Campaigns

By Bev Haigh-Jones

Truro street stall , friday 21 july

Interesting stall in Truro last month. Not as busy as we were expecting, but some lively conversations and, once again, the board demonstrates the strength of feeling around the issue of sewage discharges.

Amongst other things we asked people about was whether they would vote for a party that didn’t openly support rejoin, even though they did themselves. The majority said that they would, but for most it was reluctantly. What they told us they wanted is an opposition party that supports Rejoin. There was no reluctance when it came to the questions related to immigration, however, with almost everyone disagreeing with government policy.

Fortunately, we weren’t troubled too much by rain on the day, so that was good – glad we picked Friday and not Saturday, or it might have been a different story!

Launceston street stall, friday 11 august

This was our first stall in Launceston since before Covid and it was good to be back in East Cornwall after so long. We had a new volunteer with us, which is always lovely, and especially so as Pam was partially responsible for us being in Launceston in the first place.

Despite the fact that the weather was perfect, there weren’t too many people wandering past us in the square, but that meant that were able to have some meaningful conversations, and it was encouraging to chat to two farmers who believe that Brexit was a mistake. Sadly, we did also have two people who thought that Cornwall has benefited from Brexit, but that was because they held the view that our fishermen now have control over their own quotas!

Nevertheless, overall results were very positive. Nobody thought that the government is doing a good job, the majority were in favour of Rejoin and there were some who intend to join the National Rejoin March next month, which is great news – the more the merrier!

Falmouth street stall, Friday 18 August

Our Falmouth National Rejoin March stall was a really successful event, despite our fears that it might be quieter than expected after a poor weather forecast caused the cancellation of the Tall Ships Parade of Sail.

We need not have worried! Falmouth was busy, people were excited to find us on the streets and they couldn’t wait to talk to us and put their dots on the board. Feelings are running high on Brexit and on government policy in general, and there is nothing people like more than to be able to vent their feelings to others who share their views.

We also had another new volunteer with us on Friday, so the team is growing. Karen enjoyed it and will be joining us again in the future – and you could do the same! Being on a stall can be great fun and a real experience, as well as offering the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to keep the Rejoin dream alive.

As you will see from the photo of the Opinionometer, the answers very much followed a theme and, as with last week, nobody answered “Yes” to our first question. Two people did think that they had found a Brexit benefit, however! One of these was a lady who said that she couldn’t name one, but there must be one or we wouldn’t have left the EU. The other, also a lady, suggested that anything that keeps non-white, non-Brits out the UK has to be a benefit. Fortunately, these two ladies were very much in the minority. Most people could not name a single benefit of Brexit and were supportive of Rejoin to the extent that many would campaign for that result. We also signed up fourteen new members to CfE, three of whom have also now become members of our Facebook group. Brexit may be considered a dead subject by some, but it is very much alive and kicking as far as the Rejoin community are concerned, and that community is still growing.

Our next stalls will be in Truro on Saturday 2 September and then in Penzance on Friday 8 September.

Keep watching out for notices advertising our future stalls. You can message or email us for more information if you wish, or just turn up on the day. Everyone welcome.

Seeing so many people say that they would campaign for Rejoin was especially encouraging since, as you must all know by now, the second National Rejoin March will be taking place in London on Saturday 23 September. This is now less than four weeks away! We are offering return coach travel, picking up in Penzance, Falmouth, Truro, Victoria Services and Launceston. But we cannot stress too strongly that tickets MUST be booked as soon as possible. We’re unable to arrange an extra coach on a day’s notice – we need confirmed ticket numbers well in advance.

National Rejoin March II – London 23 September 2023

Coach tickets

Brexit happened against our wishes and we did not “get over it”. WE HAVE NOT MOVED ON! The disaster that has resulted is plain for all to see, and the loss to the UK is immeasurable. No more freedom of movement in either direction, no more Erasmus, no more Horizon, no more regional funding. The list of damages is endless and we want to reverse it. That’s why we will be joining the National Rejoin March II. And this one should be even bigger than last year!

Despite the fact that the march last year was postponed because of the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, it was nevertheless a huge success. People gathered, not just from across the UK, but also from a number of EU countries, with even the speakers including Guy Verhofstadt and Terry Reintke. Last year was a turning point in public opinion and every poll now shows a significant majority in favour of rejoining the EU.

It’s time that this government and opposition parties admitted that Brexit was a huge mistake, and that steps must be taken to rebuild our relationship with the rest of Europe. It might be step by step – rejoining the single market, other reciprocal agreements to make trading easier, but ultimately it should result in rejoining the EU.

With a general election in the offing, now is the time to make our voices heard. We MUST make it huge – come and join us!

We won’t just be sharing the journey – we share a desire to reverse Brexit and it will be FUN! Despite the fact that it is for a serious purpose, being with so many like-minded people makes this a really enjoyable day to remember, from its early start to its late finish.

Tickets aren’t restricted to CfE members, so bring your family and friends!

If you want to join our coaches to London, book your tickets NOW! If you would like to join us but are finding the cost an issue, we do have some sponsored tickets available, courtesy of a few very generous donors. Please don’t let the price stop you from using your voice to campaign, just check out our Eventbrite page for details and availability, or, if you have a query, email the team on info@cornwallforeurope.org.

We’re also happy to accept donations to fund sponsored tickets, or help towards the cost of coach hire and campaign equipment such as flags and placards. Again, just email the team for details of how to do this.

Tickets available via the QR code above, or via this link.

If you haven’t taken part in a London march before, it does involve an early start – and a late finish – but that’s part of the adventure, and it’s a brilliant day! Don’t leave it too long to book your tickets, though. The sooner we know the numbers, the sooner we can plan for more coaches and maximum pick-up points.

Keep watching for the latest in this newsletter, on our Facebook page and our website.