C4E Activities 2023-2024

Annual General Meeting

6 March 2024

Successive opinion polls which have been published leave no doubt that public opinion nationally is in favour of rejoining the European Union, and during the last 12 months we in Cheltenham have played an active role in helping to bring this about. All we have to do now is to persuade the politicians.

Cheltenham for Europe has had a very busy year, with Street Stalls in the High Street, and at several high-profile events. In every case the overwhelming number of people who support our cause has been heartening and encouraging. It is particularly encouraging to find that young people are almost 100 per cent in favour of the country’s renewed membership of the European Union, and it is they who will in the future make it happen.

The year began on 6 March 2023, with a talk by Emma Knaggs of the European Movement, and this was closely followed by a Street Stall in the High Street and the celebration of Europe Day, combined with Ukraine Freedom Day with a picnic in Pittville Park. In July there was another Street Stall in the High Street, and on 29 July a successful Eurocafe at St Paul’s School House Cafe – it was a great opportunity to meet and to chat to fellow European ‘re-joiners’.

In early August Committee members toured the town centre’s small businesses to distribute the European Movement’s Business Survey cards. Once again there was overwhelming support for rejoin, but it was disturbing to hear just how Brexit has damaged businesses in the most unexpected quarters. The owner of a Gents’ Outfitters was visibly upset and angry at the way Brexit had virtually destroyed his mutual trading relationship with German customers and businesses. For the C4E representative who spoke to him it was a very real and sobering reminder of the appalling damage that Brexit is doing to both business and people’s lives here.

On 20 September, C4E put up our stall at the University’s Welcome Fayre at the Park Campus. For all the C4E members who manned the stall during the day it was so encouraging to see almost unanimous support from the young people, who expressed a range of emotions, from angry that they had no say in the matter (an emotion which was encouraged by one C4E Committee Member), to upset that the opportunities afforded by the Erasmus Scheme had been denied to them. Some of the post-graduates were quite resentful of the fact that they had been unable to cast their vote.

On 23 September, Cheltenham for Europe put on a full coach for the journey from Royal Well to London to take part in the National Rejoin March. Once again it was encouraging to meet, and march with, thousands of fellow European supporters. One surprising factor was the level of support from passers-by: pedestrians out shopping or sightseeing, passengers in buses who waved their support, and motorists who hooted their horns and waved. As the long winding throng of many thousands of European supporters made their way along Whitehall, towards Westminster, there was a loud and sustained chorus of booing as we passed the entrance to Downing Street– a reminder to the occupants of that Street that we haven’t ‘Got over it’, it hasn’t ‘Gone away’ and never will. There were some inspirational speeches from various well known and devoted pro-European individuals, including Guy Verhofstadt, Steve Bray, Gina Miller, Femi Oluwole, Mike Galsworthy, Professor A. C. Grayling and Madeleina Kay. It was a long and tiring day, but so very heartening to meet so many fellow ‘Europeans’ from all over the country.

Fourteen days later, C4E set up a special Street Stall at the corner of Montpellier Spa Road, to cover a day of the Cheltenham Literary Festival. Unfortunately, we were just a couple of minutes too late setting up the stall to get Richard Osman’s signature on our petition, but once again the vast majority of those attending the Festival supported our cause – and the weather blessed us with warm sunshine.

In late October there was another Eurocafe, but the highlight of the autumn programme was a joint C4E/Labour Party hosted event, at which the guest speaker was Baroness Jan Royall of Blaisdon. Again it was a real morale booster.

So far this year, C4E has hosted a Stall at Gloucestershire University’s Welcome Fayre at Oxtalls Campus, where, once again, the young people were overwhelmingly in favour of rejoining the EU, and a pub social event at the Tivoli Inn, which was not so well attended as previous get-togethers…..but then it was mid-January.

In addition, throughout the year, there have been monthly Committee Meetings, and regular newsletters have been circulated to members. We continue to post regulalrly on Facebook and we have updated our website. Committee Members have carried out door-to-door European Movement leaflet deliveries in various areas around the town, from Pittville to Charlton Kings and Leckhampton (only one dissenting voice was heard during these drops – from a character who considered it was ‘an insult’ to post a European Movement leaflet through his letter box. The ‘offending’ leaflet was retrieved and recycled through a more amenable letter box).

To sum up, C4E has been very active around the town, and it has been heartening and encouraging to see the level of support we have. Now we have to persuade the politicians, and the opportunity to send them a clear and unequivocal message is fast approaching.

Neil McCart – Secretary