1. The Schengen Area is one of Europe and the EU’s greatest achievements. It has transformed everyday life for hundreds of millions of people — and it works extremely well for people inside the zone.

🧵 Here’s a thread about how Brexit messed things up for millions of people: 2. Schengen was signed in 1985 as a practical agreement between a small group of neighbouring states. Just 5 to start with.

By the time it began in 1995, Spain and Portugal had joined in too.

Remove internal borders, simplify life, deepen cooperation. It succeeded — and then it expanded.

1. Thread about rights demoralisers on BlueSky and X 🧵

Hybrid warfare isn’t tanks or missiles.

It’s psychological.

In the UK, one of its most effective targets has been the Brexit debate, especially citizens’ rights and Freedom of Movement — because they go to identity, belonging, and fairness. 2.

Foreign disinformation actors don’t need to “win” Brexit arguments.

Their objective is to fracture the work of campaigners and activists — and to **make them argue among themselves**.

Thread 🧵 on mobility arrangements after Brexit.

1. Brits generally seem to be aware of the 90-in-180 day problem they face since Brexit.

But they are often gobsmacked to learn that the UK still welcomes Europeans and lets them visit the UK for a whopping 6 months per visit. 2. And since January this year Europeans are also allowed to work in the UK remotely while visiting.

Yes, surprising, isn’t it?

1. How to get your MP interested in fixing Brexit

Here’s a thread of how I think you can help 🧵

If you think this is helpful then please have a go and then retweet it. 2. Recognise that your MP’s views on Brexit may not be the same as your own. Even if you think they are on the same side broadly, realise they may have a different understanding about how the problem can be solved or how long it will take.

Your job is to get them interested.

1. A thread on why Brexit might be made “to work” but Freedom of Movement of people is likely to be excluded.

Thread 🧵 2. Starmer and his cabinet know that in order to get growth they need to make the UK a more attractive place in which to invest. That means removing barriers to serving clients in the rest of Europe.

1. Why do people say “we need immigrants” to do jobs? Why can’t the jobs go to British people?

Here’s why… 2. Inadequate training. Decades of underinvestment in training and a school system that favours academic subjects and knowledge work. We tell our young people to value knowledge work careers.

1. How anti Brexit campaigns can work together 🇪🇺 🇬🇧

Thread 🧵 2. Political parties often suffer from being about a basket of policies and ideas that seek to attract a large following. But the more ideas you put in a basket, the harder it is to find people that like everything in the basket

1. Thread 🧵on the paradox of Freedom of Movement of People:

How can we have something that’s about freedom and yet simultaneously and legitimately rebut claims that it is “uncontrolled immigration”? 2. Freedom of Movement of People is a label given to mutual mobility scheme that exists in Europe.

It’s distinct from the idea other citizens of the world might have of Freedom of Movement: for example many 🇺🇸 Americans think of it simply as being allowed to go where you want.

1. 🧵 THREAD on Visas in Europe (inc UK) and what they mean for people in the years post-Brexit… 2. Post-Brexit, Brits & other Europeans hoping to work, settle or even spend extended periods abroad need to apply for a visa in each other’s countries.

Thread. 🧵 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 👇

1. Why am I on here every day banging on about freedom of movement, in particular, freedom movement of people? 2. I work in #communications, and I became fascinated by the way active disinformation and omission of information contribute to Electoral outcomes.

Thread

On why I think Freedom of Movement is worth fighting for.

1. The main alternative (visas), work OK for people who want to emigrate permanently. Typical renewal criteria encourage and reward permanent immigration. They are expensive in terms of time and money and process. 2. But visas are not very good when it comes to mobility or living and working between two places. These days, many people need the flexibility to live and work in one place while part of their family might perhaps live mainly in another.

Thread.

1. I find Brexit frustrating. Well, more precisely I find the impasse frustrating. We know Brexit makes no sense because the last 47 years were a natural evolution of needing to live/work/study in, retire to, buy from, sell to other countries nearby. Nothing changed. 2. My generation understands European culture because we have grown up with it. Our friends are Spanish, German, Polish, Latvian, Estonian. I have benefited directly from our involvement in Europe.

Thread 🧵

1. Restoring Freedom of Movement of people isn’t just an itch that a few frequent travellers and seasonal workers want scratched.

For sure, it doesn’t bother everyone… (and some lucky people have Irish ☘️ passports already) 2. Don’t be anxious that it’s an itch that, if scratched, will stop people wanting to #rejoinEU.

(Because EU membership is so much more.)

It’s time for another thread on Brexit. About “rejoin comms” this time. (1 of 16)

1. I work in communications and since the referendum I have become very interested in disinformation and how/why people believe what they read or are told even if untrue or disingenuous. 2. We’ve seen the damaging impact that propaganda has and how people can be manipulated into doing things that may not be in their best interests.

Thread

1. I’d like to correct a few myths about the European Union in relation to bureaucracy and red tape. 2. The purpose of the EU is not to create more bureaucracy. The purpose is to cut holes in the bureaucracy of member states to make it easier for members to do business with each other and be mobile.

1. I put a lot of effort into raising awareness of Freedom of Movement and the benefit of it and I help people make the case for better mobility arrangements after Brexit.

Mobility and immigration for non EU citizens is a country matter not an EU-wide matter. 2. If you don’t agree that change happen, that’s fair enough. But **please unfollow me**.

Thread.

1. Here are my ideas on how the you can use Twitter to change the course of Brexit…

(Expect trolls from doing this so be prepared to ignore and block them) 2. This works because political parties use social media sentiment monitoring tools to analyse the public mood.

1. A thread on taking back control of borders.

(Or not).

Unpacking the confusion. 2. The UK government claims to want to take back control of borders.

But did they mean control of settlement immigration? Or actual control of border crossings?

Do they even know what they want to control?

1. Freedom of Movement of People isn’t “uncontrolled immigration” despite what some politicians want you to believe.

This thread explains some of the benefits of it. 2. It’s superior to visas because:
- it’s quick (shorter queues)
- on demand (not months of waiting)
- reciprocal (not one-way immigration to the UK)
- not tied to a particular job
- cheap (no wasteful fees)
- conditions in event you want to stay more than 90 days

1. The reason I champion the rights of per year dwellers, itinerant workers, seasonal workers and even general travellers is that Freedom of Movement was so much more than IMMIGRATION. Mobility is about staying where you are and temporarily being somewhere else. 2. I think the idea of MOBILITY has been lost and misunderstood. Thrown away in haste in a futile and misguided attempt to limit or control permanent immigration.

1. The online abuse I’ve received in recent years has been quite phenomenal. It’s easy to block some of it out but it does get a bit wearing after a while. Nevertheless I want to help correct some of the deliberate disinformation perpetuated about Freedom of Movement and Europe. 2. Freedom of Movement of people isn’t the same as “uncontrolled immigration”. It matters to people all over Europe and it gives them freedom from abusive employment where visas are conditional on jobs.