Why is journalism failing democracy?
2021-10-07 18:30 (Europe/London) | Online
New analysis from Open Democracy shows how the Conservative party has become dependent on bankers and hedge fund tycoons, who are now responsible for almost 40% of all donations. The findings have sparked warnings from opposition MPs and transparency campaigners that Boris Johnson is reliant on “vested interests” who want to “drive the UK towards a Singapore-on-Thames-style model of light-touch regulation and low business taxes”. (Read more here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/tories-rake-in-11m-from-hedge-funds-and-finance-tycoons/)
The people who produce and consume the news are increasingly elites living in big cities. Why is this happening, what does it mean for democracy and what can we do about it? Join us for this free live discussion on 7 October at 6.30pm UK time – register via the Zoom link below.

What next for Labour & PR?
2021-10-07 19:00 - 20:15 | Online
A review of conference from PR campaign organisers, hear from some of the delegates and activists who were in the thick of it, and consider what the outcome means for Labour’s journey towards introducing PR for UK general elections.

GlasgowLovesEU: Q&A with Dr Helga Nowotny
2021-10-11 19:30 | Online
Join us live on Facebook or Twitter for a Q&A with Dr Helga Nowotny, Professor emerita of Science and Technology Studies at ETH Zurich and former president of the European Research Council.
Dr Nowotny will talk about dealing with uncertainty, Brexit’s impact on the EU and fixing the post-referendum social divide.

On Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/GlasgowLovesEU/
On Twitter: @glasgowlovesEU

Modernising Britain's Democracy
2021-10-12 19:00 | Online
Leeds for Europe and Labour for a European Future – Modernising Britain’s Democracy – with Mike Buckley, Alex Sobel MP and Juliet Lodge. It will cover voting reform, media, devolution, House of Lords reform and much more.

Changing to Proportional Representation: New Zealand's experience
2021-10-13 09:00 | Online
Pro Europa Brussels invites you to a discussion with Prof Andrew Geddis of Otago University.
There are many parallels between New Zealand’s experience prior to the introduction of PR and the situation in the UK today, where the Conservatives and some in the Labour Party are clinging to their vested interest in the present first-past-the-post system. That was also true in NZ, yet the people of that country were able to change to a fairer and more democratic system. How they managed to achieve that and how it has turned out are questions that Professor Geddis will tackle in his talk.
To access the event on 13 October please click on the Zoom link below at 09.00 BST (10.00 CEST, 21.00 NZST).

Lewisham Across Europe: No.2 – Lyon
2021-10-17 17:00 - 18:00 | Online
Listen in and/or participate in the discussion in the second of our events to celebrate our European identity. Beginning with an overview of its ties with Lewisham, this one-hour presentation and chat centres on France’s second-largest urban area, a city which even Parisians acknowledge as the culinary centre of the country (Curnonsky went further, saying it was the “gastronomic capital of the world”). With Beaujolais and Burgundy just to the north, the Rhone wines and Provence to the south, the Alps to the east, and two rivers running through it, from Roman times (as the capital of the Gauls) Lyon has been …….
These events are informal. No prior registration is required, just join in – and please pass on the details/invite to friends and family, the more the merrier, they don’t even have to be outright Rejoiners.

Festival of Europe UK 2022 Official Launch
2021-10-18 19:00 - 21:00
We are delighted to announce the official launch of the Festival of Europe 2022 at the National Liberal Club in Central London. The Festival will be a UK-wide summer of music, film, theatre, visual arts and food, celebrating our continent’s shared culture and values (see the Festival website below for more).
If you cannot attend the launch in person, it will be live-streamed by private invitation. For further information and to request an invitation, please email tamsin@festivalofeurope.uk

Q&A with Gavin Esler - livestream on Twitter & Facebook
2021-10-18 19:30 | Online
Join Glasgow Loves EU for a live-stream Q&A with journalist and author Gavin Esler:
On Twitter: @glasgowloveseu
On Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/GlasgowLovesEU/

Proportional Representation
2021-10-19 19:00 | Online
In this webinar we’ll be joined by Laura Parker from Labour for a New Democracy and Owen Winter from Make Votes Matter to talk about the case for PR, why it’s the right choice for Labour and where we go from here.

Building cultural bridges after Brexit
2021-10-20 14:00 - 15:00
The aim of this webinar will be to highlight difficulties and challenges that Brexit has thrown up for UK artists and performers and try to discern solutions to this new reality. Though the focus will be on the music industry, many of the issues are shared by artists and organisations in other cultural fields. Our three panel experts will be Professor Linda Merrick (Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester), Paul Pacifico (CEO of the Association of Independent Music ) and Mark Pemberton (Director of the Association of British Orchestras). Our moderator will be Dr Nigel Clarke, a freelance composer and musician.

Hitler's Cosmopolitan Bastard
2021-10-21 18:00 | Online
In the turbulent period following the First World War the young Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi founded the Pan-European Union, offering a vision of peaceful, democratic unity for Europe. The Count’s commitment to this cooperative ideal infuriated Adolf Hitler, who referred to him as a “cosmopolitan bastard” in Mein Kampf. Martyn Bond’s biography offers an opportunity to explore a remarkable life and revisit the impetus and origins of a unified Europe. This event will explore Martyn’s recent publication, ‘Hitler’s Cosmopolitan Bastard’.

How fares meritocracy in Britain and Europe? Competence or Cronyism?
2021-10-21 19:15 - 21:00 | Online
Adrian Wooldridge, Political Editor and “Bagehot” columnist of The Economist.
What binds us and divides us? Are there links to Brexit and our PM?
Brexit Britain is looking increasingly like 1970s Britain: bigger state, higher inflation, less choice, more bureaucracy, shortages of staff and supplies, ignoring the needs of the less-privileged, rampant cronyism.
His latest book “The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World” traces the history of meritocracy. He describes the repeated efforts to compel society to organise itself on lines where not bloodlines or bank balances but merit alone decides who rules.
His book raises debates regarding the future of the Labour Party (“it offers Labour’s only path to victory” according to Wooldridge) and the Government’s “levelling up” agenda.
Where does meritocracy stand in the domestic party political arena? What can we learn from divergent attitudes in Europe and across the world, and where does Brexit fit into the context? This promises to be a fascinating talk.

Meritocracy in the UK and Europe
2021-10-21 19:15 - 21:00 | Online
How fares meritocracy in Britain and Europe? Competence or Cronyism?
With Adrian Wooldridge, Political Editor and “Bagehot” columnist of The Economist.
Followed by a Q&A session.
This event is free but you must register in advance – see the event website for details and information on how to submit your question/s for the Q&A.

Brexit Isn't Working - Cambridge stall
2021-10-23 12:00 - 16:00 | Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge CB1 0SS, United Kingdom
Join us at our stall outside the Guildhall in Cambridge to discuss the ongoing crisis that Brexit and the Johnson Government’s reckless incompetence and malice has created, and what should be done to end it. From rejoining Erasmus+ to aligning with EU food and farming standards to restoring Freedom of Movement, there are many steps that can and should be taken to build a better and closer relationship with the EU.
If you can spend an hour or two on our stall, please tell us when you can be there by emailing the address below.

Brexit and Music
2021-10-26 20:00 - 21:30 | Online
Just what has Brexit meant for touring performers, musicians and festival organisers? What are the parallels for other industries?
We cannot express the issue any better than Sir Simon Rattle, whose family are based in Germany, has applied for a German passport and said any musician with only a UK passport was at a disadvantage.
“People who are normally hired by organisations abroad are being told, ‘I’m sorry, we just don’t have the capacity to bring somebody from the United Kingdom, it is too complicated and too expensive’. What I worry about is how much music will have been lost, how many brilliant young musicians will not be able to do what they do, how many artistic lives will be ruined?”
Our panel (final diverse line-up tbc) includes:
Simon Dunbavand, organist, pianist, conductor and teacher
David Knopfler, singer-songwriter, founding member of rock group Dire Straits and now with twenty solo albums under his belt.
Ben Osborn, based in Berlin, works with asylum seekers and has provided music for theatre as well as a performer.
Milena Simovic, solo violinist and violist, member of the United Strings of Europe ensemble
Lucy Woolley, creative producer and coach, festival director of Lancaster Jazz Festival

Post-Brexit Crime & Justice Co-operation Between the UK and the EU
2021-10-27 17:00 - 18:30 | Online
The UK’s departure from the EU has meant extensive changes in the arrangements for co-operation in the fields of crime, justice and security between the UK and the EU. The implications of these major changes for law enforcement in the UK are important for crime, justice and civil law co-operation on both sides of the Channel, and will be debated in this webinar by a panel of distinguished speakers chaired by Lord David Hannay, former UK Permanent Representative to the EU.

How Brexit is Damaging Oxford: A public debate
2021-10-28 19:30 - 21:00 | Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX, United Kingdom
At this in-person event Lord Andrew Adonis, chair of the European Movement, will host a panel of invited guests and local citizens who will testify about what Brexit has done and is doing to their lives, livelihoods, futures and well being across a whole range of sectors.
The session will end with a discussion about the road map we can soonest take to end the self-inflicted harms caused by this historic national mistake.
Due to social distancing, on-site seating in the Assembly Room will be limited to 80 people. You can also join the meeting remotely, at a reduced charge, via Zoom. See link for details.

TELLING A NEW STORY ABOUT EUROPE: ONE MESSAGE FOR ALL OR ONE FOR EACH NATION?
2021-11-02 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
A four‐nations panel discussion chaired by Peter Kellner and co‐sponsored by European Movement, Wales for Europe & European Movement in Scotland. Speakers: Ifan Morgan Jones, Founder, Nation Cymru; Jane Thomas, Yorkshire Bylines; Jane Morrice, Past Speaker, Stormont Assembly; David Gow, European Movement in Scotland.

Economics of Covid-19 and Brexit, revisited - budget edition
2021-11-03 18:00 - 19:15 | Online
Join our panel to discuss the impacts of Brexit and Covid-19 on the Autumn Budget and Spending Review. See link for more details and to register.

March: Climate Change Knows No Borders
2021-11-06 11:00
COP 26 is nearly here, and we believe we need to act now! Future generations will not thank us for ignoring the biggest issue facing the world today. We demand Climate Justice, and international collaboration is needed to make a real difference.
Let’s work with our neighbours to fight climate change.

European Movement UK open Hustings for national EM UK Vice Chair posts
2021-11-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
Your chance to hear & question national European Movement UK vice chair candidates before voting closes. All VC candidates are invited. Each will be given a maximum four minutes to present their vision and plans for EM UK should they be elected. Once each candidate has spoken we will open to written questions submitted from the floor and in advance. For further details click on the Eventbrite link.

Russian National Strategy in a Multipolar World
2021-11-11 18:00 - 19:30
Dmitry Suslov will discuss the formation and practice of Russian national strategy in a multipolar world.
He will describe how national objectives and their achievement are developed within Russian state institutions, as well as the evolution of national strategy over the past two decades.
Christopher Coker, Director of LSE IDEAS will chair.

John Bercow in Conversation with Andrew Adonis
2021-11-12 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
Join us for a special online event featuring John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009-2019, in conversation with Chair of the European Movement, Lord Andrew Adonis.
The event will cover John’s time in politics, including his time as Speaker of the House of Commons during a time when Brexit dominated proceedings, as well as his views on the UK’s relationship with our European friends and neighbours, his opinion on British politics, and much more.
For anybody who has been following British politics in recent years this is an event not to be missed.

Did Brexit work for Business?
2021-11-15 20:30 - 21:00
A look at the impact leaving the EU has had on some of Britain’s small import and export businesses.

Environmental Policy after Brexit in Britain and the EU
2021-11-16 19:30
Join Professor Andy Jordan for this Cambridge for Europe event to discuss Environmental Policy after Brexit in Britain and the EU.

Conference on the "Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland"
2021-11-18 13:45 - 2021-11-19 14:30
Given the importance of the Protocol for EU-UK relations and the future of the Shared Island, the next Conference of the DCU Brexit Institute, on “The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland”, is timely. The event will be opened by Simon Coveney, TD, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, and feature a keynote speech of Maros Sefcovic, Vice President of the European Commission, and Chief EU Brexit Negotiator.
The Conference features a stellar cast of speakers from leading universities in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe and the United States, exploring all aspects of the Protocol — from its context, to its content, and ranging from human rights provisions, to trade clauses, to governance and safeguard mechanisms.
It will serve as preparation for the publication of a new book, Federico Fabbrini (ed), The Law & Politics of Brexit. Volume IV. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, forthcoming with Oxford University Press in 2022, with a Preface by Simon Coveney.

Gavin Esler - Brexit and the Breakup of Britain
2021-11-18 19:00 - 20:00
Gavin Esler is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. He is author of five novels and four non-fiction books the latest of which is How Britain Ends.
In How Britain Ends (February 2021), Gavin explores the possibility of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland reinventing itself or, as the title suggests, coming to an end.

Must Labour always lose? How to avoid a one-party state
2021-11-18 19:15 - 21:00
Denis MacShane has had a colourful, often controversial life as a journalist-politician in Labour over many years, standing for Parliament in 1974 and being the best Europe Minister of any government until the calamity of Brexit struck.
His account of why Labour is so good at losing elections makes fascinating reading. His unique insight comes from 15 years work with trade unions and progressive political movement in Europe and overseas. His book is personal, political and full of insights. Much of the European Left is struggling, and Labour must avoid that fate.
Why is Labour so keen on fighting internal battles and so useless at winning power?
What to do to get Labour back into power is a central question if we don’t want to live in a one-party state.

European Movement Action Day
2021-11-20
National day of action organised by local groups.

The State We're In at 25: reconsidering progressive politics
2021-11-24 18:30 - 20:00 | Online
Will Hutton’s The State We’re In was one of the most important polemical works of the 1990s. The challenging, creative critique of the UK’s political economy caught the public mood and provided intellectual underpinning for a period of progressive renewal. The book remains one of the bestselling books on UK public policy. But how relevant is it today?
Are the problems faced by the UK different now? And what lessons are there in progressive renewal? To mark the book’s 25th anniversary, this event will bring together Will Hutton with leading political thinkers to update the work and consider parallels between the UK politics of the mid-90s and now.
Speakers and chair: Will Hutton is a political economist, author and journalist.
Alison McGovern (@Alison_McGovern) is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Wirral South since 2010.
Geoff Mulgan CBE is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London (UCL). Prior to that he was Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation between 2011 and 2019.
Neil Lee (@ndrlee) is Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
