9 Dec 2017

Our busiest Action Day yet!

Today's event at the Buttercross was a true coming together of pro-Europeans from many different groups, including the European Movement, Winchester Lib Dems, Winchester Labour, Romsey Better in Europe, The 48% - Winchester, and of course Win-IN.

Thank you so much to everybody who came along today and helped either by handing out leaflets, flags, stickers and badges, and/or talking to people, it was fantastic! In one of our activist's words: "Some 40 volunteers turned up"! And of course also a heartfelt thank you to the many, many concerned people who stopped and chatted with us and gave us their signatures and contact details.

In a little over two hours we collected 229 signatures for a petition going along with the Best for Britain #lucky7 campaign to be delivered to Steve Brine.

Even if you missed us today, you can still help! Please simply email Steve Brine (or your MP if you live in a different constituency) via the Best for Britain website, it only takes a few minutes to join in with the #lucky7 campaign. The email will be urging your MP to vote for Amendment 7 in parliament which will ensure a meaningful vote on the final deal on leaving the EU - including an option to remain if the outcome is not good for the UK!

And of course a proper action day wouldn't be complete with a counter protest and a suitably dressed dog:






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(All copyrights of photos are with the people who took them!)



30 Nov 2017

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Pro-EU Action Day on 9 December at the Winchester Buttercross

We'll be joining in with a nationwide #StopBrexit action day!

Dress in blue and bring a flag and a friend! (We would like to see EU flags AND Union Jacks if you have them!)



This event is supported by The 48% - Winchester, the European Movement, Best for Britain and Open Britain and we are going to gather signatures for a petition.

Remember, each time you inspire someone to act, and each time they find someone to act, very soon that means your MP has heard from tens of people from their constituency that are registering their disapproval with Brexit.

Please sign up in our Facebook event and come along to help!


29 Nov 2017

A thought provoking evening - Difficult Conversations Training

On Tuesday evening we had 20 participants and two trainers at our Difficult Conversations Training session. People came from as far away as Dorset!

Many of the participants were keen to learn about how to get over the divisions that were created between them and family members and/or friends by different opinions about the 2016 referendum result (in many cases people simply don't talk about the 'elephant in the room' any more to keep the peace). Of course, some participants were also interested in using the information gained for campaigning on the street, engaging with the public.

Susie and Hywel, our trainers, took us through several activities that gave us a deeper insight in how communication between humans works and where we might actually be going wrong when talking about highly emotive subjects like Brexit.

Communication is never just sending 'pure information' (facts for example) from one person to the other. How a message is sent and received is influenced by basic things like body language, tone, selection of words used, but also more complex issues like the relationship between participants, beliefs held, experiences, etc. Most importantly, to have a successful exchange about a discussion topic, it depends on how open we are to what the other person is actually saying or trying to say and how we react to that.

If one side is simply not willing to listen (for example by always changing the topic), a conversation that will satisfy the needs of the initiator will not happen. In that case it might be best to accept that an exchange is not possible and to agree to disagree. This of course is often psychologically hard to bear, especially with family members or good friends, as it can cause feelings of despair, loneliness and powerlessness, and in the worst case depression.

However, if the right techniques are used, a conversation that would normally fail could result in a better outcome, so that at least both parties are feeling that they were heard and no side feels they 'lost'. Our trainers showed us that there are effective ways of stopping a conversation from blowing up or becoming one-sided. Part of that is to use different types of questioning techniques, to actually find the common ground that often even exists when positions seem to be worlds apart. The other important pillar for being heard by others is to work on effective persuasion and influencing skills.


The group did some mock Brexit discussions and tried out what was learnt so far. An outcome of this activity was that as a successful participant in an argument, you always have to not only have your own points in your mind but also what the other side might be coming up with, and how to engage with that (not necessarily counter it!). This in essence also puts you into an observer position, as you have to watch the whole time what is going on, to come up with the appropriate reaction.

Instead of simply disputing 'EU facts', quite often it might be better to ask in detail about why somebody felt they wanted to leave the EU, to question with them whether these reasons were really caused by the EU or whether they are actually home-made. A discussion like this should yield some common ground which connects people rather than divide them further. Once that is established the issue can be reframed and made personal.

Many of the participants were experienced and passionate, and there was a lot of sharing practice between the group. Some good tips and tricks were exchanged, giving people tools to use in their difficult conversations in the lead-up to Christmas.

The evening gave all participants plenty of food for thought, and some of the non-British participants  realised during the session that there are also still some cultural differences they hadn't yet understood, despite being in the UK for a long time.

Please find further information about what was talked about and the techniques mentioned in the materials used and handed out on the evening. They can be downloaded here.

Many thanks to our trainers, they did a wonderful job, and to everybody else who helped out! Also many thanks for money contributions, we were able to cover all of the costs!

(All photos by Barbara Knight, Susie Nicodemi, and Sylke Krämer.)



Volunteers from Winchester made this happen, with the support and resources of Best for Britain!

Training organised by Win-IN, supported by The 48% - Winchester, Best for Britain, and the European Movement.

Win-IN logo     The 48% - Winchester logo     Best for Britain logo     European Movement logo


8 Nov 2017

Difficult Conversations Training - Tuesday 28 November


Do you find it hard to talk about Brexit with your relatives or friends?

This training is for you if you want to:
  • Learn and practice some ways to manage conversations
  • Have a more positive outcome in your Brexit interactions
  • Increase confidence to be better able to handle challenging conversations
  • Support the #StopBrexit campaign and keep conversations going, keep the issues alive
  • Meet like-minded people, share concerns and build solidarity with others in the area
  • Be able to look forward to sharing Christmas with (all) family members

Where: Winchester Rugby Club

When: Tuesday 28th November, 19:30h – 21:30h

The training will be followed by an informal bar, open until 22:30h.

How much: £3 (in cash) per person at the door, to cover the costs of the hall and the bar staff.
(All organisation of the training is being done by volunteers.)

We recommend that you register your interest with a ticket via our Eventbrite page to reserve your space at the training. Registration is possible until 12 noon on the day.



Volunteers from Winchester made this happen, with the support and resources of Best for Britain!

Training organised by Win-IN, supported by The 48% - Winchester, Best for Britain, and the European Movement.

Win-IN logo     The 48% - Winchester logo     Best for Britain logo     European Movement logo


17 Oct 2017

Win-IN is organising a Family Picnic & Walk

This is something we wanted to organise for quite a while - a FAMILY EVENT!

If the weather is good enough, we will be meeting at 11:30 am at the car park of a village near Winchester (you can go by bus if you don't have a car).

There is a nice playground and some picnic tables. Bring your own picnic (and a blanket just in case)! We can let the children have a play first, then we all have a picnic there, and whoever is still fit enough after that for a 4 km circular walk, can join in!

If you would like to come along on 18 November and meet new people, please show your interest by signing up to the event. To do that and to get more information you need to be a member or join the Win-IN Facebook group.




15 Oct 2017

Brexit is Bonkers - another successful #StopBrexit event in Winchester

Lots of interest was shown again at the latest #StopBrexit event organised by Win-IN and The 48% - Winchester members and with the help of the European Movement (Hampshire branch) at the Buttercross in Winchester!



Like last time the organisers were joined by other members of the public who feel strongly about not leaving the EU and had dressed in blue and yellow and brought EU and UK flags along.

This time the activists not only had balloons, flags, and leaflets to hand out but also a flip board to find out what the public are thinking about Brexit - and the public responded! Here are some examples of what was written down:

"The EU = Checks and Balances"
"Have you noticed the increase in prices since June 2016? + HATE CRIMES ON INCREASE 50,000 more in Scotland alone"
"40 years of peace is worthwhile"
"Don't kid yourself that the US would help us with any trade agreement. Bombardier?"
"Brexit is a tax scam by the elite to avoid the EU tax avoidance directive due 2019!"
"We want another vote, we were told lies"
"Think of our youngsters future! We need to stay in Europe!"

There was lots of affirmation for the #StopBrexit cause as many people expressed in conversations that they were feeling leader- and directionless.

 


The group was also asking for support for a petition in regards to holding another referendum on the final Brexit deal (to truly give the public the power to say what kind of Brexit - if at all - they want). If you haven't signed the #FinalDealRef petition yet, please find it here: http://tinyurl.com/Finaldealref

If you were interested in signing the #NoEUWithdrawalBill petition that was promised in the event description (but couldn't be done on the day due to unforeseen circumstances), please do so on the Best for Britain website: https://bestforbritain.org/NoBrexit

In addition to the other activities, a substantial number of email addresses of supporters were collected. These will be put into a mailing list with the purpose of keeping recipients updated about upcoming #StopBrexit events and news (for in and around Winchester). If you would like to be on the mailing list, please send us your email address via the Contact tab (use the Send A Message box). Alternatively you can sign up to receive email updates from this website by entering your email address further up on that same tab.

Thank you to everybody who was there on the day and/or helped with the organisation of this event!





(All copyrights of photos are with the people who took them!)


5 Oct 2017

Coming up very quickly - 12 Regional Rallies and another Pro-EU Gathering in Winchester!

14 October is the day of the nationwide regional rallies run by the 48%.



In the spirit of this, Win-IN and The 48% - Winchester are going to have another Pro-EU Gathering in Winchester, with some help by the European Movement!

Please join us on 14 October for an hour at 2pm at the Buttercross to get some signatures for the #NoEUWithdrawalBill campaign run by Best for Britain.

To find out more and to sign up for the event, please click on the image:




9 Sept 2017

Some impressions from the People's March 4 Europe

Today we were again in London for yet another #StopBrexit march. As with all the other ones before attendants were in good spirits and had turned out in large numbers.

Here are some photos taken on the way (also scroll down to find some links to newspaper articles about the march):


Approaching the march from behind on Park Lane, near Curzon Gate

The march started at the time stated in the info pack, at 12 noon!

Lots more marchers were queuing from the
direction of Hyde Park Corner Underground station.

They all had to wait for us!

The Lib Dems loud and proud.


Once all marchers from Park Lane had gone past
them, they were allowed to join in.

Walking down Piccadilly, next to Green Park.

"I'd rather be drinking tea right now!
NO RIGHT to take our EU RIGHTS.
BREXIT? Brexit? What the fu is Brexit?"

"Don't leave us stranded with Brexit idiots!"

On St James's Street.

St James's Palace in front of us.

Turning onto Pall Mall.


Chanting "This is insane - we must remain!"

"Newport Pagnell
Small towns
need close ties
and large markets!"

Exit Brexit
before GB sinks
Brexit costs too much!
We can't afford Brexit!"

Getting closer to Trafalgar Square



"Read the hat"

Finally down Whitehall, Big Ben is in sight.



"Hard Brexit is Hare-Brained"

"Brexshit"

"Brexit Circus"

At the end at Parliament Square was a
big screen showing what was going on on the stage.

Listening to some of the speakers at Parliament Square.

Another hat.

Beautiful flags!



Some newspaper articles about the march:

Evening Standard: People's March for EU: Thousands of anti-Brexit activists descend on central London in 'Autumn of Discontent' protest

The Guardian: Calls for unity as thousands attend anti-Brexit rally in London

The Independent: Thousands of anti-Brexit protesters march on Parliament

ITV News: Anti-Brexit marchers descend on Westminster to demand Britain stays in the EU

The Telegraph: Brexit protest: 'Incompetent, dysfunctional, disunited': Vince Cable tears into Theresa May's government

Please also take a look at the updated Events page!