Open Britain
Open Britain is a British political campaign group that was set up in the aftermath of the 2016 European Union referendum to advocate for pro-European politics.
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: see talk page. (September 2025) |
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| Predecessor | Britain Stronger in Europe |
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| Headquarters | Millbank Tower, 21–24 Millbank, London, England, SW1P 4QP |
| Owner | PV Campaign Ltd (75%)[1] (until 2022) Mark Kieran (since 2022)[2] |
| Affiliations | People's Vote (historically) |
| Website | www.open-britain.co.uk |
| Part of a series on |
| Brexit |
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Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union Glossary of terms |
Open Britain is a British political campaign group that was set up in the aftermath of the 2016 European Union referendum to advocate for pro-European politics.[3]
Background
[edit]Following the 2016 EU referendum in the United Kingdom, the official remain campaign group, Britain Stronger in Europe, changed its name on 25 August 2016 to Open Britain.[4] In October 2016, Open Britain called for the UK to remain in the European single market as part of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations,[5] and also launched a 'Write to Remain' letter-writing campaign directed at Theresa May asking her to guarantee the right of EU nationals to stay in the UK.[6]
The individuals involved with the campaign group have included former government ministers such as Pat McFadden (Labour) and Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat).[7] Conservatives Anna Soubry, Nicky Morgan, and Dominic Grieve cut their ties with Open Britain in April 2017 after it began to campaign against the re-election of anti-EU members of parliament, mostly Conservatives.[8]
In April 2018, Open Britain was involved with the launch and promotion of the People's Vote campaign for a second referendum.[9][10]
In October 2019, executive director James McGrory[11] and director Tom Baldwin were forced out of the organisation by Chairperson Roland Rudd.[12][13] Following this, most directors resigned, and as the lead organisation behind the People's Vote campaign, this led to a major staff walkout in protest.[12]
Leadership
[edit]The organisation's past leadership has included Trevor Phillips, Richard Reed, Lord Peter Mandelson, Roland Rudd, June Sarpong, William Straw, and Sir Michael Rake as directors of the company.[13]
Mark Kieran currently leads the organisation.[2]
Stop the Rot
[edit]In 2022 Open Britain began a campaign called 'Stop The Rot' promising "Enough is Enough - Johnson Must Go Join the #StopTheRot Summer of Action".[14][better source needed]. The campaign to remove Boris Johnson was backed by 'Fairvote UK' and 'Let's Take Back Control Ltd' run by campaigner Kyle Gregory Taylor, a former candidate for the Advance Together party in the 2019 general election.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Open Britain: Persons with significant control". Companies House. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ a b "OPEN BRITAIN LIMITED people". Find and update company information - GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
- ^ Dallison, Paul (2 September 2016). "Remain MPs launch pro-Europe campaign group". Politico. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Straw, Will. "Special Resolution - Change of company name on 25 August 2016". Companies House.
- ^ Asthana, Anushka; Mason, Rowena; Syal, Rajeev (11 October 2016). "Brexit adviser: leaving EU customs union will cost UK £25bn a year". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Mason, Rowena (13 October 2016). "Letter-writing campaign urges Theresa May to let EU nationals stay in UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Open Britain. "New campaign group, Open Britain, launches to fight for best possible EU deal for Britain". open-britain.co.uk. Open Britain. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Walker, Peter (25 April 2017). "Pro-EU Tories quit Open Britain over plans to oust Brexit-backing MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Porritt, Richard (15 April 2018). "Campaign launched to push for People's Vote". The New European. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Staff writer (15 April 2018). "Launch of the new national People's Vote campaign". open-britain.co.uk. Open Britain. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Prynn, Jonathan (26 October 2017). "Outer London families hit by Brexit squeeze as pay rises just 1.2 per cent". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ a b Rowena Mason; Peter Walker (28 October 2019). "People's Vote staff walk out over sacking of senior figures". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Open Britain Limited: People". Companies House. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ Stoptherot. "About". stoptherot.uk. Open Britain. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ democracyclub. "About". democracyclub.org.uk. Democracyclub. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- McGrory, James (14 June 2018). "No one voted for a bad deal on Brexit - People's Vote gives us a chance to do something about it". HuffPost.
