Thread by @BerkshireforEU

Waiting for the start of the Brexit What's The Deal event at Bracknell Open Learning Centre organised by Berkshire for Europe.
We'll be live tweeting the event, so watch this space.
If you are at the event, use the hashtag #WhatsTheDealBracknell on social media.

It promises to be an interesting evening, particularly with the news this afternoon that Railways Minister @JoJohnsonUK has resigned from the government and spoken out in favour of a #PeoplesVote on Brexit rather than the choice of no deal or a bad deal.

Our speakers this evening are:
Bracknell MP @DrPhillipLeeMP who was one of the early MPs to resign their ministerial post over Brexit (for the right reasons)

@JolyonMaugham from the @GoodLawProject who is currently pursuing a legal case over whether Article 50 can be unilaterally revoked.
@Will_DryOFOC
from @OFOCBrexit
and
@Felicity51
from @Lawyers4EU

All the speakers are here now and we're almost ready to start...

We are also being filmed for Japanese TV tonight.
The grassroots campaigns to halt Brexit are becoming famous around the world.

The news about #JoJohnson's resignation and endorsement of a #PeoplesVote today was met by applause from the hall.

Now a quick plug for #BracknellForEurope - talking about their achievements in a local authority that voted leave originally, but according to the recent @YouGov polling has swung to Remain.

The mood in the town is changing.
If you live in Bracknell, why not talk to them about joining their group and helping stop Brexit.
#WhatsTheDealBracknell

Will Dry @Will_DryOFOC from @OFOCBrexit is up first.
He's exposing how he voted Leave in 2016, but now realises that he was voting on an impossible premise.

Vote Leave talked about taking back control, but we've got less control.
Nobody voted for EU citizens to be left in limbo or less money for the NHS.

EU trade is complex. Very few people who are not experts understand the intricacies of rules of origin and facilitated customs arrangements etc.

As democrats we should follow the will of the people - but the will of the people now is different to what it was in 2016.
The notion that the will of the people can subvert the will of the people is ridiculous.

Young people who could not vote in 2016 plus previous leave voters who switched to remain mean that a new referendum should return a different result.

The chance of a #PeoplesVote is far higher now than it was at the start of the year.
Labour endorsed it at conference.
There will be more like #JoJohnson who are likely to resign the government.

But - there are many in the country who think campaigns such as ours are disgraceful and abhor the idea of a #PeoplesVote
There is still a lot of persuading to do.

Bracknell MP @DrPhillipLeeMP is up now, explaining why he resigned his ministerial post on June 12th over Brexit and what a difficult decision it was too make.
Makes the analogy of #informedconsent for a medical procedure as equivalent to a #PeoplesVote

The Brexit we will get will not be in the national interest.
After the resignation, he uncovered huge levels of support from the quiet but informed majority who endorsed his viewpoint.

Brexit is a topic that ignores traditional party boundaries.
How you feel about it is about your circumstances. How stable your job is etc.
We live in an age when some think it is fine to invite violence or steak those they disagree with.

The most you can do is to be supportive of parliamentary colleagues who know Brexit is not the right path too take, but feel trapped by the will of the people.

Our colleagues in Europe are upset that we are leaving - but they will protect their union at all costs.
The EU has a position and will hold to it. There will be no last minute capitulation.
We need to get the #informedconsent of the British People is we are to proceed with it.

We need a referendum based on facts, not fantasies.
We need to get on with being a unified country again.

Next up is Felicity Williams @Felicity51
who founded Lawyers Against Brexit
@Lawyers4EU earlier this year.
Currently they have 70 members and meet on a monthly basis.
Having the Lawyers for #PeoplesVote campaign.

No deal we receive will be as good as the one we currently have - membership of the EU.
We only have a matter of weeks left now to campaign for a #PeoplesVote

There are two groups of challenges going on in the courts.
Challenges to the legality of the Leave campaign's actions and Challenges to the A50 notification process.

Two cases have dealt with the #article50 notification process.
The constitutional legality is challenged, as is the decision making process by the Prime Minister.
There is some very interesting litigation taking place alongside the political activities in Parliament.

A likely outcome is that the government's deal will be voted down - which might well be the route that leads to a #PeoplesVote
Democracy is not frozen in time.
A democratic vote most be a properly informed vote.

In 1975, the negotiated deal was known and on the table. People knew exactly what they were voting for or against.
Recent pools mean that Brexit can no longer be claimed to be the will of the people.

All Labour constituencies are now supporting remain according to polls.
@PeoplesMomentum are also supporting a #PeoplesVote

Things can move fast. A referendum bill could be in by the end of this year.
If MPs want to have a #PeoplesVote to #StopBrexitSaveBritain they can. Parliament is sovereign.

Jo Maugham
@JolyonMaugham from the Good Law Project @GoodLawProject is up now.
days that #JoJohnson phrased it well when he talked about the choice between vassalage and chaos

If a deal can't pass parliament, that will be a crunch point where MPs look for an alternative.
The is no majority in parliament for #NoDealBrexit
MPs who might tentatively support the current deal will move away if there is a better option than endorsing vassalage

Now taking about his case in the ECJ over whether it is possible to unilaterally withdraw A50 notification.
BBC indicate the may not be a vote in withdrawal agreement until 21st December - and this is fairly optimistic timing

Various attempts have been made by the government to block the case brought by @JolyonMaugham because the government is afraid of what the outcome will be.

The is though a powerful argument against the EU allowing A50 revocations to prevent other countries to abuse it and try to game the system.
The counter argument though is to observe the specific circumstances occurring in the UK.

Q&A now.
@Will_DryOFOC Our campaign for a #PeoplesVote probably have days now but months.
Time is of the essence.
We need to focus efforts in the right areas.
Join your local Pro EU groups. If there is not one, set one up.

.@DrPhillipLeeMP says the #PeoplesVoteMarch was impressive, but in the end it will come down to how parliament votes on the deal.
Gut feel it's that this vote will be in December.
Let parliamentarians know the level of support for a #FinalSay referendum.

A reminder that our hashtag for this evening's event is #whatstheDealBracknell

.@Felicity51 reiterates the need to join groups either locally or nationally buy other things you have in common - lawyers, dogs etc.
#wooferendum

.@DrPhillipLeeMP days the process to get to a seconds referendum AKA #PeoplesVote is not an easy path.
There are issues that we don't yet know what the deal will be our exactly what parliamentary procedure may be followed.

After the vote in parliament, parliament has more control of it is rejected.
A lot comes down to the speaker and whether the votes are amendable which would allow a #PeoplesVote amendment to be slipped in

If the deal falls, many more MPs will find the idea of a second referendum a far more attractive prospect than they do now.

.@JolyonMaugham days that we must remember that in Parliament, the House controls the operation of the House.
Everything is up for grabs.

Q - is an accidental #NoDealBrexit a real proposition?
@Will_DryOFOC days that legally this is a possible outcome. The people overstating the likelihood of it have an agenda.
The government things that No Deal may convince MPs to vote for their bad deal.

90% of MPs are against no deal.
If MPs want, there are many ways they can stop it.
No Deal is in nobody's interest.
Despite what people think, there are some sensible people in Parliament who are well aware of the risk.

.@DrPhillipLeeMP - the EU accepts that the could be up to 1 million job losses in the event of no deal, but they would still rather protect the integrity of the Union and potentially compensate the member countries worst impacted.

.@JolyonMaugham says that those who want a very hard #brexit are trying their hardest to prevent MPs coalescing around other options.

A good question about the Leave campaign's pseudo manifesto and the current divergence from it - could the quality of this manifesto firm a case against the will of the people?

.@JolyonMaugham says many of these arguments do not matter. If Labour doesn't oppose government policy on such issues then they don't get picked up by the media.
The people raising these problems (us in the room - and many more) are left voiceless as a result.

.@DrPhillipLeeMP says we know there has been international interference. We know there are questions of where some of the money came from.

Talks about extending the franchise in a #PeoplesVote as a potential opening to challenges to the validity of a new referendum and the arguments that might be made for leaving.

The 2016 referendum was not one that inspired. People didn't see the benefits of the EU.
The world has major issues and countries need to work together to done them.
Both campaigns were deeply flawed and had little if any vision.

.@Will_DryOFOC highlights the enormous gulf between the lies of the leaders of the leave campaign and the realities of the #Brexit process.
#whatstheDealBracknell

.@Felicity51 says we have to be aware that the same things we see happening in USA politics are happening here and we have to be aware of this.
We need to see the legal advice on the referendum given by the attorney general.

Q - what will happen to diversity in our communities and workplaces post Brexit.
.@DrPhillipLeeMP says this is one of the issues that most worries him.
#brexit has uncovered some of the darker sides of UK society.
There's a sense that what holds us together is fraying.

It has a toxic impact.
A #PeoplesVote will stir this up again and is not an easy choice.
We don't want people to feel scared to record a view.
Other countries across Europe are suffering similar difficulties.
We have to win by being reasonable and decent.

Being pragmatic and moderate doesn't mean staying at home any more.
It means participating more in politics. Being politically active.
Our country once led the world, not left the world.

When moderates leave the public space, this is what happens. Brexit is one manifestation. If we don't reoccupy it out wound be the last.

.@Felicity51 says Brexit will have a detrimental impact for all vulnerable groups due to the removal of many legal safeguards.

.@Will_DryOFOC says people who have never engaged in politics before need to engage now, otherwise the problems will continue for many more years.

.@JolyonMaugham wraps up now.
Thanking everyone for the enormous turnout.
We have to give the young people the country that they want and let us enjoy the opportunities that we had.
#whatstheDealBracknell

Don't be fooled by those who say they are fulfilling the mandate of the people. What is now being pursued is something very few voted for.
There are powerful forces against us though. In the media and elsewhere. There is no magic bullet though.

There is a good prospect that #brexit will collapse under the weight of its own impossibly.
#Brexitchaos #StopBrexitSaveBritain

If there is a #PeoplesVote we need to make sure friends and family turn out to view remain. Make them aware of its importance.
Personal relationships are often trusted more than the media or experts.

Even if we don't win the fight, the values we believe in don't go.
We must continue to believe in tolerance and respect.

Some people are looking around for the grownups in the room who will come and save us.
We have to realise that we are the grownups now.

.@PLeisupe chair of @BerkshireforEU is up now.
Tells people again the importance of joining their local movements.
In Berkshire, Reading, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Slough, West Berks and of course Bracknell

Don't leave the room if you aren't signed up to a local group.
This is important.
Sign up to receive regular updates.
We are the people who make things happen.

And that's the end.
Hopefully the whole thread stayed together without to many stray tweets.
Apologies for any predictive text weirdness - hopefully almost all the tweets make sense.
#whatstheDealBracknell
#berkshireforeurope
#StopBrexitSaveBritain
#PeoplesVote