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 West Midlands need Alliances? 

No Deal Brexit must be stopped. Government analysis shows the West Midlands would be one of 
the worst impacted regions. The local no-deal economy could shrink to be 13% smaller in the long 
term.1 Within the West Midlands, prices are predicted to rise by over 3%.2  

Manufacturing jobs lost:  

Brexit has already cost 1,000 local people their jobs at Solihull’s Jaguar Land Rover plant in 2018 
as Jaguar started relocating to Slovakia.3 Jaguar has also said no-deal Brexit would threaten to 
close its remaining operations in the UK, the majority of which are in the West Midlands.4 BMW has 
said Brexit would threaten its manufacturing plant in Coleshill.5 Brexit would finally collapse the 
West Midlands status as a powerhouse of manufacturing in the UK and the world. 

Freedom of movement business catastrophe:  

The UK’s exit from the EU will end freedom of movement. This has the potential to seriously harm 
business which rely upon freedom of movement and EU migrants for their operations. 62% of 
Midlands’ businesses believe that their industry and business will suffer if freedom of movement 
for people ends.6 Leaving the EU and the benefits of the single market will be bad for business and 
threaten the short and long term economy of the West Midlands.  

Exports to the EU:  

The economy of the West Midlands benefits greatly from Single Market access. One such way 
involves exports to the EU. The West Midlands has one of the greatest shares of exports going to 
the EU, alongside the North East.7 ​Leaving the EU would endanger the economy of the West 
Midlands.  

1
​EU Exit Analysis’​, Cross Whitehall Briefing, page 23 
2
​An Equal Exit: The Distributional Consequences of Leaving the EU.​ page 16 
3
​ ​Jaguar Land Rover to shed jobs, move work to Slovakia  
4
​Why is Jaguar Land Rover warning it may close UK factories and what does it mean for the economy? 
5
​Brexit uncertainty 'costing thousands of West Midlands jobs' 
6
​Why Midland manufacturers are worried about a post-Brexit future 
7
​An Equal Exit - IPPR​ pg 12 

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. Best for Britain is registered with The Electoral 
Commission. 
 
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 Best for Britain - Grassroots groups Pro-EU Alliance briefing note 

How do we know an Alliance will work? 

 

Left:​ The chart shows the 

difference a Pro-EU Alliance 
would make for anti-Brexit 
parties in the West Midlands.  

Pro-EU parties working 

together in an Alliance would 
more than double the seat 
share of Pro-EU parties in the 
region.  

If Pro-EU parties fail to work 

together the region could find 
itself represented by a majority of Brexit Party and Conservative MPs. A Pro-EU alliance here could 
make the key difference in the balance of power in Parliament between Pro-EU and pro-Brexit 
parties.  

Are voters in the West Midlands ready for a Pro-EU Alliance? 

Best for Britain’s ‘Brexit Shift’ report from December 20188 found voters across the country have 
shifted their views on Brexit since 2016. Three constituencies in the West Midlands, Birmingham 
Yardley, Warley and Coventry North East, were found to be in the top 20 biggest switchers towards 
remain. 

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. 

   

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 West Midlands, 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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