My name is Grahame Pigney. I am organising this crowd funding campaign because I believe important individual rights and benefits of ordinary British (UK) Citizens are at risk as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

The enforced removal of citizenship rights from 65 million people is completely unprecedented in a modern democracy.

The rights and benefits of ordinary UK Citizens were hardly mentioned during the referendum, lost in the general rhetoric about trade, influence and taking back control.

I believe that, as Parliament has granted us these rights, it is for Parliament to decide when, how and under what circumstances they are taken away.

The Government disagrees and is being challenged in the courts.

This campaign seeks funding to make sure ordinary UK Citizens are involved, represented and can have a say.

This is one of the most important constitutional cases of our time.

It will decide whether it is for an appointed executive (the Government) or our democratically elected Sovereign Parliament to decide when and how the UK leaves the EU.

The campaign builds on pioneering work by Jolyon Maugham QC via his Crowd Justice campaign on how to challenge the Government over who triggers Article 50 – the EU exit mechanism. Jolyon's work resulted in this letter being sent by Bindmans LLP questioning the use of the Royal Prerogative to trigger Article 50.

John Halford at Bindmans LLP is now advising me and Helen Mountfield QC is leading the team who will argue our case in court. The first £50,000 will cover the cost of further advice, research and preparation of our case in writing to put to the court, along with some limited protection against government costs. We will need to raise up to a further £100,000 in the run up to the October’s hearing so we can fully participate at that stage.

A number of other challenges to the Government triggering Article 50 have been made. At a hearing on 19th July the Court decided that the challenge brought by Ms Gina Miller, represented by Mischon de Reya, would be the lead case, but that a limited number of “concerned citizens” would be allowed to participate as interested parties. Arrangements are already being made to "fast track" the case to the Supreme Court.

I believe that the individual rights and benefits of ordinary British (UK) Citizens deserve special attention in addition to more general arguments about whether the Government can trigger the UK’s exit from the EU without an Act of Parliament.

We must make sure that the rights of ordinary UK Citizens are not, once again, ignored in the decisions about when, how and under what circumstances the UK leaves the EU.

This is the value, importance, impact that ordinary people's involvement in the challenge will add - making sure the court understands why it is unacceptable for our rights to be stripped away without an Act of Parliament.

This is why I and other UK citizens both in the UK and overseas are prepared to be named as interested parties in the challenge to the Government and not just rely on others to make the more general arguments. Our group includes my son Rob Pigney, 22, Paul Cartwright, 50, a Gibraltarian national who runs Brex-IN, Christopher Formaggia, 49, who lives in Wales, and Tahmid Chowdhury, 21, a London student.

For ordinary UK Citizens to have the chance to argue that their individual, personal rights and benefits justify that the timing and conditions of a Brexit should be decided by our democratically elected Parliament and not an appointed Government, crowdfunding is essential. We also need to set aside money to cover a contribution to the Government’s legal costs, in case one is ordered by the Court.

Take Back Control

Make sure our Parliament retains its Sovereignty and that the Government respects that Sovereignty. This was a very important part of the referendum campaign that everybody should be able to agree on.

My Commitment to You

I will keep you informed regularly of the progress of both the CrowdJustice fundraising and the case. I will also make sure there are updates from the legal team for those who want more detail, that our legal arguments are published and I will press the Government and the Court to make its arguments public too.

Why am I doing this?

Whatever the opinions about the result of the referendum on 23rd June, I believe the result has thrust a far more important issue to the fore – Parliamentary Sovereignty.

This challenge is not being brought to reject or ignore the 17.1 million votes cast on 23rd June to change the status-quo and leave the EU.

It is being brought to ensure that Parliamentary Sovereignty is maintained and is respected by the Government of the day, to ensure that the rights of all 65 million UK Citizens are protected.

But ordinary people cannot afford to take on the Government on this important issue without crowdfunding support.

What are our individual, personal rights?

These rights include important personal freedoms:

to study;

to work;

to live;

to retire,

anywhere in the EU, provided you are not a burden on the country you live in.

We all have these freedoms.

What are our personal protections and benefits?

In addition there are benefits and protections that give practical effect to the freedoms we enjoy including:

pension protections;

health care arrangements;

non-discrimination at work & about property ownership where you live;

voting rights in local elections in your country of residence.

These rights and protections apply to all UK Citizens and millions of UK Citizens take advantage of these rights every year.

Parliament has granted us these rights.

This is not about whether there would be or could be equivalent rights following a Brexit.

It is about the fact that those rights exist now, granted by Parliament to UK Citizens and why it must be Parliament, the Sovereign body in the UK, that decides when, how and under what conditions the UK withdraws from the EU and thus removes those rights.

It is for Parliament to decide whether to take our rights away.

Since the passing of the European Communities Act in 1972 the UK Parliament has granted us rights and privileges relating to the membership of first the EEC and now the EU.

If we do not challenge the appointed UK Executive, the Government, about its intention to roll back Acts of Parliament without an express mandate from and direct supervision by Parliament we are allowing our Sovereign Parliament to be weakened and even usurped.

This Government wants to ignore Parliamentary process

Following the referendum this Government proposes ignoring the rest of the process that Parliament set in train when it passed the 2015 Referendum Act.

The current Government wants to use ancient (archaic) Royal Prerogative to trigger the process of the UK leaving the EU in the interest of the Government's sectional and party political interest.

By using the Royal Prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon this Government will be sweeping away rights at a stroke of a pen without the proper scrutiny of and a final decision being made by our Sovereign Parliament.

This is an act of constitutional vandalism.

The team who are arguing this case for us

Bindmans LLP - a leading London law firm is representing us. John Halford is leading the Bindmans' team. He will be assisted by Darragh Mackin of Kevin R Winters with clients living in Belfast.

Our barristers are all public and constitutional law specialists and, just as importantly, are fully committed to ensuring ordinary members of the public have a say in this challenge. They are Helen Mountfield QC, Gerry Facenna QC, Tim Johnston and Jack Williams.

They are willing to work for rates lower than those the Government pays its own lawyers, but a huge amount of work is needed.

About the claimant

I am Grahame Pigney, one of many UK Citizens greatly concerned about the consequences of the Referendum result and the effects of a "Brexit".

I happen to live in France but that is inconsequential in the context of the constitutional crisis we are facing because the UK Government has signaled its intent to ignore Parliamentary process and Sovereignty by triggering an exit from the EU without a mandate from Parliament and direct Parliamentary supervision.

Justice isn't free in the UK, for many people the cost is prohibitive. That is why ordinary people can rarely afford it, that is why we are asking you to support our crowdfunding campaign to bring this case.

Fast facts

What's at stake - nothing less than Parliamentary Sovereignty. We need to make sure we do not hand the Sovereignty of the UK to a self-appointed Government.

We have retained the leading firm Bindmans LLP who will instruct a specialist team to fight for our rights..