Ah, Brexit. The buzzword in today's society, the word that makes everyone (well, mostly) want to curl up in a ball, stick their head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. The word that will probably cause me to lose a few followers since I've been told in the past, in no uncertain words, that people don't like to read about politics. People aren't interested in politics. Well, too bad, kiddos, we're talking about it. Since the UK political system has reached breaking point recently after the Tory MPs called a vote of confidence for Theresa May in December, they've voted down her deal and more votes are set to take place, I think it's something I need to address. Read me first.

Secondly, let's talk about a People's Vote. This is what I am currently campaigning for, with a group called Our Future Our Choice, which is the biggest youth campaign for a People's Vote in the country. Head on over to the website here, and get in touch to find out how you can do more, and if there's an OFOC chapter in your area!

What even is a People's Vote? Well, a People's Vote is a final say on the Brexit deal. The People's Vote campaign is, in their words, seeking to ensure that the government's Brexit deal is put before the country in a public vote so we can decide if the decision and deal makes the country, and us, better or worse off. The People's Vote campaign is huge and has been endorsed by many other pressure groups, e.g. Our Future, Our Choice, For Our Future's Sake, Healther In The EU, Scientists For EU, Open Britain and most regional anti-Brexit groups. It's also been endorsed by the Liberal Democrats and huge amounts of MPs on both the Tory and the Labour side, as well as the Green Party and some Lords, such as Andrew Adonis and Peter Mandelson. It's the biggest and most cohesive movement that the government faces against Brexit.

I'm here today to debunk some myths about a People's Vote and explain to you why we need one and why it's a good idea. So here's some common myths about a People's Vote and why they're kind of just bullsh*t.

Isn't it just a second referendum?

No. The PV is absolutely not a second referendum. It wouldn't be repeating the first question of 'should we leave or remain in the EU' but rather it's a say on the deal we get. A Final Say, if you will. No one voted for this version of Brexit, not even Leavers.

But...didn't we already have our say? Isn't having a People's Vote undemocratic?

Yes, we did have our say. But we had our say three years ago in a vote that was also undemocratic. Both sides (Leave AND Remain, I don't want to come across biased at all...) built their campaigns around scaremongering and lies, Nigel Farage's supposed £350m extra for the NHS never appeared and on top of that, Vote Leave actually broke electoral law. Legally this doesn't matter, as the referendum wasn't legally binding so they can ignore it, but morally the result should've been voided long ago.

As well as this, many people who should've been able to vote weren't allowed. It's my opinion that 16-17 year olds should've been able to vote in that referendum, as they were in the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014. Also, UK citizens in the EU and vice versa were not allowed to vote - people in the country who this decision will affect more than anyone were denied their voice. We also voted not knowing anything - there was no plan for Brexit, no coherent set of steps we would follow to leave, and 3 years later still no decisions have been made. Now that we know actual, solid facts about Brexit and it's short- and long-term effects, a Final Say is needed.

Okay. So we have a People's Vote and we choose to remain. What's stopping there being a third, and fourth vote? We'll never make a decision.

This is a really good point and one that's brought up over and over again. At the end of the day, a People's Vote would be a fair vote, based on facts, no one would break any laws and that's what makes a fair moral result. Of course there's a danger we'll vote for a Brexit deal, but if the vote is fair unlike the first one, with a legitimate electorate and no manipulation from outside forces, the result would be accepted. If one or other side feels it is necessary to cheat once again by overspending or coming out with lies then more are needed.

But don't politicians lie all the time? Why should this be any different?

Yes, of course they do. But what we should really be taking away from this is that something is fundamentally wrong with British politics. The referendum should never have been called in the first place - David Cameron did it to stay in power. Theresa May should never have been in charge, being a Remain campaigner. A lot has gone wrong in British politics in the last three years and that's what needs to change, but it needs to change within the safety of the EU.

Fine. Alright, but why are you so sure that the decision will have changed?

Because the last three years have been a nightmare. There's also an Independent study that shows as of January this year we actually became a Remain society, as there are around two million new voters, most of who are Remain, and enough Leave voters have died to swing the vote - that is how close the majority was. And this isn't even counting the people who have changed their minds - like I said before, not even Leave voters voted for this Brexit, everyone has seen what just the negotiation process has done to the country in terms of both the economy and social issues, and a People's Vote is just the way to sort it out.

Don't you agree the EU needs changing though?

Of course it does. Much like British politics, the EU has done a lot of changing and in my opinion declining, since it started as the EEC in 1957 and we voted to join it in 1975. But the way to change it is to remain and reform rather than throwing all our toys out of the pram and leaving. It's easier to change a system from the inside, rather than trying to attack it from the outside.

Why haven't we just called another vote already?

There isn't enough support in Parliament - yet. But every day this Brexit catastrofuck (David Schneider's genius phrase) continues, more and more MPs are changing their minds and calling mandates for a People's Vote.

And how can you put MORE pressure on?? Well, by joining us on March 23rd on Park Lane, London, and demanding a People's Vote from Parliament. We had 700,000 voices on our last march - let's make it a million.

Next on Brexit 101, I'm talking about how Brexit will affect YOU.

Em xx

#StopBrexitManchester | Why I Went And Why It's Important

Hello friends from my small uni kitchen where I'm waiting for my chicken to finish defrosting while my flatmate makes paella and beef wellington for dinner and my other flatmate is doing a crossword. This isn't a post about uni life so far, however much I know you must be gagging for a post about it (of course.), it's actually about a pretty significant event that happened yesterday here in Manchester.

I'm not going to get on my political soapbox and preach about why we should have remained in the EU or anything, nor am I going to complain and whine because that's clearly not going to help anything.

However, I am going to tell you why I went on this march and why I think it's so important to have marches and protests like this, even after an outcome has been reached.

For those who don't know, me and my dad run a pretty small anti-Brexit Twitter campaign called Brits Against Brexit, so we firstly used the march as a bit of a marketing strategy, because obviously who wouldn't right?! Obviously the main reason we went on the march was because we are all anti-Brexit but it's so much more than that. 

While tweeting from Brits Against Brexit using #stopbrexitmanchester we came across many replies telling us we won't make any difference, what's done is done and there's nothing we can do about it now, it was decided by a democratic referendum and so on and so on. Chances are we won't change the decision of the government, but I do just want to address this idea of a democratic referendum.

While the actual referendum itself (as in, the question asked, the ballot paper and the voting procedure) was as democratic as they come, it was the months building up to the referendum that was so undemocratic. You see, if we really think about it, the entire Leave campaign was built on lies and scaremongering, we all saw the nonsense about £350 million going to the NHS if we left?! But I digress, I'm sure we all heard the complaints when the results came through. The main reason for me that the referendum was undemocratic was because I was not allowed to vote. And I don't mean me personally, I mean the entire 16-17 year old population of the UK. 

In my personal opinion, and in the opinions of many others, we should have been able to vote in that referendum as we are the ones that the outcome will affect directly, and as my father pointed out yesterday, the effects will be happening when we are of age. The reason I marched yesterday was because my future was taken away from me and I didn't have a choice about that, and to me that is as undemocratic as it comes. The reason we weren't allowed to vote? They were scared of us. Young people who are interested in politics have a voice and we have very loud voices. Yes, a some of us would have voted Leave if our parents were, or just because they don't care, but also the majority of us cared more than the 65+ population did. We weren't thinking of the 'good old days when we weren't in the EU', we were thinking of the bad new days when we aren't in the EU. That majority of us were loud and we were yesterday and we will always be. 

The reason my sister marched yesterday is because, post-Brexit, her job prospects in neuroscientific research will be reduced dramatically as most funding for our scientific research comes from the EU. Sure, the funding could come from elsewhere, but how long is that going to take and how much is that funding actually going to be? We leave the EU and we leave scientific research behind. Moreover, those who just say 'well, she can go and work in Europe', well yes of course she could if our right to live and work in the EU wasn't being taken away too!!

We marched for the young people who didn't have a choice and the future scientists who will struggle to find jobs, but we also marched in solidarity with the EU citizens living in the UK and the UK citizens leaving the EU whose futures at home with their loved ones are in jeopardy. We marched with the business owners who will be economically affected by the falling pound and we marched because first and foremost we care a hell of a lot about what's going to happen in the years to come.

I did end up on my political soapbox a little bit there, but it's true and I won't stop going on about it anytime soon so don't expect me to. We may not make any difference to the overall decision but we can at least let the government know how annoyed we are about it!!

Alright, that's me done, so I'm going to leave you with some pictures from the day and this: Bollocks to Brexit.

Emilia xx

For those who don't know, this is Dr Mike Galsworthy, he's a big pro-EU activist in the science world, hence why Jess was so excited to meet him!!