Whether you voted leave or remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, there is probably one thing we can agree on – that politicians are making a complete mess of it. The People’s Vote campaign has launched the Summer of Action – because while the politicians are all off on holiday, it is time for the people to take back control of this process.
The first rally is being held in Bristol, this weekend, and I’m delighted to be one of the speakers. I am an NHS doctor and shall be speaking as someone working on the frontline in our health service, to let the public know how damaging Brexit has already been. The NHS is ours, and we must stand up for it, yet it is in trouble. Currently EU nurses and doctors are leaving in higher numbers than ever, and fewer are now coming to work in the NHS. When we already have huge staffing issues in the NHS, losing yet more staff could be catastrophic.
Meanwhile, a no deal Brexit, which the Government is refusing to take off the table, would mean potential disruption to medicine supplies, including isotopes used in cancer treatments as well as possible shortfalls in supplies of vital medical products like insulin.
Why is this even being contemplated as a possible path by government? A path that would place many people at risk. Brexit was sold to the public on the premise that it would mean a better future for our NHS, not a worse one, yet the evidence is already demonstrating the latter.
The Government are caught in dangerous tunnel vision, it is evident to all that they cannot do the job they set out to, they are failing, and the people of this country will feel the repercussions from their calamity. As time goes on, the Brexit process is increasingly being pushed through by a small group of people, whose interests seem only to lie with themselves, yet somehow this is cleverly cloaked by the nauseous repetition of the “will of the people” rhetoric.
People like Jacob Rees-Mogg, Boris Johnson and others (with concerning recent vocal public support from Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon) - are seemingly attempting to hijack this seismic event for their own ideological purposes, despite the negative consequence for the people they purport to be acting for. The stakes are extremely high.
It is crucial therefore that we all come together now as a country, and make ourselves heard. Sitting back and allowing 650 MPs in Westminster to stitch up a deal behind closed doors, and place future generations at risk is not an option. Brexit will affect generations, for generations. We all deserve to have a say.
You can have your say. Take part in the People’s Vote Summer of Action – attend a rally, volunteer for a local event, deliver leaflets, campaign online, put a poster up, speak to a friend or a family member about why they should be backing the People’s Vote campaign. Whatever you do, talk to those around you, let people know what is happening, including what is happening to their NHS.
This is about all of us, every single person in this country - and now is the time for action.
Momentum is building behind the People’s Vote campaign, but there is still much work to be done.
Let this summer be the time when the politicians in Westminster realise they can no longer ignore our voices. Let it be the time for you to stand up and tell those who represent you what you really want.
We must make a choice. Let’s not choose to be locked out of our own futures, or future generations will judge us.
Now is our time. Now is the time to demand a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal.