Rejoin EU: Send books, letters to MPs, influencers, journalists

Keir Starmer states that there is no case to rejoin the EU.  Sixty of us disagree.  We have written a book, and a comprehensive cross-party White Paper to explain why the case for applying to rejoin the EU is overwhelming.  This is part of a strategy to Reboot Britain, improve our democracy in Britain and begin a path towards growth after years of managed decline.  We ask that you: 

1. Send copies of the book to MPs, Councillors, influencers in UK and Europe, Mainstream Media journalists, local newspapers and network colleagues in your constituency and wider to ensure that the project gets read amongst the chattering classes and in the corridors of power.  Hard copy is much harder to ignore than an e-mail and the book will be passed around.
2. E-mail the White Paper, Executive Summary to your MP, fellow constituents and nominated cabinet members with our customised letter.  Preferably do both.  Customised letters with local content work best, but we have provided a template for you to work from.

Although ending Brexit and applying to Rejoin the EU is not a magic bullet solution to Britain's problems, the impacts will be wide ranging, without which all talk of growth is for the birds. The re-emergence of Trump in America and the far right fantasists makes this ever more important and urgent.

You are welcome to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the White Paper in any medium or format under a Creative Commons license.  We need to create a tsunami of book and letter writing sharing over the next 3-6 months, rather like the letters to Harry Potter in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is a much deeper and sustained intervention than just clicking the petition, but we also need you to do that, so we can update you on progress occasionally.

If you need multiple copies of the book, we offer a low cost option for you to get them.  Simply e-mail [email protected] for multiple copies of the book.

Why, why, why?

An early approach to applying to rejoin the EU offers Britain a wealth of opportunities and helps us avoid many threats to growth:

Economic: Brexit gave us a 4.5% hit to Britain’s long-term resilience. It is costing us £140 Billion per annum in economic losses and tax receipts. Brexit has also resulted in a transfer of £1.4 trillion from UK to EU countries. All talk of growth is fantasy under these underlying economic drag factors. We must rejoin just to stop the slow decline of Britain and grow. The OBR confirm that Rachel Reeves' budget continues flatline Britain.

Sociological: The Brexit experiment did not fix immigration. If anything it made the problem worse. At the same time, Britain does not have enough people of working age to fill employment gaps across a wider range of sectors. 

Our NHS is in critical care, in part due to the aftermath of the COVID crisis, but critically damaged by losses of skilled staff from the demonisation of immigrants after Brexit and the non-arrival of the promised £350 million per week. Other beneficiaries will be the care, hospitality sectors, high tech, farming and so on. 

The European Union began as a means of preserving peace across Europe. We paid 37 pence a day or half a Mars bar each for this privilege which hardly registered on people’s council tax bill. On this ground alone, we need to restore our place at the table to face the various threats that have subsequently revealed themselves.

Political: The Brexit negotiations shattered our relationship with Europe, decimating the currency of trust. The vast majority of the Brexit Culture Carriers (MPs, advisors, influencers and so on) have now been removed from power or totally discredited and the process of trust building can recommence. 

Whilst the EU stands to gain little economically from our re-entry there is considerable political capital for EU to be gained from our return to the fold. Rejoining the EU will also bolster our position of unity with respect to Russian aggression against Europe and in other matters of security and cyber-crime. 

Technological: We are now in the 4th industrial age where data, information, knowledge and wisdom are major engines of economic growth rather than the industries that grew up in the 18th Century. In such a world, we need global standards not a race to the bottom via national exceptionalism. We have lost considerable ground in science which is a global affair and which does not operate in five-year cycles. 

Environmental: Climate change is a global issue, of greater impact than Brexit, which largely affects Britain. Nonetheless Brexit contributes to environmental damage across the world, through extended transportation of goods, moral hazard through lower standards for food and other products and a return to the 1st industrial age by a segment of climate deniers in politics. We must lead not lag in agriculture, fishing, construction and industry. 

Legal and Ethical: Britain once led the world as a standard setter in legal and ethical issues.  Much of the law enacted by the European Court of Human Rights emanates from Britain. As the world becomes a more dangerous place due to cyber crime, terrorism and the influence of dark money, we must not indulge in a race to the bottom with other agents of populism. Instead we must lead in an alliance of champions.

For support in your campaign, please e-mail us at [email protected] ​

We ask that you write to politicians, political influencers, celebrities and media contacts with this summary and the full white paper to ask our Parliament to apply to rejoin EU as a priority.

Who we are

Reboot Britain is a network organisation with members from Britain, Europe and across the World, of all parties and none. We simply seek a Better Britain in a Better Europe for a Better World. The white paper has been written by a large number of people who are concerned for the future of Britain in Europe and our place in the world. We hope that you are too and will share the proposal widely for our children’s futures and the good of Britain and a more united Europe.