I couldn't bring myself to vote for the EU's Brexit bill – Remainers like us cannot give up the fight for Europe

Many people will argue that it is time to accept Brexit. I disagree: now is the time to fight for a united Europe

It is something that I hoped would never happen – but sadly, Brexit is about to.

I came into politics to defend the social Europe I believe is possible, and to champion the UK’s role at the heart of the European peace project. That is why yesterday, I voted against the Withdrawal Agreement in the European Parliament: because I cannot in good faith ratify a deal that will wreck the economy, weaken citizens’ rights , threaten peace and damage the UK’s international reputation.

Many people will argue that it is time to accept Brexit. I disagree: now is the time to tell the truth about it.

My resistance to Brexit has never been about the prospect of losing my job as an MEP, but rather about the millions of jobs that are at stake because of Brexit, and the families and communities that will be devastated if they’re lost.

Indeed, we have already seen more than 420,000 job losses due to Brexit since the 2016 referendum; only last week in my home region of north-west England, Jaguar Land Rover announced 500 high skilled job losses due to Brexit, which the company described as an “existential threat” to the car manufacturing industry.

By the end of this year, Brexit will have cost the UK £200bn. A staggering report by Bloomberg calculated that Brexit may soon cost the UK more than the combined total of its payments to the EU since it joined the bloc.

Given we were promised a “global Britain” by the so-called “party of business”, it is ironic that London has just lost out to New York as the world’s leading global finance centre. London’s standing will only deteriorate when, after the transition period, British financial services firms lose the passporting rights that allow them to trade frictionlessly with others in the EU. Given that the financial sector contributed £132 billion to the UK economy in 2018 – 6.9% of our total economic output that year – this is likely to have serious knock-on effects for our economy.

But Brexit is not just about numbers – it is about people. We have seen a shocking spike in anti-immigration rhetoric since the referendum, with reported racist abuse increasing exponentially since 2012 as a result of the “hostile environment” policy Theresa May introduced as home secretary.

Only this week, the Migration Advisory Committee countered many of the Conservative anti-immigration arguments, stating in its report that Boris Johnson’s plan to end free movement will reduce economic growth and have “zero effect” on providing British jobs for British workers.

The Home Office and government have had three and a half years to guarantee the rights of the roughly 3 million EU citizens who reside in the UK – yet they have failed to do so. 900,000 are yet to apply for settled status, leaving open the possibility that they may suffer discrimination, for example in the labour and housing markets. It is another Windrush waiting to happen.

In the House of Commons, we have also seen the government shamefully voting down the Dubs amendment that would have enshrined unaccompanied child refugees’ right to be reunited with their families in the UK. These are not British values.

We must not turn a blind eye to what Brexit has done and will continue to do to our society and economy. The issues austerity has exacerbated – the social care, housing and health service crises – will be all the more difficult to address after we leave the EU.

The UK’s departure from the EU should not mean that this division will be permanently etched in the discourse or politics. Nor do I believe it will mean that – on the contrary, I am filled with hope for the future. I believe young people, who are ardently pro-Remaining, will eventually demand another referendum, and that we will rejoin, resuming our rightful place at the heart of Europe.

As we leave the EU, Remain campaigns cannot afford to go quiet. – Let us not forget the successful institutions and common endeavours that we are leaving. The EU is a project that not only brings prosperity but also brings unity and peace through collaboration and intercultural dialogue. It has given us a common inheritance and common purpose, and established a reciprocal obligation between all of its citizens. It is a united Europe built upon, not only an economic market, but also on shared ideals; a political space in which to strive to for social and economic justice. The EU will continue to be that beacon, even after the UK has left it.

As Remainers, we have an obligation not to fear the future, but to shape it.

Julie Ward is a Labour Party Member of the European Parliament, representing the north-west of England.