for Labour over the Conservatives, and the public are increasingly dissatisfied with Brexit, then anything starts to look possible.

Westminster voting intention [ft. new pollster]:

LAB: 40%
CON: 26%
LDEM: 11%
GRN: 6%
REF: 5%

via @PeoplePolling, 22 Aug

Britain Predicts:https://t.co/5ksWvdaiby

Tables:https://t.co/XyVVLgouOy

— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) August 26, 2022

Nobody is suggesting that undoing Brexit will be easy, or quick. It’ll be a tough journey, with roadblocks and diversions along the way, and no doubt more Brexiteer lies, misinformation and anger. But after six years of this anti-Brexit fight, pro-EU numbers are swelling, our arguments are cutting through, and evidence of Brexit damage is in plain sight. Even the right-wing media are starting to take notice.

That’s why I, along with many more eloquent and informed speakers, will stand up on 10 September and say now is the time. The country cannot afford to wait a decade, or a generation, to save itself from Brexit. So, join the resistance now and demand a better Britain – one that is back at the heart of Europe where it belongs.