Bristol For Europe

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting       

Tues 21st Nov 2017 - YHA Bristol

Present:  Jamie Carstairs, Andrew Wright, Eileen Means, Liz Read, Neil Fraser, John Enoch, Chris Hare, Ingrid Hare, Maureen Sheridan, Jon Sheridan, Zowie Hackwood, Dawn Hackwood, Katlin Bowden, David Read, Anne McPherson, Mike Davies, Harry Percy, Jackie Howe, Martin Nicholson, Domhnaill Barnes, Rachel Devas, Ian Townsend, Tom Brufatto, Mike Dimond-Jones, David Evans, Roger Britton, Wendy Britton, Pete Bright, Peter Hardie, May L, Karin L, Rhiannon Prys-Owen, Tobias Baganz, Cyprien Marie, Simon Mead, Adam Brady, Andrew Goebel, Susie Henson, Richard Henderson, Jeremy Hinton, Christian Weale, Helen Slater, Peter Bruce, Stephen Perry, Helena Wray, David Redgewell, John Windsor, Geoff Collard, Andy Brown, Sam Hickmott 

Apologies: Itta Howie, Katherina Buck, Janet Brewer, and Becky Gilbert. 

1.1 Chair's Report 

Andy Brown gave an overview of the work of Bristol for Europe (B4E) since its inception shortly after the referendum on June 23rd 2016 to date.  

He also welcomed to the meeting founder members Tom Brufatto, current Chair of Britain for Europe and the first chair of Bristol for Europe, along with Sam Hickmott, an 18 year old activist who became the events officer. 

Key points of Andy's report:   

90 street stalls taken place across the city, attracting 6,700 sign ups. 

Creation of B4E website, with blogs. Activity on social media, Facebook, and Twitter (64,000 FB engagements in one 7 day period) 

Weekly planning meeting for core team 

A weekly newsletter sent to all supporters 

Workshops for supporters,  Best for Britain training event 

Supportive meetings with MPs and MEPs 

Working collaboratively with Bath for Europe, joining Pulse of Europe demonstrations 

Committee members interviewed by European TV channels, The Guardian, sitting on national discussion panels 

Flag bombing events - Jeremy Corbyn, Suspension Bridge, Cabot Circus 

Taking part in national rallies - London, Manchester 

Using Nationbuilder software for accurate data recording of supporters and members 

Guest speaker events - A. C Grayling, Jolyon Maugham, Mike Galsworthy 

Organising hugely successful South West rally on College Green in October, with participants from Cornwall to Gloucester, including a delegation from Gibraltar.  Speakers included 4 MPs, 3 MEPs from all major political parties. 

1.2  Future strategy   

Andy outlined issues that will inform B4E's future work.  (also online) 

This includes a greater presence in "leave" areas, with appropriate discussions for political engagement with a wider demographic.  

Increasing equality and diversity among the membership, with active participation, is also a key aim of B4E. 

B4E aims to have greater use of social media to target online campaigns. 

Local and national collaboration are vitally important - B4E will endeavour to engage with all like minded organisations, such as the Three Million, representing EU citizens in the UK. 

A 6 month advertising campaign is being discussed for Brexit impact awareness. 

A vote of thanks and round of applause was given to Andy for his great work as Chair over the last year. 

2. Financial Report 

The treasurer, Stephen Perry, gave a brief report on the financial situation. At 31st July our cash balances stood at £2,126. Our turnover of £9,994 included £5661 from donations and membership fees.  We spent over £1,000 on street campaign equipment.  Having started with nothing in June 2016, B4E by November has over £3,000 in the bank.  Individual donations continue to come in, the largest being one of £200.  Costs have included hosting the South West Rally.  The accounts are on the website. 

Unanimous approval was given by members to accept the Chair's and Treasurer's reports. 

3. Election of officers 

Nominations had been received for the following posts: 

• Chair - Helena Wray 
• Vice Chair - Eileen Means 
• Secretary - John Windsor 
• Treasurer - Stephen Perry 
• General officers (agreed increase from 3 to 7) - Adam Brady, Alasdair Cameron, Neil Fraser, Becky Gilbert, Sam Hickmott, Ian Townsend, Christian Weale

Members voted to agree the above as a group, passed unanimously.  

4. Resolution on membership fee 

A resolution was tabled to increase the annual membership fee from £1 to £5, to be collected independently from sales on the street stalls. 

Members agreed to this, but there was discussion around keeping the fee at £1 for concessions in the spirit of inclusion and equality.  Officers assured the meeting that a tiered membership will be considered. 

5. Keynote speaker - George Ferguson 

George Ferguson, the former Mayor of Bristol, told of his experiences travelling in the USA, China and Japan where people were puzzled by the UK's decision to pursue Brexit, as it was seen to be so self evidently damaging. 

He explained that 66% of Bristol exports were to the EU, and our two universities relied on Erasmus exchanges, freedom of movement for academic staff and EU research grants.  There was also a real nervousness in the local business community about the effects of Brexit, and businesses felt they were not being listened to by government.  

Therefore the role of organisations like Bristol for Europe was vital in keeping up the pressure on MPs, and the best hope for the UK is that parliament will eventually rescue the situation by a meaningful vote and possibly a second referendum. 

George then took questions from the floor on globalisation, transport issues, and corruption in the referendum campaign. His final message was keep lobbying, talk to business, and DON'T GIVE UP!