Bremain in Spain chair ‘disappointed’ after British High Court refuses appeal on Brexit referendum

Bremain in Spain chair ‘disappointed’ after British High Court refuses appeal on Brexit referendum

Mar 2, 2019 | Articles, News

Sue Wilson, head of Bremain, said hearings at the Court of Appeal had shown there was a need to review the 2016 referendum result.

Wilson is the lead claimant of the UK in EU Challenge, a legal appeal launched with backing from expatriates in Spain, France and Italy.

“We still believe another referendum is likely and hopefully this will be conducted in a fair, legal and honest manner under increased scrutiny,” Wilson said.

The Court of Appeal’s Lord Justice Hickinbottom and Lord Justice Haddon-Cave ruled in favour of an earlier decision not to permit an appeal.

The court heard from Jessica Simor QC, acting on behalf of the claimants, that it was unreasonable for Prime Minister Theresa May to proceed with Article 50.

Sir James Eadie QC, First Treasury Counsel acting for the government, said the court had no scope to intervene now that Parliament had taken over the Article 50 process.

It comes after an Electoral Commission referred Leave campaigns to police after finding they spent more than the legal limit during the 2016 campaign.

Article from the Euro Weekly News
Expat pro-EU remain group considering appeal against High Court Brexit referendum case dismissal

Expat pro-EU remain group considering appeal against High Court Brexit referendum case dismissal

Dec 16, 2018 | Articles, Campaigns & Events, News

A COSTA BLANCA-based group of British expatriates campaigning to remain in the EU have said they are considering appealing against High Court ruling on the legality of the Brexit referendum.

Bremain in Spain, part of the UK in EU group, said it would appeal against the dismissal of their court appeal for judicial review after the judge called it “hopeless”.

Mr Justice Ouseley presided over the hearings which were launched after Britain’s Electoral Commission ruled the Vote Leave organisation had broken campaign spending laws.

Susan Wilson, lead claimant in the case and head of Bremain in Spain, said she was disappointed with the ruling.

“The government has aggressively countered our claims and has shown a blatant disregard for democratic values,” Wilson said.

Read full article in the Euro Weekly News

Brexit: High Court rejects challenge to annul referendum result in major blow to Remain campaigners

Brexit: High Court rejects challenge to annul referendum result in major blow to Remain campaigners

Dec 12, 2018 | Articles, Campaigns & Events, News

A High Court challenge seeking to annul the result of the Brexit referendum because of “corrupt and illegal practices” by the Vote Leave campaign has been dismissed.

Mr Justice Ouseley said he was refusing permission for a full hearing of the claim because of the long delay in bringing it forward and because of “the want of merit”.

The decision came as a bitter blow to campaigners, British expats living in Europe, who had crowdfunded the case, which was heard last Friday.

Called UK in EU Challenge, the case argued that breaches of campaign spending limits – punished by the independent Electoral Commission – meant the 2016 referendum was not a “free and fair vote”.

The campaigners had also based the case on what they saw as Ms May’s refusal to act on the growing evidence of illegality in the months since the Commission’s findings.

Vote Leave carried on spending, despite busting its limit two days before the June 2016 vote – and was later found by the Electoral Commission to have broken the law.

Read full article in The Independent

Bremain in Spain and other ‘Brexpats’ lament High Court setback

Bremain in Spain and other ‘Brexpats’ lament High Court setback

Dec 12, 2018 | Articles, Campaigns & Events, News

BRITISH expats living in Spain, Italy and France are deciding their next step after the UK High Court rejected their appeal against Brexit based upon ‘lies and corruption’ on the part of Leave campaigners.

Sue Wilson, co-founder of Bremain in Spain, along with Ellie Grayson and John Shaw, from France and Carole-Anne Richards from Italy are seeking for the result of the referendum on June 23, 2016 to be annulled due to illegal practices including overspending and misuse of statistics, for which the official Leave campaign has already been pulled up on.

The Office of National Statistics reportedly warned former foreign minister Boris Johnson over the ‘Leave bus’ claim strongly hinting that the £350 million per week the UK sends to the European Union would be used to fund the National Health Service (NHS), a statement which failed to mention that this is the gross figure, not taking into account rebates and grants.

Also, the Electoral Commission fined Vote Leave £61,000 and Leave.EU £70,000 (currently €67,239 and €77,162 respectively, based upon today’s rate of €1.10 to the £1 as quoted on Xe.com) for deliberately going beyond their spending limit.

Vote Leave broke its budget two days before the referendum, but continued to spend, which the Electoral Commission ruled illegal.

Full article in Think Spain

 

Jon Danzig’s World – EU referendum broke code of good practice

Jon Danzig’s World – EU referendum broke code of good practice

Nov 26, 2018 | Articles

In all democracies, it’s essential that elections – including referendums – are run fairly, and that the regulatory authority has the power to annul an election or referendum if serious irregularities may have affected the result.

That’s not just my opinion. Such a requirement forms part of the Venice Commission’s ‘Code of Good Practice on Referendums’.  Although the code is voluntary and not legally binding, the UK is one of the 61 member states of the Commission and helped to form the Code, which was adopted in 2006. The Commission advised me:
 
 
“The Code was and is strongly supported by the Committee of Ministers recommending to the member States to respect its provisions.”
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, currently sits on the Commission’s Committee of Ministers.
Clause II 3. 3 e) of the Venice Code states:
‘The appeal body must have authority to annul the referendum where irregularities may have affected the outcome. It must be possible to annul the entire referendum or merely the results for one polling station or constituency. In the event of annulment of the global result, a new referendum must be called.’
In the UK, our Electoral Commission is the independent regulatory body for elections and referendums, set up by Parliament to “regulate political finance in the UK” and to “promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity.” 
 
I asked the Commission if they have the power to annul a referendum, in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Code.
 
They replied:
“In short, no we do not have the power to annul an election or referendum.”
If the Electoral Commission had the power to annul a referendum in accordance with the Venice Code, then it’s unlikely that members of the public would now be calling on the High Court to declare the EU referendum “void” as a result of serious irregularities. 
 
The case of Susan Wilson & Others versus The Prime Minister, is scheduled to move to a full hearing on 7 December.
The case will argue that Brexit must be declared void and the notification of Article 50 quashed because, “various criminal offences may have been committed”. 
 
Read the full Jon Danzig’s article in his blog…