#DeniedMyVote

Dear Supporter

I am writing to update you about our campaign and in particular the action we took in London and Brussels on Friday 31 January, Brexit Day, to draw attention to citizens' rights, and the denied my vote scandal.

Chip in here to give further support to our ongoing campaign

Renewing our partnership with Kate Willoughby, the actor, writer and activist who campaigns as the suffragette Emily Davison, we took a stand in front of the Millicent Fawcett statue on Parliament Square.

The aim of the action we took on Brexit was to cut through all the noise about Britain leaving the EU with our key message to those watching around the world: Don't Make Citizens Pay Price of Brexit.

We felt it was important to make a stand, to ensure our voices were heard and to show the world that when it comes to citizens' rights Brexit is most certainly not yet done.

A government that systematically denied the vote to 1.7m EU citizens at the European elections last year is more than capable of removing their right to vote in local elections at the end of the transition period.

The fact that EU citizens still lack a physical proof of status such as and EU Green Card, leaves many open to discrimination by landlords, employers and potentially even health and social care workers.

EU citizens don't just need the Green Card, they also need the right to vote in General Elections.

That is why it was so powerful to link up with the #Emilymatters campaign and to stand by the statue of Millicent Fawcett to make our #CourageCalls and renew our demand for the franchise to be extended to EU citizens in the UK.

In the evening we moved to Europe House, where we held a candlelit vigil for citizens' rights.

Many thousands of people joined the candlelit vigil by lighting a candle for citizens' rights at home.

We made it clear that you don't need to be a remainer to be in favour of fully safe-guarding citizens' rights post Brexit - the issue is one of fairness and our appeal is to a sense of justice which we hope is shared by people wherever they stand on the Brexit issue.

The rights of Britons in Europe have also not yet been fully protected and so in parallel with the action we took in London, we also protested outside the European Parliament in Brussels.

Our protest coincided with a meeting taking place in the European Parliament with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, Charles Michel, President of the EU Council and David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament who passed by while we were outside.

We also co-organised the silent vigil and public meeting in Oxford on 31 January to mark the moment when Britain left the EU with a show of solidarity to citizens and a commitment to working for Britain to re-join the EU in the future.

Meanwhile at City Hall in London, at an event organised by Mayor Sadiq Khan, our projects team spent the afternoon with EU citizens who had come to our drop in session for help with settled status.

Over the next week we will update you further about the campaign and share with you the  UK and international media coverage we received. 

The campaign for a public inquiry into #DeniedMyVote is still in full swing as is our campaign for an #EUGreenCard and for voting rights of EU citizens in the UK and for the full enfranchisement of British citizens abroad through abolition of the 15 year rule which prevents British citizens absent from the UK for more than 15 years from voting.

Your help is invaluable.

 Without your financial support we simply cannot continue to mount the kind of high impact campaign activities we were able to put on last Friday and which we now need to follow up with intense lobbying of MEPs and MPs.

This is a time when many are losing interest in Brexit and with it the fight for the rights of #the5million under the false impression that Brexit is done.

Brexit will never be done until we fully safeguard and guarantee the rights of #the5million and find out why 1.7 million were denied a vote so that we can hold those responsible to account.

That deep injustice fuels our campaign for full citizenship rights for EU citizens including the right to vote, and with your continued support we will continue to fight for this end.

The best way to support New Europeans long term is by joining as a member.

Please find the membership form here.

To donate to the crowdfunder for our #DeniedMyVote fighting fund, please click here

Thanks again for your support and for staying with us on this campaign so that we can see it through.

With best regards

Roger Casale

Sec. General and CEO, New European