Twelve months ago, stopping Brexit seemed like a pipe dream. Today, thanks to the efforts of people like you, we are closer than ever to winning.
While campaigning to stay in the EU, we have also consistently argued for the kind of Britain and Europe we want to see: one of solidarity not austerity, of cooperation not right wing nationalism, and of bridges not walls. That’s why we have supported anti-fascist and pro-migrant struggles, worked with trade unions and continued building links with the international left.
Here’s a recap of our top 10 achievements of the year.
- We shifted Labour
In the lead up to Labour Conference in September, we ran a massive campaign, and succeeded in getting over a hundred local parties to submit motions, breaking the record for the number of motions submitted on any given topic in the party’s history. This unprecedented push by Labour members resulted in a policy shift towards voting down the Tory Brexit deal and campaigning for a fresh referendum if an immediate general election cannot be achieved. We also organised a number of successful fringe events at the conference and Momentum’s The World Transformed festival, and launched The Left Against Brexit pamphlet which you can download here.
In 2019, our work in Labour will escalate. If you’re a member of the party, you can help by proposing our new motion to your local party and signing up to this new initiative to campaign against Brexit in Labour.
- We launched the Left Against Brexit
Thousands took part in our flagship speaker tour this summer, which visited dozens of locations across the UK making the left progressive case for staying in Europe. We heard from inspiring speakers such as Caroline Lucas, Ann Pettifor, Manuel Cortes and many others, and started building local Left Against Brexit groups.
- We built the grassroots
Our activists up and down the country have been building groups, putting on local events, protests (like this one in York) and lobbies (like this one in Nottingham.) Hundreds of volunteers also joined our days of action: knocking on doors, running stalls and handing out leaflets making the left case for Europe. The next one is coming up in January, find out more and sign up here.
- We mobilised on October 20
700,000 people demonstrated against Brexit on October 20, making it the biggest protest in the UK since the Iraq War. We made sure the left had a strong presence, bringing our own banners, chants and placards calling for free movement for all and for radical change in Britain and Europe. See photos here.
- We sponsored Europe for the Many
Also in October, we sponsored a big international conference about transforming Europe, with speakers from across the continent. Hundreds joined the discussion about how to combat the far right threat, defeat austerity, defend the climate and build a Europe that welcomes migrants.
- We stood up for migrants
Uncompromising support for migrants’ rights and freedom of movement has always been one of our core principles. This year, we organised protests to defend migrants like this one in Sheffield and this one in London, booked a coach to a demonstration at the Yarl’s Wood detention centre, and mobilised against Tommy Robinson’s racist Brexit Betrayal march. We also continued to support the work of great groups like the Labour Campaign for Free Movement, pushing the case against borders in parties and unions.
- We did research into how Corbyn can transform Europe
In March, we released a report (The Corbyn Moment and European Socialism) about how a Corbyn-led government could influence European politics: from tax justice and combating austerity to peace and migration policy.
- We launched a popular and informative podcast
In May, we launched our podcast,hosted by Luke Cooper and Zoe Williams. So far, we’ve done 15 episodes and had guests including Paul Mason, Ash Sarkar, Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Stephen Bush. The project has been a massive success, and has been listened to by tens of thousands of people. If you missed any of it, catch up here.
- We helped lead the fight against Donald Trump
We have played a key role in the Stop Trump coalition since it was founded in early 2017. This year, Donald Trump came to Britain, and we helped organise massive protests to say no to the politics of hate and division which both Trump and Brexit represent. 250,000 people marched with us on July 13. Read about it here.
- We launched membership and became a democratic organisation
Among our most important achievements of the year was becoming a membership organisation. Having massively increased the scope and ambition of what we do, we wanted to make sure our decisions are made democratically by our activists.
At our first ever members’ conference, we agreed our strategy for the upcoming months, our democratic structures and elected some of our new national committee, with additional elections currently taking place online.
If you like what we do, there are 3 easy things you can do:
- Join us and become a part of the organisation.
- Set up a regular donation to us
- Sign up as a local organiser – get active in your local area
2nd January 2019