Brexit: where are we now – and what next? Claire Fox and Lord Adonis.

On Tuesday evening Sevenoaks School hosted Lord Andrew Adonis and Claire Fox talking on “Brexit – Where Are We Now – and What Next?”.

At least that was the strapline on the publicity – but everything was changing as we gathered and, as we all know, nobody really has any idea of “what next”.

Some 360 people attended and the chairman, Adam Boulton, started with a show of hands as to who had voted Remain and who had voted Leave – it was, unsurprisingly, an overwhelmingly Remain audience.

Continue reading “Brexit: where are we now – and what next? Claire Fox and Lord Adonis.”

Frequently asked Questions

In November 2018, SSTIE produced a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to assist campaigners wishing to explain or refute common questions and misunderstandings about Brexit and the EU.

Download FAQ and Answers here

This document will be updated as required.

Sevenoaks people very receptive to SSTIE’s NHS campaign

Today there were 21 people on the streets of Sevenoaks campaigning on the NHS and standing together with the 1DWU (1 Day Without Us ) national campaign in support of migrants.

SSTIE Members & supporters gathering signatures to support the NHS in Sevenoaks

Hundreds of EM Euratom petition leaflets were distributed along with many of SSTIE’s new leaflet inviting people to join us along with a couple of hundred 1DWU leaflets.

57 signatures were gathered in 2 hours for the Euratom petition demanding that the UK stay in Euratom.

SSTIE on the streets of Sevenoaks

 

Parliament is sovereign – but will it get a truly meaningful say?

In the British system of representative democracy, sovereignty lies with parliament, which means that MPs should have the final say on important matters of politics. 

This is why all friends of British democracy should welcome yesterday’s vote to amend clause 9 of the European Union Withdrawal Bill.  The passing of amendment 7 was a victory for parliamentary democracy, and marks an important first step by parliament to reassert its sovereignty and retake control of the important choices that this country has to make in the coming year.

But the passed amendment does not go far enough. While it will give MPs the choice of accepting or rejecting whatever the deal that the government may be able to secure, it does not yet offer MPs a truly meaningful say.

MPs are charged with acting in the interest of the country and their constituents, and for that reason they should be allowed to evaluate all the possible options for our future relationship with the EU.

To have a truly meaningful vote, MPs must also be given the choice of  voting to remain in the European Union. Help them take back control by signing this petition:

 

Tonbridge wants MPs to have the final say

SSTIE were campaigning on the streets of Tonbridge for the first time on Saturday 9th December. We had 21 volunteers over 4 hours from 10 am to 2 pm, during which time we spoke to hundreds of people and we were pleasantly surprised by how positive the overall response was.

The majority of the people we spoke to think that Brexit is a mess and that it is not what people voted for – no matter how they voted in the referendum.

Continue reading “Tonbridge wants MPs to have the final say”

Will Hutton: The Challenges We Face

The following is a full transcript of the keynote speech by Will Hutton, Political Economist, Writer, Journalist, held at the Remainers to Campaigners workshop on 21st October 2017 in Sevenoaks.

I’m delighted to be here, and delighted to see the two flags. I’m very keen that we should always fly the EU flag alongside the Union Jack. For me the EU flag stands for values that I really care about, and I know most Europeans and most British care about too. These are the values that we have inherited partly from our Christian tradition, and partly from the European Enlightenment. The Aquis Communitaire, the Four Freedoms, Europe’s collective commitment to democracy, the rule of law, evidence-based science, non-fake news, belief in objective reporting, tolerance of the Other, respect for argument, are essential conditions for our wonderful European civilisation.

I’ve been a lifelong European, I learned it on my father’s knee. He landed in Normandy on D-Day plus 8, and he had a few things to say to Nigel Farage about fighting Germans. Continue reading “Will Hutton: The Challenges We Face”