Fixing Broken Britain: Gina Miller talks to EUnity Lewes
The justice campaigner Gina Miller was in Lewes on Monday (14 March) to give a talk to members of EUnity Lewes on ‘Fixing Broken Britain’.
Famed for successfully challenging the government’s prorogation of Parliament over Brexit, Ms Miller is now leader of the recently formed True and Fair political party. In her talk at the Elephant and Castle, she spoke about the need to clean up politics and champion transparency in public life. The activist answered questions from the capacity audience for almost an hour on topics such as constitutional change and electoral reform.
Gina Miller told the audience: “There is a growing unease around the country. There is something fundamentally wrong with the way people are feeling … and there’s a despair that there’s nothing they can do about it. That nobody is really interested in fixing what’s broken. There’s also a feeling that so much has been neglected in the last 20 to 30 years, that so much has been cut to the bone.”
She went on to criticise current bills going through Parliament: “This government in particular is absolutely focussed in ensuring the very few checks and balances that we have in place already, won’t be there. I say it’s not by stealth they are changing our lives but by statute. If you look at the totality of the acts before Parliament, they’re shutting us down – in the streets, in the courts, in education, in the media. We are at a crisis point.”
She also underlined the importance of electoral change, the need for devolved powers, increased funding to local communities, and the need to reestablish the UK’s reputation on the global stage.
Ms Miller’s Sussex visit was part of a wider national listening tour, meeting communities and groups in smaller venues. Earlier in the day she paid a visit to Lewes FC Women, the Alliance of Chambers of East Sussex (Chambers of Commerce) and met with students at the University of Sussex.
EUnity Lewes, which campaigns for the closest possible cultural, political and economic relationship with Europe, organised the event as a fundraiser for humanitarian relief for Ukraine, with over £200 being raised through donations and the sale of Ukrainian flag badges.
Photographs (c) Carlotta Luke