November was a very special month for Oxford for Europe. Our city played host to the annual general meeting of the European Movement UK. Following that, we were able to host Caroline Lucas in a virtual meeting.
The AGM worked well. Perhaps, for a few, there was a minor reservation. The chosen venue was the Exam Schools on High Street, something which no doubt created discomfort, if not terrifying flashbacks to a distant past, for some participants who were Oxford alumni.. It is a quintessentially Oxford part of the city. High Street is closed to private cars, but of course that does not prevent the unwary from being hit by a passing bicycle or one of the many buses. Next door to the venue is the Grand Café, ‘the first coffee house in England’, and across the road is Queen’s Lane Coffee House, ‘the oldest established coffee house in Europe’. Could both be right? There’s a question that I’m sure has been used more than once by university-entrance interviewers. Or perhaps it comes up in logic exams. At any event it looks as if discussions about England in Europe go back a long way.
The arrival of our guests prompted me to reflect on what an appropriate venue Oxford is.
We are a very outward-looking, international city, to such a degree that when I, as a GP, looked at the origins of our 20,000 patients, I found that between them they gave as their place of birth no fewer than 173 different countries. In that notorious and ill-conceived referendum of 2016, 70.3% of those voting in Oxford opted for Remain. This is hardly surprising, given the city’s close links with Europe and its reliance on our EU friends. Like most of the car industry, BMW’s Cowley factory depends on a complex supply chain, which has been tested almost to destruction by Brexit.
The local NHS has, over the years, drawn a high proportion of staff from European countries. And perhaps most significantly, our university, which for 10 years has been rated the best in the world (Times Higher Education), needs a regular exchange of students and staff with countries abroad – ideally those near at hand, not on the other side of the world. Hence, supporting the rapid resurrection of the Erasmus programme is, for us, a no-brainer. We live in a city that celebrates Europe Day every May, where the European flag is raised over the Town Hall, and where my successor as chair of Oxford for Europe, John Tanner, is a former Lord Mayor. Oxford has no fewer than five European twin cities: Bonn, Grenoble, Padua, Leiden, and Wrocław.
So, to the meeting. The atmosphere on the whole was positive and professional. Many of us were delighted to be able to greet old friends once again. The formal business of the AGM was deftly handled by Mike Galsworthy, our chair, and his team. Our CEO, Sir Nick Harvey, outlined the challenges ahead and our hopes for the future. The results of elections to council were announced, leaving two of us representing Oxford for Europe over the next two years.
The highlight of the day was certainly the two keynote speakers – both, as it happens, friends of Oxford for Europe, and both of whom have spoken from Oxford for Europe’s platform before, namely Dominic Grieve and Timothy Garton Ash.
Australia and Luxembourg: a reality check
Dominic, our co-president, spoke, as always, from the heart. He has close connections across the Channel; indeed he is the chair of the Franco-British Society, among his many other distinctions. Throughout the chaotic post-referendum years, he was a powerful advocate for Remain, and he reminded us of why this was so important to him. He spoke of the latest battle, that over the ECHR. He referred to the delusional thinking of those who believed that leaving it would have any benefits, or that the catastrophic effects on the Northern Ireland settlement could somehow be avoided. He was very clear that such a departure would make no difference to inward migration by irregular routes.
He compared the substantial growth – over 2% – of the UK economy during its EU years with its current flatlining state. And he warned against believing those who crowed about the benefits of the Australia deal: trade with Australia (£16bn) is only marginally greater than that with tiny Luxembourg (£13bn), a country that he had recently visited to give a lecture.
At a time of political instability, co-operation is essential, yet relations with the EU are far too often adversarial. He quoted Churchill: “We shall only save ourselves from the perils which draw near by forgetting the hatreds of the past, by letting national rancours and revenges die, by progressively effacing frontiers and barriers which aggravate and congeal our divisions, and by rejoicing together in that glorious treasure of literature, of romance, of ethics, of thought and toleration belonging to all, which is the true inheritance of Europe, the expression of its genius and honour”.
Time, he said, to get real. Sooner or later, a closer relationship with the EU was inevitable, and Dominic expressed confidence that the UK would eventually take its place back in the EU, “although in what form remains to be seen”.
The historian who keeps outrunning history
Our final speaker, Timothy Garton Ash, Professor Emeritus of European Studies at Oxford University, is something of a prophet of our times. He has been described as ‘the historian who keeps outrunning history’ and who has a knack for being on the scene wherever and whenever history is being made in Europe or beyond. This is evident in the latest of his many distinguished books, Homelands, in which he reflects on his interactions with the notables of Central and Eastern Europe, including friends such as Václav Havel and Donald Tusk, acquaintances such as Helmut Kohl and Vladimir Putin, and former students such as Victor Orbán. He is the only British person ever to be awarded the Charlemagne Prize for services to European Unity in the post-Brexit era.
Like Dominic, Timothy was committed from the start to Britain’s place at the heart of Europe. He has been through a phase of thinking that the time for rejoining is far away, but now events on both sides of the Channel have persuaded him that we must at least make a start on that “very tall and steep hill” in his own words.
We need to be aware of the challenges, including the three major shocks of our time, generated by Putin, Xi and Trump. We live in a time when American support for the ‘Western alliance’ can no longer be counted upon. Sanctions against Putin are ineffective when the other BRICS countries fail to play ball. And, looking at purchasing power parity, the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) combined have an economy $10 trillion larger than that of the G7. So we are moving into a post-Western world. At the same time, within Europe, even Western Europe, progressive parties are struggling. Over the next two years, elections in Denmark, France, Poland, Italy and Spain could, from our point of view, go the wrong way. And of course, the UK may not be far behind. It may be, however, that next year his former pupil, Victor Orbán, may at last lose his grip on power, and not before time.
Despite the many worries, there is room for hope. As Vaclav Havel put it, optimism is not prognostication. It is not the belief that things are going to turn out well; it is the belief that there are things that are worth fighting for, whether or not they, in the end, turn out that way. “And it’s in that spirit of optimism,” said TGA, “that I believe that we should be starting the marathon for Britain to rejoin the European Union sometime between 2030 and 2035. I wish that and pray that we will also be here.”
Ten years post-referendum
As both of our eminent speakers remind us, we live in a rapidly changing world. Yet it is remarkable to think that soon 10 years will have passed since that fateful referendum. The European Movement will be marking that anniversary with a call to action but also with a message of hope. Oxford for Europe has been in existence for most of those 10 years. Who knows whether we will be around, or indeed need to be around, for anything like the 77 years of the European Movement’s life so far?
I have been chair of Oxford for Europe for the past seven years, and now it is time to pass on that baton to others, although I plan to continue as an active participant. I’m grateful for all the hard work of my fellow committee members, many of whom will be staying on in new roles.
As for our long-term mission, I remain certain that we have one. Hearing Dominic Grieve and Timothy Garton Ash speak has reinforced that certainty. We are here above all to give hope in challenging times, to tell people it is okay to believe in a better future, and that they must not allow themselves to be gaslit by con artists who stand to gain if we give up.
Increasingly, the honest citizens around us recognise what we have lost. Increasingly, they will also recognise that a fight to regain it, while not easy, is well worth the effort.
The views expressed here are the author’s own and not necessarily representative of Oxford for Europe. If you want to join the European Movement follow this link. For Oxford for Europe, follow this one.
This article first appeared on the Oxford for Europe website.
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