We are Oxford for Europe – a group of volunteers working to help Oxford remain the welcoming and vibrant international centre that it has always been.
While our activity is mainly in Oxford, we support activities across Oxfordshire and the UK in co-operation with numerous other formal and informal pro-EU organisations. We are affiliated to the European Movement UK, and work closely with Grassroots for Europe, Best for Britain, Open Britain and many others. For further information about allied groups please follow this link.
The referendum is now nine years ago Brexit is over five years old. However those years have served only to remind us what a disastrous experiment it has proven to be. There is more need than ever to promote pro-EU voices, to make EU citizens welcome, to share news from the EU and to encourage more people to get involved in building a pro-European city, county and country. With the country facing unprecedented difficulties, firstly in the wake of the pandemic, and now through the interventions of Putin and Trump, we need to ensure that we do not lose sight of the need to cooperate across borders, and to mitigate the increasingly obvious damage as time goes by.
If you want to join us, click this link.
For the latest news from the EU, download the EU Citizens App from the Google or Apple store.
For our newsletters see here. You can find us on Facebook, YouTube and BlueSky. (We have reluctantly decided to leave Twitter as we have been deeply disappointed at the direction it has taken).
Sign European Movement UK’s open letter to the Prime Minister today and let’s make sure this Government improves Britain’s relations with Europe.
Sign the open letter to Kier Starmer now!
https://www.europeanmovement.co.uk/open-letter-to-keir-starmer
Happy New Year!
Our very best wishes and high hopes for 2026.
Our AGM 2025
This took place on 2 December.
Further information here
Our most recent meeting: Caroline Lucas – 19 November 2025
We held an online meeting featuring Caroline Lucas, Joint President of the European Movement.
LibDems and Europe
The Liberal Democrats at their Autumn Conference in Bournemouth called on the Government to go further and faster on its EU reset. That means pushing Labour to drop its red lines and commit to a new, bespoke UK-EU Customs Union by 2030 – unlocking growth, security, and opportunity for the British people.
Full details here
Europe Day
It is appropriate that Europe Day, 9 May 2025, was the day after Victory in Europe Day. With the European Movement we are celebrating this special day, and looking forward to better relations with our European friends.
At this time we must not forget the threat to European security and the plight of the Ukrainian people. The European Movement has launched its new film, Flags in the Wind, see here.
Our most recent public meeting: Thursday 22 May
This very successful public meeting was held at the New Road Baptist Church, Oxford.
Title: UK and Europe: Moving Together?
Speakers: Calum Miller MP, Cecilia Jastrzembska, Baroness Jan Royall.
‘Britain is still in Europe’
with Prof Timothy Garton Ash
This meeting was held on 27th November 2024.
Timothy Garton Ash is Professor of European Studies at the European Studies Centre, St Anthony’s College, Oxford, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is internationally known as an expert on the recent history of Europe. He is celebrated internationally as an academic, as an author and as a journalist.
Prof Garton Ash is absolutely the person for whom the term ‘public intellectual’ was invented. We have been privileged to be able to welcome him as a speaker and to have the opportunity of a question and answer session.
Prof Garton Ash asks where Britain will stand in relation to Europe under a new British government, and with a new US president – and where it should stand.
Previous meetings – Click here
News from Oxford For Europe – Here
Future UK-EU Relations – is there any hope?
Virtual meeting with Alex Andreou and David Henig. 9th March 2023
The state we’re in
Virtual meeting with the brilliant Prof Richard Murphy, of the popular Tax Research blog.
A perfect storm of crises
With Lord John Alderdice, first speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and distinguished economist Vicky Pryce
Wednesday 16th November 2022, 7 pm
Latest blog from the Chair:
Oxford is a European city, now more than ever (17 November 2025)
Of course we want to carry on (10 September 2025)
Councils of perfection (4 May 2025)
A bully in a China shop (8 April 2025)
Remember remember the fifth of November (31 October 2024)
Europe comes to Blenheim (25 July 2024)
Eight years on – have we learned anything? (23 June 2024)
Independence Day draws near (7 June 2024)
Rwanda Ping Pong (20 April 2024)
A very muted celebration (12 February 2024)
2023 – how was it for you? (31 December 2023)
Metric is here to stay (29 December 2023)
The Reverse Midas Touch (2 December 2023)
Letter From America (3 August 2023)
Illegal by name and illegal by nature (30 April 2023)
The Unflipped Chair (26 March 2023)
Making Brexit Work – Fantasy or Deception? A letter to Keir Starmer (11 December 2022)
Local Elections – new look of Oxfordshire
The tale of a flag
Prominent Oxford for Europe supporter, former MEP and former councillor Catherine Bearder was surprised to find the City Council taking an interest in her choice of flags. Apparently it is legal to fly the flag of any country, be it San Marino or North Korea, but not that of the EU. No problem, said Catherine, the flag I have been flying at my house since Europe Day is the flag of the Council of Europe, of which the UK is a member, and just happens to be identical to that of the EU.
Comments welcome.
Further details on the BBC website
Brexit is a failed project: a brighter future is possible
We welcomed eminent speakers, Liz Webster, of Save British Farming, Prof Danny Dorling, author of Rule Britannia; Brexit and the End of Empire, and Willow Fisher, of Young European Movement. Date: 20th March 2024 at 7:30 pm. Venue: Wesley Memorial Church
National Rejoin March
We will be supporting the next National Rejoin March which is due on 18 October 2025. Details here.
Videos from previous marches here
AGM 2024
Oxford for Europe held its AGM via Zoom on 4th November. The following were elected to officer posts: Chair: Peter Burke; Secretary: John Tanner; Treasurer: Cathie Hoffman.
You can read the Chair’s Report here.
If you are a member or supporter and would like further information please contact us on oxfordforeurope@gmail.com.
Paul Willner – a tribute
The Oxford for Europe member, Paul Willner, died recently.
You can read a tribute here.
Gaza / Israel
Our thoughts are very much with the innocent victims of this terrible conflict.
Speakers from all denominations spoke for us in our desire for a just and lasting peace, held in Oxford recently.
Starmer needs to think again
You can read our letter to the Oxford Times here
The Brexit Debate
Parliament debated a petition initiated by Peter Packham of the European Movement on 24 April 2024. Nearly 200,000 have signed it.
You can watch the debate here. It shows clearly the different views of the political parties, and if you feel strongly about the policy on Brexit of your favoured party, please let your local MP know so they can be in no doubt about what the people think.
National Rejoin March – what a day!
The National Rejoin March has happened 3 times since October 2022.
Further information here. Many of the Oxford for Europe team came, and contributed to an attendance of 50,000. We got good coverage in the domestic and international press, even if the BBC pretended it was not happening.
You can see photos from the march here.
Look out for the next one! Anticipated date: June 2026
Terry Reintke in Oxford
We recently had a visit from German Green MEP, Terry Reintke. Watch the video here. (Thanks to Mike Cashman)
European Convention on Human Rights
The UK was a founder member and is a leading participant. All European countries except Belarus and now Russia are members. Don’t let extremist politicians tell you than following Russia out is asserting independence from a foreign court.
Sign the petitions:
https://humanrights.brightblue.org.uk/petition
https://secure.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/page/106219/petition/1?locale=en-GB
Ukraine – make your voice heard
Against the background of recent terrible events in Ukraine, many of our supporters joined the protests organised by the Oxford University Ukrainian Society at the Radcliffe Camera, Oxford (details here). Join us if you can. Click here for for the OUUS Facebook Page.
Here is some info from the Ukrainian Institute about how you can help. And the Disasters Emergency Committee has set up a page for donations.
A Word From Will Hutton
At one of our recent events our Supporter,
Will Hutton, struck an optimistic note
about the future of our cause
Our Previous Meetings
Post-Brexit Britain – Failure And Fragmentation
Alexandra Hall Hall and Richard Haviland
Thursday 24th February 2022
Our Previous Meeting was on Wednesday 19th January 2022
‘A Painful Transition’
with Neale Richmond TD and Susanne Oberhauser
How is Brexit Damaging Oxford?
Our friends at The Oxford European Association organised an event at the Town Hall with the support of Oxford for Europe to answer this question. The key speaker was Andrew Adonis, Chair of the European Movement, together with local speakers from the business and academic communities on Thursday, 28th October
AC Grayling on 18th August
The UK in Europe – New Perspectives
Thursday 15th July 2021
With Annette Dittert and Alex Andreou
Other Previous Events:
We have had numerous virtual meetings, featuring speakers as diverse as Lord Andrew Adonis, Layla Moran MP, Ian Dunt, Terry Reintke, Richard Corbett, Tony Connelly, Jonathan Lis, Chris Grey, Jessica Simor, Peter Jukes, Peter Geoghegan, Philippa Whitford, Dominic Grieve and Michael Dougan.
Previous face-to-face meetings have been addressed by Rachel Clarke, Gavin Esler, Prof Timothy Garten Ash, Prof Sarah Harper, Catherine Bearder MEP, Naomi Smith, Peter Dukes, Jon Danzig, Will Hutton, Layla Moran and Mike Galsworthy
My Personal Journey while the UK left the European Union
The perspective of one of our members, Annette Shaw
Good Law Project
We are supporting the work of Jolyon Maugham QC and his team in holding this Government to account. Details here.
Read the latest from Chris Grey
https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com
Chris Grey is a distinguished blogger who has spoken to Oxford for Europe. You can read his brilliant weekly blog here:
For further information and to watch the video of his talk to us, click here:
Blue Passports and Narrowed Horizons
A Musician’s Perspective. Click here
Erasmus
We should campaign to preserve the right of students in UK and EU to visit other countries. See here
Letter to Labour about the emerging catastrophe of Brexit: act now!
Click here
________________________________________________________________________
West of England Bylines
We work closely with the online publication, West Of England Bylines. You can read it here
________________________________________________________________________
A Mind To Extend?
A commentary from Colin Gordon
Roads to Re-Entry
A 3-part commentary by Colin Gordon
(Published in NE Bylines)
________________________________________________________________________
Labour’s Position on Brexit: An Open Letter
A letter to Keir Starmer – read it here
________________________________________________________________________
The Russia Report
This eventually came out after a totally avoidable delay of 9 months. The Government’s attempts to say ‘nothing to see here’ are transparent and are part of a gaslighting campaign which must never succeed.
The report makes it clear that Russian interference in the UK democratic process is the ‘new normal’, and calls clearly for an investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 Referendum. Even though it finds no evidence of such a role, it roundly castigates successive Tory Governments for failing to seek one. It leaves open the question of whether the reason for this gross neglect was malice, incompetence, or both. We in Oxford For Europe, together with our sister organisations, call for urgent action so that such abuses can never happen again and so that those responsible can be held to account.
________________________________________________________________________
Peter Geoghegan’s book is available from Blackwells: click here. More details here.
________________________________________________________________________
Messages from Oxford For Europe’s Media Team:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Select Committees
Colin Gordon writes about the continuing role of Parliamentary Select Committees: here.
________________________________________________________________________
Petitions
Demand an inquiry into the impact of Brexit https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/628226
We still need Erasmus
https://www.europeanmovement.co.uk/save_etwinning?utm_campaign=etwinning_members&utm_medium=email&utm_source=euromove
________________________________________________________________________
Our Privacy Policy
________________________________________________________________________
Donations
If you wish to donate please