People’s Vote campaign pivots to ‘issues of social inequality’
The campaign group for a second EU referendum has admitted defeat and will instead lobby the government on social issues related to phase-two of Brexit negotiations.
Any chance of a second Brexit referendum slipped away on Thursday, after the Conservatives picked up the largest election majority since 2001.
Read more: New People’s Vote chief faces sexual harassment claims from staff members
The party will now be able to pass Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, without any concern about parliamentary arithmetic.
The UK will leave the EU before 31 January, however negotiations will then begin with Brussels on a free trade agreement.
People’s Vote campaign director Stuart Hand said the group would continue to operate, despite its hopes of a second Brexit referendum being dashed.
“We will remain a grassroots campaigning group who will act on issues of social inequality,” Hands said.
“We will put pressure on the government to stop them sacrificing opportunities for the poor and vulnerable, removing citizens’ rights, undermining the NHS and reducing job security in pursuit of a destructive Brexit driven by a hard-right minority.”
A spokesperson for the group said they were not sure if the group would change its name and that it was “too early to say” if staff would be let go.
Arch-Remainer, and former Tory Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine also admitted defeat on Saturday.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “We’ve lost, we have to face up to that, we’re going to leave Europe.
“The reality is Boris Johnson has got a thumping parliamentary majority and there’s no way they will not get their legislation through in very short order – so we will leave the EU.”
The People’s Vote campaign was wracked with dysfunction over the past two months, after a “boardroom coup” saw its two most senior staff members – James McGrory and Tom Baldwin – sacked.
What followed was weeks of internal protest by staff members, who went on strike after McGrory and Baldwin were removed from their positions.
It was also revealed exclusively by City A.M. in this period that the campaign’s new director Patrick Henghan was facing allegations of sexual harassment from staff members.
He denied the accusations, but stepped down from the post.
At the centre of the internal power dispute was PR tycoon, and Finsbury Group chairman, Roland Rudd.
Read more: Power to the People: What’s really behind the People’s Vote power struggle
Rudd, the defacto head of People’s Vote, sacked Baldwin and McGrory and had a very public battle with the pair and their backers.
New Labour heavyweights Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson were two prominent figures to line up against Rudd in the dispute.