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.^[3]

Open Britain

Predecessor	Britain Stronger in Europe
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

Background

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

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

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]