Can Brexit still be stopped?

The Supreme Court has ruled that the UK government cannot trigger article 50 to leave the EU without an act of Parliament (i.e. a vote on a bill).
So what does that mean? Could Brexit still be stopped?
Well unfortunately it seems very unlikely:
a) the Tories have a working majority in the House of Commons (and they will all or nearly all vote to trigger article 50)
b) there is virtually no opposition.

MPs generally accept the result of the referendum.

The story we are told is: - The people of the UK have spoken and the majority wants to leave the EU. The terms of the exit from the EU will be negotiated by the government. Parliament will then vote and most probably will vote to trigger article 50.

So will this parliamentary vote be irrelevant? 

Well it could lead to some changes in the terms of the deal, with more opposition in the House of Lords, where the Tories don't have a working majority, but ultimately it appears unlikely to block Brexit.

Should Brexit now be considered a fait accompli? 

Well this is where I am struggling. Why shouldn't the "opposition" be opposed to something they don't believe is good for their country?
After all the majority (51.9%) voted to leave in the referendum, but what about the 48.1% who wanted to remain? What about the votes of London? What about the votes of Scotland and of Northern Ireland?
Not to mention the voices of all those people who were not even allowed to vote: anyone below 18 (the generation that will be mostly affected by Brexit) and those who have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years.
Let's not forget that this referendum should never have happened in the first place.
The leave campaign was shocking and many voters were misled to vote leave on the basis of falsehoods (or "alternative facts", as they are now being called in the US). One of these lies was the claim that the EU was costing the UK £350 million a week and that this money could be used to fund the NHS. Of course, many still believe that it is a good idea to leave the EU, but many others strongly oppose this view.

In her Brexit speech of January 17th, Theresa May said: "after all the division and discord, the country is coming together. The referendum was divisive at times. And those divisions have taken time to heal."
I don't believe that the country is coming together. From what I hear and read in the media and social media, the population of the UK is still very divided.
I see many other contradictions and debatable items in Theresa May's speech.
She said that people "voted to leave the European Union and embrace the world". Really?
"June the 23rd was not the moment Britain chose to step back from the world. It was the moment we chose to build a truly Global Britain". I have very strong doubts about that. Surely you can be part of the European Union and be global at the same time. In fact, how can you leave the European Union and still be global?
She also said "You will still be welcome in this country as we hope our citizens will be welcome in yours." That's not the same message that transpires from "controlling immigration from the EU".
Leaving aside all the economic and judicial benefits (including workers' rights) of being in the EU (and consequently in the single market and in the customs union), I believe that the freedom of movement of people is a huge achievement. I consider myself extremely lucky, because I am part of the Erasmus generation. I know the importance of freedom of movement and I and many of my European friends have benefited greatly from this. I was able to live, study and work in four EU countries, one of which is (or was) the UK.
So I am very disappointed to see that the Labour party is simply giving up.
As awful as having Trump as President may be (and I know that four years is plenty of time to disrupt a country, destroy human rights and relations with the rest of the world), in four years' time there will be another election and hopefully by then there will be more suitable candidates.
But if the UK leaves the EU, the single market, the customs union... it will be permanent.
So maybe the vote of the UK Parliament will be irrelevant, but at least the politicians that oppose Brexit could make their voices heard and, more importantly, should make the voices of the people they represent heard.

Brexit means more than Brexit

Following the initial frenzy of activity in the aftermath of the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016, there has been very little information about what Brexit actually means. That was until yesterday, 17 January 2017, when Theresa May laid out her plans for Brexit. And yes it will be a very hard Brexit.

The key points of her speech can be summarised as

1) Not only will the UK (or what's left of it) leave the EU, but it will also leave the single market.

2) The UK will also (partially?) leave the customs union.

3) The UK wants to control immigration from Europe.

4) The UK will withdraw from the European Court of Justice.

5) To the other members of the EU: "You'd better not punish us in the negotiations or else it will hurt you. But let's remain friends, yeah?"- if that's not an open threat, then what is?

6) The UK parliament will get to vote on the EU deal, but apparently whatever happens Britain is leaving the EU.

The European view can be summed up as: "At least now we know what you really want. Good luck to you, but we'll be stronger than ever".

The general consensus in Europe is that it will be Britain who will be worse off, not the EU. 

The Daily Mail called her the "new iron lady" on its front page today. How ironic that in that same venue (Lancaster House) 29 years ago Margaret Thatcher, the iron lady, gave a speech welcoming the creation of the single market. Now Theresa May is set to wipe it all away.


What does it all mean?

Single market: the single or internal market is an area in which goods, services, capital and people can move freely.

Customs union: there are no tariffs imposed on goods when they cross borders between member states. Also, EU members apply the same tariffs to goods from outside the EU and are not allowed to negotiate their own trade deals with third countries. 

It is possible to be a member of just the single market but not the customs union (Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein). It is also possible to be a member of just the customs union but not the single market (Turkey, Andorra or the Isle of Man). 

European Court of Justice: the ECJ is based in Luxembourg and interprets EU law. It makes sure that EU law is applied in the same way in all EU countries. It can also be used by individuals, companies or organisations to take action against an EU institution if they feel it has infringed their rights. The ECJ does not create EU law. 

The Italian Referendum

The year 2016 will be marked by three important referendums. First there was Brexit in the UK, then there was the Colombian referendum (in which voters rejected a peace deal with the Farc) and now it's the turn of the Italian referendum.

On Sunday 4th of December millions of Italians will be called to the polls to vote yes or no. The question: do you approve the following changes to the constitution - overcoming perfect bicameralism, reducing the number of MPs, reducing costs, eliminating a public entity and modifying the section concerning regions, provinces and municipalities? 
I'm not going to go into the technical details, as it's all rather complicated unless you're a constitutional expert. I also won't say which way I voted (as an Italian abroad I've already voted by post).

What troubles me is the meaning that has been attributed to this referendum and the stakes involved.

This was (and supposedly still is) a referendum about whether to change the Italian constitution. On the one hand, the yes camp argue that these changes are necessary and that they will lead to real progress. On the other hand, the no camp argue that the constitution is not the problem and that the proposed new text is confusing and badly written.

However, this referendum is being seen by many as a test for prime minister Renzi's government. It is also seen in the context of a growing anti-establishment trend, which started with Brexit and was reinforced by the election of Donald Trump in the US presidential election. All sorts of doomsday scenarios are being painted: a no vote could destabilise the country's economy, spark another banking crisis and eventually threaten the survival of the Eurozone. 

Of course, Renzi is partly to blame for this. Like Cameron with Brexit, Renzi turned the referendum into a personal matter when he announced that he would stand down if yes did not win. He later seemed to realise his mistake and backtracked, only to change his mind again: if no wins, he will resign - or so he says. Unlike other politicians, Italian politicians have a history of holding onto power till the bitter end.

According to the Financial Times, a no vote could lead to Italy leaving the euro and to the failure of up to eight Italian banks.

The Economist, meanwhile, is sending slightly mixed messages, with one article titled "Why Italy should vote no in its referendum. The country needs far-reaching reforms, just not the ones on offer". In another article the Economist warns that "the risk ((of a no vote)) is not so much instability as immobility: that months, even years, will be spent on yet more wrangling over the mechanics of politics and that Italy will not get the reforms it needs".   

German finance ministre Schaueble hopes that Renzi will be successful and said that he would vote for him. The point, however, is that this is not a vote for or against Renzi.

Whatever the press and the politicians may say, however catastrophic the consequences may or may not be, the yes or no vote is not a judgement on the government and it is not about whether to leave the EU or the Eurozone. This is a referendum about the constitution. Nobody really knows what will happen. If no wins, as the polls predict, the consequences may not be as dramatic as some suggest. To cite the Economist again: "If, though, a lost referendum really were to trigger the collapse of the euro, then it would be a sign that the single currency was so fragile that its destruction was only a matter of time".

Post-Brexit family reunion

Once again our Anglo-Italian-German family (with Austrian and Swedish connections) was reunited. The location was a 1950's villa with stunning views over Lake Garda and the special occasion was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

As might be expected, Brexit was one of our main topics of conversation after "Where is the best pizzeria?", "Where is Leo hiding now?" and "Have they emptied the bin/taken away the rubbish?" (more on recycling later). My Gran's favourite topic of conversation as always was Andy Murray, followed by Brexit.

I've heard about people falling out with other family members, friends and colleagues over Brexit, but in our family we all agree on two things:

1) The referendum was a bad idea from the start.
2) Brexit doesn't mean Brexit.

As time goes on and no clarity emerges, there is a possibility that Brexit can still be avoided, at least we hope so. After all, there is a legal argument that the government is not constitutionally entitled to trigger article 50 without approval from parliament. 

So far, nothing has really changed in our family, except for the fact that the pound has lost value against the euro, so holidays in Italy and Germany are now more expensive for our UK based members. 

Even the waiter serving us "coppe gelato" in the village of Montinelle couldn't resist a political observation: "Britain has never been the same since Margaret Thatcher left". Eyebrows were raised, coughing sounds were made and giggles were stifled, but I'm not sure the waiter noticed.

The truth is nobody really knows what will happen. It's all a giant mess (or an Eaton Mess) and it will take years to sort out.

It's even worse than sorting out the rubbish in Manerba del Garda. After one week most of us (except for me, as I did a crash course on recycling on the first day) still didn't know where to throw the serviettes or the tea bags away!

Rubbish collection is a serious and complicated business. Each day of the week, between 8pm and 4am, your rubbish needs to be left outside your house or taken to the nearest street corner. Monday is organic waste (biodegradable bags in brown bin) and other rubbish (black bags no bin), Tuesday is paper (in paper bags or cardboard boxes only, no bin), Wednesday is organic waste again, Thursday is glass and metal (blue bin only, no bags), Fridays is plastic (transparent bags no bin). 

Confused?

Or you could do as my uncle suggested: dump everything into the bins on the beach, which is kind of how I feel about the Brexit ballot papers.

Meanwhile we are all back in our respective countries of Italy, Germany and the UK, except for my brother who's currently on a business trip in India.  

Looking forward to the next European reunion...

Currywurst in Berlin... lobster in Paris

When Theresa May met Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday, Bio-Currywurst was probably not on the menu (or at least one would hope so). 
In a pre-dinner press conference, the German Chancellor agreed with the British Prime Minister that more time is needed before Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty can be triggered. She also did not dismiss the possibility of a deal that combines free trade with controls on immigration. However, Angela Merkel also added that there will be no negotiations until Article 50 has been invoked.


Before setting off on her EU travels, Theresa May announced through a spokesperson that the UK is giving up its planned presidency of the European Council (due to start in July 2017) to focus on Brexit negotiations. The decision was reached in a phone call between Theresa May and Donald Tusk, the President of the EU Council.

 

When Theresa May met François Hollande the following evening in Paris, the French President was not quite so accommodating. Although he did recognise that the UK needs more time before it can trigger Article 50, he was very clear about France's position on free trade. If the UK wants access to the single market it cannot put immigration controls on EU citizens, i.e. free trade cannot be granted without free movement of people.
In case you are wondering what was on the menu in Paris: lobster salad as a starter, veal with spinach as a main course, vanilla mousse with strawberries and cheese for dessert. Bon appétit!

Back to Brexit

One week ago...

David Cameron was still the UK Prime Minister.
Theresa May was still the Home Secretary and one of two contestants in the Conservative leadership race.
Boris Johnson had disappeared into oblivion.

Five days ago...

David Cameron shared a few jokes with his colleagues at his last Prime Minister's Questions before moving out of Downing Street with his family.
Theresa May paid a visit to the Queen and became the new Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson popped into number 10 and was made Foreign Secretary.  

The reaction to the news of Boris Johnson's appointment was shock, disbelief, bemusement, amusement and apprehension. The sign on the railings outside Boris' home in London "SORRY WORLD" summarises all of these feelings.
On his first day as Foreign Secretary, Boris was challenged with the difficult task of locating his car, while trying to avoid questions from journalists.

While the world focussed on the alarming news of the promotion of the former Mayor of London to the third-most powerful position in UK politics after Prime Minister and Chancellor, Theresa May made other controversial decisions.

David Davis was made Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Liam Fox (who resigned in 2011 from David Cameron's government after he "mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred") was made Secretary of State for International Trade.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change was abolished. 

What about Brexit?

Although Theresa May was officially on the Remain side, she insists that "Brexit means Brexit" and that there will be no second referendum on the EU. She has also said she will not trigger Article 50 until the UK's negotiating position has been defined.

Meanwhile, David Davis, the minister in charge of Brexit, has recently said that the UK can formally trigger its departure from the EU by 2017.

What about Scotland?
Scotland wants to remain in the EU.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, says a second referendum on Scottish independence from the UK is being considered.
Theresa May is against this idea.

The mess continues...

There is a petition to have the pudding Eton Mess renamed as Brexit!

Eton Mess is a traditional British dessert made with strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream. 

Eton is an exclusive school for boys in England. It's called a public school, but it's actually private and very expensive. Both David Cameron and Boris Johnson were educated at Eton. 
 

To Brexit or not to Brexit - that is the question

Last Friday I was wondering who would be the next politician to quit.
I didn't have to wait long to find out. As I turned on the BBC World Service at lunch time today, I was greeted with the breaking news that Andrea Leadsom was pulling out of the Tory leadership race.
Officially this is in the interest of the country: to speed up the process and in view of Theresa May's greater support amongst the parliamentary party. However, there are suggestions that the media coverage of the weekend may have been too much to handle. In case you missed it, in an interview to The Times, Mrs Leadsom basically said that being a mum gave her an advantage over Theresa May, who doesn't have children. Needless to say the statement did not go down well.
Or perhaps she was put off by yesterday's booing during Andy Murray's victory speech. When Andy highlighted David Cameron's presence on Centre Court and commented on the difficulties of being a PM, the Wimbledon crowd booed.
So now everything is in place for Theresa May to become the next Prime Minister. Bearing in mind what has happened so far, anything could happen between now and Wednesday, when David Cameron is set to step down.
Of course, the main question remains: to Brexit or not to Brexit?
In the words of Theresa May this morning: "Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a success of it."
However, many in the UK and in the EU are praying and hoping that Brexit can still be avoided.
At the weekend the UK government turned down a petition signed by 4 million people for a second referendum.
The latest initiative is a letter signed by over 1,000 British barristers urging the prime minister to allow parliament to decide whether the UK should leave the EU. They argue that the referendum result is advisory, as it did not set a threshold necessary to leave the EU. The barristers propose that "the government establishes a royal commission or an equivalent independent body to receive evidence and report on the benefits, costs and risks of triggering article 50 to the UK as a whole, and to all of its constituent populations. The parliamentary vote should not take place until the commission has reported.”
Given that this latest recommendation is extremely reasonable and responsible, we can conclude that the politicians in Westminster will almost certainly ignore it.

Who will quit next? The Brexit soap opera continues.

For those of us watching the Brexit saga unfold, one thing has become clear:  the main Brexit campaigners are not only clueless. They are irresponsible. Instead of trying to solve the problems they created, all they do is abandon ship and thus continue to behave irresponsibly.

1) Calling the referendum was in itself irresponsible.

2) The campaign leading to the referendum was irresponsible and based on lies, scaremongering and racist claims.

3) Once the politicians realised that the damage was done (and more damage will be done once/if article 50 is triggered), they made the very irresponsible decision to quit.

Shortly after the final results became known, David Cameron resigned as PM and Tory leader. Then Boris Johnson announced that he would not take part in the Tory leadership race and thus would not become the new PM. This was followed by another shocking announcement, this time by Nigel Farage himself, of his resignation as UKIP (UK Independence Party) leader. Mr Farage said he wanted his life back, while the Remain voters want the EU back. I will not repeat the tweet by British singer Charlotte Church because it is rather rude, but you can look it up yourselves.
  
I was wrong  in my last post, however. Nigel Farage did not speak for the last time in the European Parliament. He still intends to "comment from time to time". Although he no longer wants to lead UKIP, Mr Farage will remain an MEP, or Member of the European Parliament, and of course keep his salary until the UK officially leaves the EU.  
Still, you never know, Nigel Farage may change his mind. He'd already announced his resignation in May 2015, only to backtrack a few days later. 

The three quitters have quite rightly been described as "rats fleeing a sinking ship" by a former Belgian Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, thousands of people marched through London last weekend to protest against the referendum decision to leave the EU. With the majority of young people in Britain extremely disappointed, if not devastated, by the results of the referendum, some EU countries are considering offering dual nationality to young British citizens living in Germany, Italy or France. However, that does not solve the problem for those remaining in Britain or those who are still too young to leave. Not to mention the EU nationals currently living, studying and/or working in the UK.

This week, a motion in the House of Commons calling on the government to guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in the UK was passed, but it it is not binding. The UK government claims it would be a mistake to give guarantees to EU nationals in the UK without similar concessions for UK nationals living elsewhere in the EU.

And just in case you were wondering whether things might be improving in the business world, the Pound sterling this week fell to a new 31-year low against the dollar. 

Amongst all the uncertainty of recent weeks, clarity is emerging as to who will be the next British Prime Minister. It will be a woman and will either be Theresa May or Andrea Leadsom. 

Please join me again soon in "To Brexit or not to Brexit - that is the question". 

Brexit: what has happened so far

On 23 June the UK voted to leave the EU with 52% of the votes for Leave versus 48% for Remain.

While the majority of the country voted to leave, Scotland, Northern Ireland, London (and Gibraltar) voted to remain.

Nigel Farage, one of the main promoters of the leave campaign, announced in his victory speech that no bullet had been fired. 

Just days before the referendum, labour MP Jo Cox died after being shot and stabbed by a man shouting "Britain first".

As the referendum results became apparent

• The pound sterling fell to its lowest level in 31 years.
• The markets crashed.
• David Cameron announced his resignation as Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland voiced their firm intention to remain in the EU, potentially leading to the dismemberment of the United Kingdom.
• The ratings agencies downgraded the UK's credit rating. 

When asked about the £350 million per week that had been promised to the NHS instead of the EU - one of the key messages of the Leave campaign - Nigel Farage admitted that it was a mistake and that he couldn't guarantee it.
 
The other lies of the Leave campaign soon became apparent: 

Immigration levels cannot be reduced even if the UK leaves the EU. 

The Leave campaigners now want preferential access to the single market, but the UK cannot get this if it does not accept freedom of movement.

Once voters started to become aware of the politicians' lies and of the devastating effects of the Leave vote on the economy and on the domestic political landscape, #Regrexit started to trend on Twitter.

So far 4 million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum on the EU.

On 28 June Nigel Farage spoke (for the last time?) and was booed at the European Parliament.

On 28 June at an informal meeting of the European Council (for the first time in 40 years without the UK PM), the 27 leaders of the member states announced that there would be no negotiations of any kind until the UK formally notified its intention to withdraw from the EU, i.e. until it triggered Article 50.

They also made it clear that there would be no compromise on freedom of movement.

On 30 June, in a shock announcement, Boris Johnson, a strong promoter of the Leave campaign and aspiring leader of the Tories, announced in a press statement that he would not stand for the Tory leadership contest.

So who will be the next conservative party leader?
Here are the contestants:
Teresa May - home secretary and supporter of Remain.
Michael Gove - justice secretary and Brexit campaigner.
Stephen Crabb - work and pensions secretary and supporter of Remain.
Andrea Leadsom - energy minister and promoter of Leave campaign.
Liam Fox - former cabinet minister and Brexit campaigner.

Meanwhile, the labour party is in disarray. Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader, has been repeatedly encouraged to leave (including by David Cameron "For heaven's sake man, go!") but he insists he's not going anywhere. Labour MPs even passed a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.

The Liberal Democrats party has reported that people are joining them at a rate of one a minute following leader Tim Farron’s commitment to fight to rejoin the EU. 

Finally, the referendum result is not legally binding in UK law and alone does not trigger the UK's departure from the EU. That has to be done under the withdrawal process laid down in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Once notice is given by the PM, there is a two-year deadline to negotiate an exit deal. 

Please join me for the next instalments.

Brexit: disappointed Brits and other Europeans share their thoughts

Me, a British-Italian national, living in Germany
The more I read and the more I think about Brexit, the more worried and frightened I am about the future.

The results of the referendum were a huge shock for me and millions of others, but what I find just as shocking is the hatred that these results have fuelled. As well as the extremely worrying reports of racism in the UK in the wake of the leave vote, I am concerned about the angry statements of some my European (non-British) friends.
 Although leave won by 52% to 48%, millions of Brits wanted to remain in the EU. They voted Remain because they want to be part of the EU and cannot understand why the rest of the country wants to leave. Much has been said about Regrexit and some voters changing their minds (once they had witnessed the devastating effects on the economy, on the domestic political landscape and the lies that the leave campaign was based on, amongst other things). Some people have indicated that given a second chance they would vote differently. 

Unfortunately, the events of the past week have not shed a positive light on the UK and on British people, so I would like to share the views of some British friends and Europeans, who have made a home in the UK, who are shocked and upset about the results of the referendum. Just like me, they believed in the dream of a European Union.  

Carol, a British national, living in the UK

"So much of my life has been defined by the EU and the fact of the British presence within it. I spent time in an EU country while at university, under an EU programme. I did my PhD alongside EU students in a top UK university, which of course is partly funded by the EU both in direct (research) and indirect (paying students) terms. I lived and worked in the same EU country after my degree, which was easy because of my nationality. I worked with academics from all over the world and saw the competition for EU funding and the advantage that funding and collaboration brings to science.

The way that I think, the way that I am, has been defined by my life experience, and I'm not sure how to conceive of a UK outside of the EU. If you voted to leave, I'm sure you had your reasons; maybe you feel as strongly about it as I do. Please bear with me while I try to adjust to a new and unwelcome world view."

Sarah, a British national living in the US
"I identify as European as much as British and to have that taken away from me is like someone trying to take away a part of what makes me me. It’s a decision that hits right at the core of who we are personally and then on a bigger scale throughout the UK, Europe and the world."

Nadine, a German national living in the UK
"I came to the UK as an exchange student and over the past 12 years I have built myself a home, worked and partied hard, forged many friendships and did what I could for this country, by contributing to the economy, petitioning for my library and volunteering in a local park. But I was happy to do that because I felt one with this country.

When the Brexit result came in, I was actually in Berlin. Germany has now become my holiday destination and the UK my home. My first reaction was utter shock and disbelief. I had anticipated a tight outcome, but I always believed that good sense and decency would prevail. Many of the people who voted Leave have been used by a campaign which was a simple scramble for the top. The campaign was indecent because inciting xenophobia is always indecent, looking for a scapegoat is indecent and using people's fear to your own advantage is indecent.

Two days after the results, I went back to a changed country. I always felt that London was my home, England my adopted country and I felt welcomed here. I cherished the openness and friendliness of the people, their helpfulness and cheerfulness despite the weather. When I stepped off the plane at Gatwick and onto the train, for the first time I didn’t really feel at home any more. I somehow didn’t feel welcome. Worse, I actually felt betrayed. I also felt very sad, that Britain had not recognised the good of the EU and that immigration had been used on both sides, Leave and Remain, for their power struggle.

If Leave used lies and scare tactics to achieve their goal then the Remain side did not do enough to dispel those lies. Unfortunately, once you have sown the seed of xenophobia it is hard to rid yourself of it again. Yesterday while walking through a park and talking on the phone in German, for the first time I was conscious of the fact that I was speaking a different language and that somebody may tell me to go home – wherever that is now..."

Finally, if you haven't yet read this, here is the wonderful description of our European family by my brother Stefano.

I present you my very European family, from left to right:
Claudio my father Italian, lived all his life in sunny Palermo.
Michael my brother in law born in Germany, met my sister in France, lived and worked in London now lives in Berlin.

Leonardo my nephew, born and bred in Berlin, he is German Italian British, at the age of 4 speaks 3 languages, and is very fond of aeroplanes, fire engines and cruise ships.
Rachel my mother, born in Britain to British parents, moved to Italy in her 20s still there 40 odd years later.
Audrey my grandmother, British born, her daughter(Rachel) and her son(Nic) live in Italy, sister married a German man and as a result has two half German half British nieces.
Linda my sister, Born in Britain, grew up in Italy, went to university in Sheffield and France, moved to Germany, worked in London for years now lives in Berlin.
Me, born in Britain, grew up in Italy, went to uni in Italy, Australia for a term and Brighton, moved to London 10 years ago, work with USA and India, spend most of his time in the Netherlands.
Ellie Wrate my girlfriend, born and bred in Newcastle to a half Austrian father, went to university in Scotland and Italy, lived in France and Australia, lives in London.
Behind the camera is Jem my uncle, born in England, has lived most of his adult life in Scotland, spends most of his free time in Germany.
This is what the European Union looks like not a divided continent based on false accusations and made up numbers, it is idea that our grandfather spawned from the ashes of a war torn continent that dreamt about a peaceful future where people could be free and live in harmony.
Don't listen to hate fuelled xenophobes, vote remain and ask your government for reform!

 
This is the European Union. Let's keep the dream alive. Let's make our voices heard and fight for the UK to remain in the EU.