EuroCitizens is encouraging members, together with their friends, family and sympathisers, to join in The Last Mile Westminster Lobby on November 5th. This is being jointly organised by British in Europe, the 3million and other organisations. We are campaigning for the UK government and the EU to commit to ring-fencing and implementing the citizens’ rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement under Article 50 – no matter what the outcome on Brexit – as well as strengthening the accord to maintain our freedom of movement in the EU.
If you can attend the lobby with us in Westminster, you will need to register here https://britishineurope.org/westminsterlobby/ Most of us will be taking part in the e-lobby of MPs – see the full details below.
Remember, we are only five months away from Brexit and nothing has been agreed. There is an increasing risk of a no-deal scenario - which means that we all may become illegal immigrants overnight and have to apply for third-country national status just to stay in Spain. The situation is getting very serious and we need your help to make this e-lobby HUGE. After the enormous success of the March for a People's Vote last Saturday we need to put all the pressure we can on MPs to support our demands.
Please join with us and stand up as one of the five million.
See below instructions for the e-lobby and the template of a letter to send to your MP.
HOW TO TAKE PART
1.Find out which MP to write to, and get their contact details
Find the MP whose constituency covers the last address you lived in when you were in the UK. Don’t worry if you’re no longer on the electoral register because of the 15 year rule – write to this MP regardless. Or if you have a strong family connection – for example, a parent – living in the UK, use their address.
Find your MP here, by entering the postcode or constituency: http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/.
Or use this spreadsheet: http://bit.ly/MPSpreadsheet.
2.Register for the e-lobby
Registration helps us find out how many people are taking part and which constituencies have been covered.Registration is simple, and free – you will be offered the chance to make a donation towards the lobby costs, which would be much appreciated but is not compulsory. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive confirmation and then a further email with more details.Please register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brexit-the-last-mile-citizens-lobby-tickets-50144376179
3.Send an email to your MP
We’ve prepared a template for you (see below) to use as the basis of your email or letter. While we suggest that you spend a bit of time making it your own, on this occasion it’s very important to make sure that the main points on ring-fencing and the invitation to support and sign the pledge remain unaltered and uncut.
3.Send an email to your MP
We’ve prepared a template for you (see below) to use as the basis of your email or letter. While we suggest that you spend a bit of time making it your own, on this occasion it’s very important to make sure that the main points on ring-fencing and the invitation to support and sign the pledge remain unaltered and uncut.
If you’re a Twitter user, tweet a copy of your letter to your MP if you can as well to increase the chances of reaching them – turn it into a PDF to do this easily. You’ll find MPs’ Twitter handles on this spreadsheet: http://bit.ly/MPSpreadsheet.
4. Send us a copy of any reply you receive from your MP
We’d like to capture any replies that you receive from your MP; please forward any personal responses you receive (not holding replies or autoreplies) to bielobby@gmail.com.
Don’t be discouraged or disheartened if you don’t get a personal response – it certainly doesn’t mean that your letter has been ignored. The most important aspect of this lobby is asking your MPs to support ring-fencing and sign the pledge to do so.
We’re also collecting separately via the pledge form the names and constituencies of all MPs who sign the pledge and will be posting these on the British in Europe website as well as on social media.
4. Send us a copy of any reply you receive from your MP
We’d like to capture any replies that you receive from your MP; please forward any personal responses you receive (not holding replies or autoreplies) to bielobby@gmail.com.
Don’t be discouraged or disheartened if you don’t get a personal response – it certainly doesn’t mean that your letter has been ignored. The most important aspect of this lobby is asking your MPs to support ring-fencing and sign the pledge to do so.
We’re also collecting separately via the pledge form the names and constituencies of all MPs who sign the pledge and will be posting these on the British in Europe website as well as on social media.
Want to go ‘the extra mile’? Find a friend
One way we can double the impact of this vital campaign is for everyone to enlist the help of at least one friend or relative who still lives in the UK, and ask them to contact their MP directly to ask for their support for The Last Mile campaign. MPs need to know that those living in the UK are also deeply concerned about the rights of British citizens in the EU, and they will only do that if they hear directly from those living in their constituency. So please help us by asking at least one friend or member of your family to take part. Just point them to this page to show them how, or suggest that they visit their MP at their surgery.
Template for letter to your MP:
Dear MP [insert name],
Dear MP [insert name],
I am one of the 1.2 million British citizens in the EU-27. I moved to [country] [with my family] as a British citizen and as an EU citizen, and I have been exercising my EU treaty rights to build a life here for X years.
I am writing to ask for your urgent support in two areas.
1. Ring fencing
We now face the prospect of no deal. If this happens, all my existing EU rights could fall away at 11pm GMT on 29 March 2019 and I could potentially become an illegal resident of my host state at that moment. The UK government and the EU must do the right thing now by committing to honour the political promises made to us at the start of the negotiations, no matter what.
I ask you to use your voice as an MP to support a simple, obvious solution – that the EU and the UK jointly agree to honour under Article 50, as a minimum, the rights contained in the citizens’ rights chapter of the draft Withdrawal Agreement – even if it is the only aspect to be agreed and whatever the outcome of the negotiations.
I am asking you today to show your support by signing the #thelastmile campaign pledge at http://bit.ly/LastMilePledge to guarantee citizens’ rights:
“I support honouring under Article 50, as a minimum, the agreement already reached on citizens’ rights - whatever the outcome on Brexit”.
2. Strengthening the draft Withdrawal Agreement
We have a draft Withdrawal Agreement but it is not legally binding and anyway strips me of several key rights. [Please complete as appropriate for your situation]
I will lose the rights to
I am writing to ask for your urgent support in two areas.
1. Ring fencing
We now face the prospect of no deal. If this happens, all my existing EU rights could fall away at 11pm GMT on 29 March 2019 and I could potentially become an illegal resident of my host state at that moment. The UK government and the EU must do the right thing now by committing to honour the political promises made to us at the start of the negotiations, no matter what.
I ask you to use your voice as an MP to support a simple, obvious solution – that the EU and the UK jointly agree to honour under Article 50, as a minimum, the rights contained in the citizens’ rights chapter of the draft Withdrawal Agreement – even if it is the only aspect to be agreed and whatever the outcome of the negotiations.
I am asking you today to show your support by signing the #thelastmile campaign pledge at http://bit.ly/LastMilePledge to guarantee citizens’ rights:
“I support honouring under Article 50, as a minimum, the agreement already reached on citizens’ rights - whatever the outcome on Brexit”.
2. Strengthening the draft Withdrawal Agreement
We have a draft Withdrawal Agreement but it is not legally binding and anyway strips me of several key rights. [Please complete as appropriate for your situation]
I will lose the rights to
- free movement and visa free travel across the EU27;
- recognition of professional qualifications;
- supply cross-border services as an independent service provider;
- vote and stand in local and EU elections rights in my host country;
- return to the UK with my non-British partner without being subject to income thresholds;
- study in another EU 27 country outside their host state;
- return to their host state after an extended period of work or study elsewhere.
