Grassroots Briefing: 

Building the Pro-European 

Alliance 
It starts with you 
This briefing for pro-European campaigners is intended to supplement Best for Britain’s 
Grassroots guide to building the Pro-European Alliance.​ It should help local campaigners to 
effectively take part in and drive the formation of Alliances from the ground up.  

Does the East of England need Alliances? 

No Deal Brexit must be stopped. Government analysis shows the ​East of the country faces 
economic decline in the three potential Brexit scenarios. In the event of a no deal, East of 
England’s economy is set to shrink by 8%.1 

Offshore Wind Sector:  

East England is a leading region of the UK when it comes to clean energy. The East of England is 
responsible for 70% of the UK offshore wind capacity.2 One major impact would be on the 
workforce. Highly skilled workers from the EU plug a gap in the UK STEM workforce, and a 
Brexit which threatens the rights of EU nationals will threaten the supply of this workforce. 
Furthermore, the European Investment Bank provides £2.5 billion a year to the UK for clean 
energy related projects.3 The UK leaving the EU is likely to threaten these investments. 

Agriculture:  
Restriction on free movement would negatively impact the agricultural sector in Norfolk and 
Suffolk. Agriculture is reliant upon both full-time and seasonal EU workers. 10% of workers in 
the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors are non-UK EU nationals. 80,000 seasonal workers 
are employed every year to hand pick and process the commercial production of fruits, 
vegetables, plants and flowers in the region.4 According to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), 
around 75% of the UK’s seasonal horticulture workforce workers are recruited from Romania 
and Bulgaria, with the remainder largely coming from Poland and other EU countries.5 

Healthcare:  
East of England’s hospitals are reliant on NHS professionals trained overseas, especially coming 
from Europe, with 43% of doctors in East England being trained abroad.6 Three out of five trusts 
more dependent on EU nurses and health workers outside of London are in the East of England 
- West Hertfordshire Hospitals (19%), Royal Papworth Hospital (17%), and Mid Essex Hospital 

1
​EU Exit Analysis ​ page 23 
2
​The Potential Implications of Brexit for Norfolk and Suffolk​ page 14 
3
​The Potential Implications of Brexit for Norfolk and Suffolk​ page 18 
4
Metro Dynamics Sectoral Analysis 
5
FDF report 
6
The Independent 

Printed and promoted by Best for Britain, the campaign name of UK-EU OPEN POLICY LIMITED registered at 
International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2BN. 
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 Best for Britain - Grassroots groups Pro-EU Alliance briefing note 

 
Services (17%).7 The East of England is a particular concern as it is “an area with more rural 
trusts, which can make recruitment harder.  

How do we know an Alliance will work? 

Left: ​This chart shows the 
difference between what 
would happen in a general 
election in the East of 
England if Pro-EU parties 
work together to oppose a 
Tory/Brexit Party Pact and 
what would happen if they 
did not. 

If the Pro-EU parties fail to 

make an alliance, pro-EU 
voters will be split. And the 
East of England would end 
up with just a handful of 
Pro-EU MPs. 

However, a Pro-EU Alliance would more than double the seat share of Pro-EU parties in the 
region and could make the key difference in the balance of power in Parliament between 
pro-Remain and pro-Brexit parties.  

Are voters in the East of England ready for a Pro-EU Alliance? 

Best for Britain’s ‘Brexit Shift’ report from December 20188 found voters in 141 seats in Great 
Britain have moved more than 10% towards remain since the 2016 referendum. 

Every one of the 632 seats in Great Britain has moved towards remain since June 2016. The 
largest movements can be seen in Labour seats that backed leave in 2016, with Labour holding 
49 of the top 50 seats with the largest swings towards remain. 

There has also been a distinct move by Conservative seats towards remain. 50 of the 81 seats 
that have switched from leave to remain since July 2018 are Conservative seats, predominantly 
in the East, South East and South West regions of England. In total, 91 Conservative seats have 
switched from leave to remain since 2016. 

   
7
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism  
8
Brexit Shift 2.0, published by Best for Britain and Hope not hate, December 2018, 
https://www.bestforbritain.org/brexit-shift-2 

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 Best for Britain - Grassroots groups Pro-EU Alliance briefing note 

Who needs an Alliance? 

● Over 1.9 million switchers: ​Since the referendum, UK public opinion has shifted 
towards remaining in the EU, with over 10% of 2016 Leave voters now backing Remain 
as of November 2018. 
● Almost a fifth of UK voters are ‘persuadable’: ​Our data shows that 17% of UK voters 
can change their minds on Brexit, with 7% being soft Leavers that could potentially 
move towards Remain.  

So who are the switchers?  

In the East of England, the biggest group of switchers from Leave to Remain are young voters 
(especially young women) that either supported Labour in 2015 or have switched from 
supporting the Conservatives in 2015 to Labour or other parties in 2017.  

Young (18-34) women who supported the Conservatives in 2015 are the demographic most 
likely to have switched, with over 20% of those who voted Leave now in favour of staying in.  

● For those young female Leavers that voted Conservative in 2015 but did not support the 
Tories in 2017, the number is 25%.  
● The trend is largely the same among young people that voted for Labour in 2015: 20% of 
Leave supporters in this demographic have switched to Remain.  

Young people, women, and disillusioned Conservative voters will continue to shift towards 
Remain as the consequences of a no deal Brexit become ever more apparent. 

What can you do? 

You have a voice. You represent a body of opinion in your area and on that basis alone you 
have a platform. But more than that, you represent an organised group with a supporter 
base and volunteers separate from the local political parties. That’s no small thing. 

Use your platform and the assets you have been building up over the past three years -  

● Use your status as a community leader to meet local party representatives in person 
● Use your platform to convene negotiations as a party-political ‘neutral’ participant  
● Use your group’s organisation as proof you can provide support and volunteers for the 
Alliance candidate 
● Use your supporters and volunteers to lobby local politicians 
● Use your social media to highlight the need for an Alliance and the support for it 
● Use local spokespeople to write to local papers and promote the Alliance 

Every area has different politics, history and local character. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. 
That’s why you, as a local campaigner, are best placed to make this happen. ​Good luck! 

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