Oxford for Europe Meeting 20 March 2024, Brexit is a failed project: a brighter future is possible

A discussion about where we now stand in our relations with our EU neighbours, with Q&A.

This was our first face-to-face meeting for some time. In the light of the forthcoming general election, this year is a critical time for our movement. There is increasing evidence of just how much this country gained from EU Membership, and sadly how much has been lost. People are feeling the pain and increasingly realising that they have been lied to. Public opinion has shifted, with latest polls showing about 63% of those who had a view stating that they would favour rejoining.

Farmers are among the many groups have been badly affected. There has been a decline in the general sense of public well-being. Young people have been compelled to accept much more limited horizons, and the loss of the Erasmus Plus programme is only a part of a larger whole. Most importantly, people in the UK need to distrust politicians who tell them they have no choice but to accept their lot. They need to believe that a brighter future is possible. We discussed ways in which we can help with the step-by-step approach towards that future.

Danny Dorling
Danny Dorling FRSA FRGS FRSS FAcSS is a distinguished social geographer. Since 2013, he has been Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography of the School of Geography and the Environment of the University of Oxford.

He has published with many colleagues more than a dozen books, as well as several hundred journal papers. His work concerns issues of social inequality, housing, health, employment, education and poverty. Much of this work is available open access.

He is an Academician of the Academy of the Learned Societies in the Social Sciences, was Honorary President of the Society of Cartographers from 2007 to 2017 and is a patron of Roadpeace, the national charity for road crash victims.

He has written recently on Brexit as a failed project.

Danny focussed in his talk on the social impact of leaving the European Union and what can be done to improve things.

Brexit – a failed project in a failing state

Twitter / X: @dannydorling

Liz Webster
Liz will be well known to many through her many appearances on radio and TV. She is founder of Save British Farming and has been campaigning actively on single market membership.

She talked about the changes which have occurred in the farming sector in recent years and how much is to be gained by restoring better relations with our EU neighbours.

On twitter / X: @LizWebsterSBF

Willow Fisher

Willow is Head of Campaigns for YEM UK (Young European Movement). He is a 2nd Year PPE student at University of Manchester. He will be talking about what Brexit has meant for young people, especially the loss of Erasmus Plus and reduced opportunities to travel and work abroad.

YEM’s main campaign focus has been the Embrace Erasmus campaign, a campaign advocating for the UK’s return to the Erasmus+ programme, and educating people on its qualities and the benefits of participation. This campaign is being supported by organisations such as the British Youth Council and the Erasmus Student Network, as well as figures such as Mayor Sadiq Khan and Sir Vince Cable, and has received national media attention.

Chair: Geraldine Coggins

And: Featuring the only appearance in Oxford of the Star of European Unity and Peace, an artwork by Jacques Tilly.

“This talisman combines the uniqueness of the UKs’ society as a self-defined democracy, with the values we aspire to as a community living in today’s international world”

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