Dear John,

Is ‘global Britain’ at the back of the queue?

The UK government rejected Europe’s offer to be part of a vaccine procurement scheme, back in the summer.

The EU Commission secured 80 million vaccines in August, and has options for another 80 million. Britain has secured 5 million.

As a smaller market, the UK does not just lose the economy of scale.

Working with other nations ensures vaccines are distributed according to need and not who can pay the highest price. It avoids rich nations vying to outbid one another, and stockpiling the drug.

But this isn’t a sad story about nationalistic short-sightedness. It’s a story about the science, international co-operation and the importance of immigration.  

Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, a husband and wife team, were first in the race to produce a vaccine against COVID. Both are Turkish-German children of immigrants. Similarly, US biotech company Moderna, responsible for the other promising COVID vaccine, was founded by a Lebanese-born scientist.

Send a message to your MP, and call on them to push for scientific co-operation with the world. We must act now to maintain our links with the Continent, or be left at the back of the queue. We have just days left for the UK to reach a deal.

From COVID to climate change, global challenges require global solutions.

We need our brightest minds, no matter where they come from, working to solve these existential threats.

Disease doesn’t respect borders. Neither will the impending climate catastrophe. The UK should be building relationships with the world which will help us face these challenges.

We can seek full participation in pandemic response schemes like Europe's Early Warning and Response System for disease control across borders. We can still push to be part of the Horizon science funding programme.

And we can champion the free movement of vital health workers. In the UK, foreign-born doctors, scientists and nurses are on the frontlines of our fight against the pandemic.

Send a message to your MP. Tell them we must work with the world. And that starts with securing a wide-ranging deal with the EU, before time runs out. Send your message today.

Vaccine successes around the world show the value of working internationally to overcome humanity's greatest challenges.

If this crisis has taught us one thing, it is that we are all connected. We should push for leaders who recognise this. 

Best wishes,

Cary Mitchell,
Director of Operations, Best for Britain