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BREXIT

Cancel Brexit petition heads towards SIX MILLION signatures

A petition set up last week that calls for the British government to cancel Brexit and stay in the EU by revoking Article 50 had garnered almost six million signatures on Wednesday.

Published: 27 March 2019 09:43 CET
Cancel Brexit petition heads towards SIX MILLION signatures
Photo: AFP

The online petition was set up on the parliament site shortly after Theresa May addressed the British public in a TV appearance in which she blamed MPs for the Brexit chaos.

By the next day it had rocketed past the one million signature mark and has kept on rising.

By Wednesday morning, thousands of people were still signing up to show their disapproval of the Prime Minister and their desire to remain part of the EU.

The total was at 5.83 million by 10am and was expected to pass the six million mark on Wednesday or Thursday.

According to officials at the House of Commons the petition had the highest rate of sign ups ever.

The petition was shared widely on British Facebook groups across the EU and thousands have signed from France, Germany and Spain.

The petition titled: 'Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU' reads: “The government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is 'the will of the people'. We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now, for remaining in the EU. A People's Vote may not happen – so vote now.”

While the Conservative government has said it will not be cancelling Brexit or revoking Article 50 in order to respect the result of the 2016 referendum, parliament will hold a debate on the issue on Monday.

“Revoking Article 50, and thereby remaining in the European Union, would undermine both our democracy and the trust that millions of voters have placed in Government,” said the official statement.

The petition was started by Margaret Georgiadou, who says she has received death threats as a result.

Detractors claim it is full of false signatures, however officials have said that fake ones are being removed unless they can be verified via email.

British PM Theresa May was still holding out that her deal with the EU would get the backing of the British parliament in a third vote, but MPs were also set to cast votes on Wednesday on various other options.

Britain is set to leave the EU on April 12th unless May's deal is passed or the government can come up with a plan B to convince Brussels to accept a longer delay.

You can sign the petition here.

 

Member comments

  1. How many voted Leave? Oh, that’s right – 17,410,742.

    Yawn.

    Let’s not be Europeans – let’s respect a democratic vote. Brexit ASAP!!!

  2. If their servers were able to handle the traffic, there would likely be more than double, triple what we have now.

  4. The vote in 2016 was tainted by false information and in was margina. So I happily sign the petition. But somequestions: email checks. Can a husband and wife count as two on the same email address? Can people without email sign the petition if so how?

  5. Cut off in midstream. We must get to 8.5 million half the leave vote. Get to 10 million next.Then get past 17 million. It is possible ! Contact all your friends and encourage them to vote.Don’t let the cheats have their way.

  6. The true “undermining of democracy” was the lies, deceit and sheer BS that was used to get peple to vote ‘Leave’ in the referendum, and most of that from right-wing politicians!
    Now only the despots and desperate Brexiters repeat the ‘will-o-the-people’ mantra without any hint of reality on how this will adversely affect millions of people, now and in the future, not to mention the UK economy.

  7. “Lies and deceit”, right. And Hillary Clinton lost because Donald Trump colluded with Russia.

    Democracy means there are losers – that’s what Remainers are. Accept it, or just admit you are anti-democratic.

  8. WTH does Tr–p have to do with this? You MUST be desperate, Mrs. May.
    Your continued insults aimed at “Remainers” really helps your cause.

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BREXIT

Brits in France: Could the UK-EU deal lead to a relaxation of the 90-day rule?

Could a calmer relationship between the EU and the UK lead to better deals for Brits in France, such as a relaxation of the 90-day rule for second-home owners? The Local asked former British ambassador to France Peter Ricketts for his opinion.

Published: 27 March 2023 15:16 CEST
Brits in France: Could the UK-EU deal lead to a relaxation of the 90-day rule?

One of the most common questions asked by Brits who own second-homes in France is whether there is any likelihood of a relaxation on the 90-day rule.

The EU-wide rule – which was always the case for visitors from other non-EU countries such as the USA, Canada or Australia – began to apply to Brits in France when the Brexit transition period ended in 2021.

Since then, Brits who want to spend time in France without living here must either limit their visits to 90 days in every 180 or get a visa.

In recent weeks the relationship between the UK and EU has improved with the agreement of the Windsor Framework to deal with post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland, while the Franco-British relationship also entered calmer waters with a successful visit from UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on March 10th.

OPINION Macron and Sunak show that UK and France can be good neighbours

So could this eventually lead to good news for Brits in France?

The Local asked Lord Ricketts, who served as British Ambassador in Paris between 2012 and 2016 and now sits in the House of Lords, for his views in an interview organised by the Anglo American Press Association.

He said: “At the summit between Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron, one of the things announced was a project to make it easier for school trips to take place between France and the UK.

“It seems from the post-summit declaration that the countries will be working towards reinstating something like the collective travel document for school trips – so that you list all the kids’ names on one document.

“This would solve the problem of some French children in a class not having a passport, and if you get classes with non-EU nationals in them it would mean they wouldn’t need to get separate visas.

“I think the reason the two leaders announced this was simply because the school trip sector has been devastated by Brexit.”

New post-Brexit rules mean that each child in a French class needs a passport to visit the UK – since ID cards are accepted for travel around the EU and could previously be used to enter the UK, around one third of French people don’t have a passport.

Schools in France, especially those in northern France who used to do day-trips, have told media that taking groups to the UK is simply too complicated under the new rules.

But could this agreement but the first step towards relaxing other rules?

Lord Ricketts told us: “I think school trips was chosen because it is a sector that was hit particularly hard by Brexit, but also because it’s something that only really affects France and the UK.

“The market is not entirely, but very largely between the UK and France – coach parties going back and forth – so that’s an area in which France can do a deal without getting across other EU countries.

“I think the French are walking a bit of a tightrope because they are equally aware that in some areas what they do will set a precedent for other EU countries and they are being careful not to make concessions to the UK, effectively, in areas that could then involve other EU countries having to do the same thing.

“For example we know that there has been a lot of problems for British musicians who want to tour Europe and now find they need all sorts of extra paperwork – in that case a UK-France deal perhaps wouldn’t be particularly helpful because most people will want to tour other European countries as well.”

The 90-day rule is an EU-wide rule that affects Brits living in all EU countries, as well as many other EU nationals.

Therefore a deal for Brits in France could end up potentially setting a precedent for – for example – Americans in Sweden.

Lord Ricketts told us: “I think the Macron-Sunak summit is the start, yes, the beginning of a bit of an easing up.

“But it’s the start of the UK and France trying to find limited areas where they can make improvements that will aid people’s lives, without setting a precedent for the rest of the EU.”

For the moment at least, the 90-day rule in France will continue to apply – you can find full details of how it works HERE, a calculator to help you plan your stays HERE and – for those who want to stay longer – a visa guide HERE.

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