Brexit Legality Challenged: Susan Wilson v. The Prime Minister

Brexit Legality Challenged: Susan Wilson v. The Prime Minister

For the last three months, as lead claimant versus the Prime Minister, I have been living and breathing the UK in EU legal challenge. I have learnt some new terminology and spent hours reading documents which might as well have been written in Swahili. Mostly, I been doing a lot of waiting, and then some more. The premise of our case against the Prime Minister is this – we are asking the High Court to find on two issues that could fundamentally alter the Brexit process:

  • To declare the Referendum result invalid due to the Leave campaign’s proven disregard for spending rules.
  • To subsequently find that the basis for Theresa May’s decision to trigger Article 50 is unreliable because of this wrongdoing. To argue that the referendum produced a small majority in favour of leaving is an irrational basis for such a momentous and far-reaching decision.

 

The Government has responded to our challenge. Its arguments contend that our claim was out of time, having not been submitted within a set timescale following either the referendum itself, or the triggering of Article 50.

We argue that we are within time as the Electoral Commission’s findings that Vote Leave broke the law have only recently been published.

All legal arguments/documents from both sides are available on our website:

https://www.ukineuchallenge.com/

Our challenge hit a stumbling block when the High Court refused permission for a substantive hearing. However, the swift action of our legal team meant a “Notice of Renewal” was submitted within 7 days and an oral permission hearing was secured.

Read full article in Impakter

Why Britons in Spain need to fight for another Brexit referendum

Why Britons in Spain need to fight for another Brexit referendum

There is an unfortunate but prevalent stereotype that British migrants in Spain are all pensioners who laze around, sunning it on the coast.

They lie on their loungers, maybe occasionally skipping off for a round of golf or a game of bridge with their retired friends, all the while refusing to learn the language or mingle with locals. If they want to make a concession to Spanish culture, they might swap gin and tonics for a jug of sangria every now and then.

Not only is that image unfortunate, it is untrue. Around three-quarters of British migrants in Spain are members of younger, working families who are taking advantage of the opportunities the European Union offers them.

The pattern is similar across the EU27 – 80% of Brits in these countries are young people who are greatly appreciative of how they have been welcomed with open arms.

 

 

Read full story in El Pais

Bremain in Spain celebrates huge turnout at People’s Vote march

Bremain in Spain celebrates huge turnout at People’s Vote march

MEMBERS of the 5,000-strong Bremain in Spain association are celebrating a turnout of an estimated 700,000 people at the People’s Vote march in London on Saturday (October 20).

The rally, organised by the People’s Vote campaign, called for a vote on any final Brexit deal between the UK and the EU. Wide-ranging groups, including Bremain in Spain and Españoles de Reino Unido, attended from across the UK and Europe.

See story in Costa News

Brits from Malaga and Granada take part in biggest anti-Brexit march since referendum

Brits from Malaga and Granada take part in biggest anti-Brexit march since referendum

Brits living in Malaga and Granada provinces were among those who travelled to London from all corners of Europe and the UK for last Saturday’s People’s Vote march.

The march was organised by The People’s Vote campaign group which wants the government to hold a referendum on the final Brexit deal.

While no official statistics have been released, estimates range from 700,000 people to one million attending the event.

Pat Laing, who lives in Malaga, flew back to the UK especially for the march. She said, “I went because not a day has gone by since the June 2016 referendum when I haven’t been furious about the whole Brexit referendum campaign.”

She added that “the arrogant complacency of the Remain campaign, the lies, manipulation and the illegal funding of the Leave campaign, the effects of 40 years of negative narrative about the EU that the UK population have been fed, but most of all the risk to peace and harmony in Ireland that Brexit represents” all compelled her to be at what could well be the final protest of its kind before the UK leaves the EU, on 29 March next year.

Full story in The Sur

Bremain in Spain joins 670,000-strong People’s Vote march

Bremain in Spain joins 670,000-strong People’s Vote march

BRITS living in Spain are on their way home after joining the 670,000-strong People’s Vote march in central London calling for the public to have a final say on any Brexit deal – and for this vote to include an option to remain in the European Union. Bremain in Spain, a campaign group fighting Brexit with over 5,200 members on its Facebook site, joined the march with their slogan ‘Brexit is Bonkers’ and wore yellow baseball caps and blue T-shirts.

Many of Bremain in Spain’s members and supporters have begun posting their own photographs of the day’s march on social media, which show a wealth of imagination among remainers. The most-liked so far reads: “My mother-in-law lives in Spain. Please don’t make them send her back here!”, while other popular banners read: “Even Baldrick had a plan;” “Jacob’s Crackers,” in the style of the popular water biscuits and referring to Tory hard-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg; “Ikea has better cabinets;” “Nice one, Dave,” referring to British prime minister David Cameron who held the referendum on leaving or remaining in the EU; “June 24, 2016: Worst hangover ever,” referring to the day after the referendum; “This is the worst trade negotiation since Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,” and even, “This is like when Geri overestimated her viability as a solo artist and left the Spice Girls;” although the latter may not be the best analogy, given that Geri Halliwell had two number one singles and two best-selling albums within as many years of leaving the band.

A mother and daughter walked side by side carrying blue banners with the EU sign of a ring of yellow stars, the mother’s reading: “Pulling out doesn’t work,” and the daughter’s, with an arrow pointing to her mother, reading: “My mum.”

A counter-protest by the pro-Brexit association Leave Means Leave attracted just 1,200 marchers, whilst the People’s Vote march filled the streets wall-to-wall from Marble Arch to the British Parliament building.

 

 

 

Read full article in Think Spain

 

 

Votes for Life Campaign Update

Votes for Life Campaign Update

Harry Shindler MBE emailed us today to send the following message to supporters of the Votes for Life campaign. His case will be heard at the European Court of Justice on November 26 2018. 

Harry Shindler MBE

Update on the ECJ ruling of Nov 26th 2018

Summary from the Action for Expats Crowdjustice page – 

The ruling given on 26th November in Luxembourg is disappointing.  “Catch 22” one might say.   It can be read in full HERE.

To summarise: the service of Article 50 Notice and the negotiations have not resulted in any loss of citizen rights since the final agreement is not yet signed and there has been no ‘final act’. The Article 50 Notice is only ‘preparatory’.  So the court cannot make any ruling until the rights have been lost (!). 

By that time the UK will be out of the EU. Catch 22 indeed. 

Note however that the ruling implicitly admits that the Article 50 Notice itself is NOT a final act, merely preparatory. That may be of some help to the Maugham case currently being heard in the CJEU.

It is astonishing that the judges made no mention of the core claim of the case: the discrimination against those UK citizens who were denied a vote in the 2016 referendum.  Surely this is matter of EU law in itself , and should not depend on proof of loss of other rights?

Julien Fouchet will be submitting an urgent appeal to the Court against its ruling of 26 November within the next few days.  We need to raise more funds. The target will be increased to £60,000. Please support if you can, and share this call for funds with others.   Thanks from all at the AFEV team.  Harry Shindler never gives up, nor will we! 

You can read the ruling in full by clicking here and The Guardian’s report on the ruling here.