Best for Britain

Following the European elections Best for Britain has launched a campaign and petition that calls on the leaders of the political parties that are pro-Remain to work together in the national interest.[9]

Most recently, on 8 May 2019, Best for Britain launched a national campaign urging the 7.9 million unregistered eligible voters to sign up before the European elections.[10] Best for Britain CEO, Naomi Smith called the figures “staggering” and said: “These people have a big part to play in the future direction of our country, and we will do everything in our power to ensure their voice is heard on polling day with everyone else's.” [11] Best for Britain also created a tool to help voters register and/or obtain a postal vote.[12]

In the first part of 2019, Best for Britain provided support for a nationwide ‘Letters to the Editors’ campaign. This drew upon industry professionals from different sectors, such as midwives [13] and doctors,[14] who signed open letters for local and national publications. These highlighted their concerns about what they saw as the damage being done by Brexit to their fields in particular to the NHS.[15]

Best for Britain has partnered with the People's Vote campaign on marches and rallies. On 23 June 2018 Best for Britain supported and participated in the People's Vote march in London to mark the second anniversary of the referendum to leave the European Union.[16][17] and also supported and participated in the marches in October 2018 [18] and in March and October 2019. The two organisations also held join rallies for supporters in Westminster Central Hall on 23 November 2018 [19] and the Excel Centre on 9 December 2018.[20]

In June 2018, Best for Britain launched its manifesto "Bringing Britain Back Together" [21] to improve public understanding of the process to another referendum, emphasising the "it's still possible to stay" message and drawing attention to what it says was the government's delay and confusion over Brexit. It included an open letter to the country[22] and a road map to stopping Brexit,[23] calling for both sides of the Brexit debate to embrace the idea of another vote to settle the question of the UK's membership of the EU and to avoid the risk that "the entire establishment sleepwalks the country over the Brexit finish line in March 2019".[24]

Best for Britain coupled this manifesto launch with the stated intention to campaign in around 70 key marginal seats, trying to persuade both Labour and Conservative MPs to support a second referendum.[24]

Between March and June 2018, Best for Britain ran an advertising campaign across the UK. It featured citizens asking: "When will we know what we voted for?" The campaign slogan, displayed on billboards and in newspaper ads in Birmingham, Carlisle, Manchester, Liverpool, London and Stoke [24] was: "We all deserve a final say on the Brexit deal."[6] Best for Britain was reported to have spent £500,000 on this campaign.[24]

In April and May 2017, Best for Britain ran what it claimed was the UK's largest ever tactical voting campaign.[25]

On 19 April 2017 it launched a crowdfunding appeal in an immediate response to Theresa May's announcement of a snap election to be held on 8 June 2017.[26] The crowdfunding campaign received donations from more than 10,000 people and raised over £350,000.[27]

The tactical vote campaign was launched at a press conference on 26 April 2017 by co-founder Gina Miller and then CEO Eloise Todd.[28] Miller said: "We need to prevent MPs and the people being forced into an extreme Brexit that is not in Britain's best interests. ... We will support candidates who campaign for a real final vote on Brexit, including rejecting any deal that leaves Britain worse off."[29] Miller was the chief spokesperson for this campaign.

Miller left Best for Britain after the 2017 general election,[30][31] expressing concern that the group had become more anti-Tory than Brexit-focused and described it as "a room full of white males deciding what's going to happen to the country"[31] and as "undemocratic".[30]

In 2019, the campaign launched a tactical voting tool for the 2019 general election. The tool attracted immediate controversy after claims that its source data lacked transparency, and recommended that voters vote for the Liberal Democrats in seats that that party had never won and where it had polled well behind the main opposition Labour Party in the previous election.[32]