Campaigners against a No Deal Brexit protested in Cambridge and Ely.

Ely Standard: Campaigners against a No Deal Brexit protest in Cambridge and ElyCampaigners against a No Deal Brexit protest in Cambridge and Ely (Image: Archant)

The protest groups formed of residents stood outside Ely Cathedral and Cambridge Guildhall for a symbolic gesture, less than three months before the end

of the transition period.

It was part of the European Movement’s #No2NoDeal virtual action day, where they joined others across the UK who emailed their MP or arranged meetings with them to press for a trade deal with the EU.

Paul Browne, chair of the European Movement branch Cambridge for Europe, said: “As the UK faces a second wave of Covid-19, the last thing our economy

Ely Standard: Campaigners against a No Deal Brexit protest in Cambridge and ElyCampaigners against a No Deal Brexit protest in Cambridge and Ely (Image: Archant)

needs are the disruption, extra red tape and added costs of a no-deal exit from the European Single Market.

“Our manufacturers, exporters and importers need to be free to focus on recovering from the impact of the

pandemic, and not on preparing for another, this time self-inflicted, crisis.”

Mr Browne added: “We know that any trade deal agreed between the UK and EU this year won’t come close to the frictionless access to the Single Market we had as

Ely Standard: Campaigners against a No Deal Brexit protest in Cambridge and ElyCampaigners against a No Deal Brexit protest in Cambridge and Ely (Image: Archant)

members of the European Union, but it will lessen the economic damage of Brexit and help our employers recover and rebuild in 2021.

“More importantly, a trade deal will lay the foundation for a close future relationship with the EU, helping us to join popular and valuable initiatives such as the Horizon Europe scientific programme, the Erasmus+ educational programme, and the EHIC scheme which provides

access to medical treatment to UK citizens traveling to 31 countries in Europe.”

He said the group was calling on local MPs Anthony Browne, Daniel Zeichner and Lucy Frazer “to act in the interests of their constituents, say no to no deal, and tell

the Government that it must agree a good and close trade deal with the EU that protects and supports our economy through this time of crisis

and into the future.”

Cambridge for Europe is a branch of the European Movement UK and says that “we hope that in the future the UK will re-join the EU, and work towards that goal”.