A letter to my MP regarding Brexit

Below is a letter I wrote to my MP back in the UK regarding the UK referendum to leave the EU. It is the real letter, I really sent.

Dear Jo Stevens,

This may surprise you, but I do not currently live in Cardiff Central. I lived and voted in there as a student at Cardiff University, studying law. At the moment I have temporarily left Cardiff to do a stage (educational placement) in France, where I came to improve my French and therefore improve my chances of employment. I am one of the many British people using their free movement rights to live, work, and study in the EU, and as you can imagine the results of the recent EU Referendum, where my postal vote for 'remain' was sent to Cardiff, have upset me. 

Firstly, leaving the EU has fundamentally altered my career prospects. The potential loss of free movement of workers and loss of access to the single market, or having severe restrictions placed upon them, seriously damages my potential employment and the potential employment of many of my generation. I am 26 years old, I have 3 qualifications from Russell Group universities (UCL in London and Cardiff University), I am healthy, I am adept in three european languages (French, Spanish, and Greek) and I have a good work ethic. I should be entering the workforce, contributing to society, paying my taxes, and moving the economy, and my life, forward. I have since had this opportunity pulled from underneath me. I know this for a fact. On the morning the results of the referendum were announced a potential employer here in Paris called me to say that my interview had been cancelled, as the position was a permanent placement and they did not know what my immigration status would be in two years time. I was too much of a risk for them. I was forced out of the labour market before lunchtime. How is that fair? 

The second point is that I feel European. I was born a week after the fall of the Berlin wall, and have only ever known a Europe of ever increasing unity. The flag of Europe with its twelve stars is as much my flag as the Dragon of Wales or the Union Jack. Now I am being told to give it up. I do not want to give it up. I am a proud European citizen; being European is a core part of my identity, and it cannot be ripped from me any more than my Welshness. 

My Welsh identity is in my blood and in my bones. It travels with me. It is in my pride when I sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. It is when I support us in the rugby and, surprisingly this year, in the football. It is my mother's recipe for bara brith. It is the memory of my grandmother teaching me the words toCalon Lan. I am proud to be Welsh, but 'Welsh' is not what is written on my passport. My Passport says British. 

Right now looking across the channel from my home in Paris, I am not proud to be British. I see our politicians in Westminster making us look like fools on the international stage. I see them putting their personal political ambitions and internal party squabbles before the needs and fears of an electorate that has been shaken to its core. I see that they have mislead and misinformed the electorate about what was possible once we left the EU, and furthermore they have no plan for what lies ahead. I see the rise of racist and xenophobic hate crime on the streets and on social media. I see the pound plummet, and know that my savings, and those of many others, go with it. My British passport gives me no pride in this moment. I am a European, and if other Europeans such as Polish, Romanian, French or Spanish are not welcome in the UK, then I am not welcome either.

So I must ask myself a question, to what benefit do I keep that British passport? Is it in my interest to return to the UK? France just overtook the UK as the fifth largest economy because of a slump in the market directly related to Brexit. Practically speaking, if the UK does leave the EU, it is more in my interest to stay here and work towards French citizenship than to return, especially as the UK has become, in the last few days, a country I do not recognise. This will mean I am able to remain a citizen of Europe. I assure you, however, I will take my Welsh identity with me when I go. 

I am not the only one thinking this way. Many of my British friends in Paris feel the same, and they are like me - under 30, well educated, looking to enter the jobs market. A friend of mine here has already agreed to marry her French boyfriend to enable her to achieve citizen status in just 2 years. One of the key issues that Brexit was fought over was immigration. I fear that one of the prices of our decision will be emigration. Emigration of the young, educated, and able to work. Our best and brightest will leave the UK with a gap in its workforce it cannot fill.

So I implore you, do what you can to stop a Brexit happening. You were a solicitor and know that this referendum (unlike the Alternative Vote Ref.) was only ever advisory, never legally binding. If Parliament is sovereign, as the doctrine tells us, then you as an MP have the power to vote it down. We will be embarrassed, we will have our pride hurt, we may have to return to Brussels with our tail between our legs to receive a scolding, but we may yet hold on to a brighter future. 

If it is never put to the House of Commons, then I beg you to vote for another general election. We elect our MPs to stand up for us, to act in our interests, and to handle the matters the we, the electorate, lack the experience, knowledge, and time to fully investigate. Not everyone can be a constitutional scholar, and there are some politicians who have used the lack of knowledge and time of the electorate to their advantage, misleading and misinforming them on key issues relating to our leaving the EU. That is a complete betrayal of their constituents. It is also a betrayal of the integrity of the House of Commons, and of Parliament. A general election is needed for the electorate to hold them to account. 

I recognise that this is a difficult time for all politicians, and that the Labour party finds itself in disarray. But please, I urge you and your colleagues to come together and focus on reassuring the electorate and acting in our interest. Now is a time for unity, and putting aside personal politics. We the people are frightened, confused, and facing uncertain times. We need our MPs to remember why we elected them - to stand up for us.

Yours with the upmost sincerity, faith, and hope,

Emily Thomas.