Change UK – The Independent Group launches European election campaign in Bristol

There may be a degree of confusion over the name and lack of clarity on policies, but Change UK’s pro-remain message is loud and clear.

Launching its European election campaign in Bristol’s We The Curious on Tuesday, the newly-established party – formerly known just as The Independent Group – is represented on stage by a collective of MPs and candidates, including broadcast journalist Gavin Esler and Rachel Johnson, sister of Brexiteer Boris.

“No ifs, no buts, we are determined to give you, the British people, a People’s Vote to resolve this Brexit mess so you can vote based on what Brexit is today not the undeliverable fantasy that we were told it would be two years ago,” Chuka Umunna, one of the party’s founding MP, tells the cheering crowd.

A group of Change UK’s prospective MEPs – selected from some 3,700 applicants – gather on the stage alongside MPS for the hastily-organised European election campaign launch, just a week after the party officially registered its name.

Rachel Johnson (second row back) is among Change UK’s European election candidates

Among them are nurses, teachers and people with no political backgrounds, as well as “disillusioned seasoned politicians” previously aligned to mainstream parties.

The final list of South West candidates is as yet unconfirmed, but Rachel Johnson – a journalist and remainer – is said to be among them.

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Opening the launch before a modest crowd of supporters, interim leader Heidi Allen tells the audience she is proud to introduce “our Tiggers” – a term coined from the abbreviation of The Independent Group (TIG).

“This is no rebel alliance, this is the home of the remain alliance,” says Allen, who was formerly a Conservative MP.

“This new party is standing up and speaking up for the mainstream Britain that we all know and today as ask you to join us.”

Standing at a podium stating ‘Politics is broken. Let’s change it”, three of the candidates voice their reasons for running for a party that has positioned itself as the antidote to the divisive, right wing politics of Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Gavin Esler says it’s time for change

Gavin Esler, an MEP candidate for London, argues Britain’s political system is a “worldwide joke”.

“We are beginning something really big,” he tells the crowd. “I have never been a member of a political party, but I am now. I’ve never been seriously worried about the future of our country, but I am now.

“Ask yourself what time it is. It’s time to change, it’s time for Change UK.”

The party, formed in February by a group of 11 breakaway Tory and Labour MPs, says it chose Bristol for the launch of its first election campaign because the city’s history and etho chimes with its values.

Speaking from the audience, a woman described only as Penny from Bristol says: “I’m totally obsessed with staying in the EU, but I do think we need to hear some of your politics because a lot of people do not know what you are about.”

One journalist pointed out the sudden name change and lack of clear branding adds to the potential for confusion.

In response, Allen says: “If we are really serious about transforming the quality of government, then we do not just pull something out of our back pocket, we build it properly again. If we just pander to your request then we are just doing the same old.”

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Anna Soubry, a former Tory politician and one of the party’s founding MPs, adds: “This is the remain alliance. There is no confusion.

“As people hear more about the tiggers, they will understand what we are about.”

Chuka Umunna says it’s time to change the trajectory we’re on

Anna Soubry is among the founding MPS of Change UK

Brexit – or the need for a People’s Vote – is right on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but former Labour MP Umunna says the upcoming election is about much more.

“It’s about two competing visions of what modern Britain is and what we stand for as a people,” he tells the crowd.

“We have got to bring this country together and that means fundamentally changing our broken politics. We have to change the trajectory we are on.”

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