Dear Politicians of Europe,

Heads of state, ambassadors, European Commissioners, MEPs, Judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and other European officials.

This is an open letter from approximately half the people of Britain.

When we voted to remain in the European Union, it was largely because we wanted to remain Europeans. Now we are worried that in the coming months and years, this aspect of our identity may be prized away from us.

This referendum has in many ways been about identity. We accept that perhaps our national identity has never been as easy to identify as that of some other European nations, but for many of us one of its more concrete facets was that it included being European.

Just as EU citizenship is conferred automatically alongside the citizenship of member states, we recognise that national identity need not be threatened by participation in the broader transnational project that is the EU. On the contrary, while some have unfortunately seen participation in the collective project of European identity as a loss, we have seen it as a gain and we are sad that our compatriots do not share this feeling. By and large, our cities voted to remain in the EU, but the quaint English village, with the policeman on his bike, the cricket match, and the village shop selling shortbread, can be as much a proud part of Europe as the French village, the German village or the Italian village, and the proof of this is in the amazing cultural variation among them all. This is why we must underline: the strong emotions of our compatriots who voted to leave the EU must not be allowed to obscure the fact that millions of us do consider ourselves loyal Europeans, who even now are committed to building a shared future with the other nations of Europe.

Brits who voted to leave the EU did so for many reasons, but the referendum resulted as it did because many people in Britain are angry. Some people are rightly dissatisfied with aspects of the European project that have not been worked out yet, while others were simply misinformed; some of this anger is understandable, and some of it isn’t. There is no question that globalisation itself has negative effects for some people as well as positive ones and the free movement of people entailed in Article 45 TFEU has undoubtedly brought greater attention to one aspect of globalisation in particular — migration.

Those in Britain who have genuinely been affected by globalisation have our profoundest solidarity, yet the cuts to public services imposed by our leaders since the 2008 recession have been far more destructive than any downward pressure on wages accompanying freedom of movement, which has only affected the lowest paying jobs. We believe these effects could have been prevented with measures such as a higher minimum wage, better access to skills training, and more long-term economic strategy, all with far less economic turmoil than the current scenario in which we find ourselves. Ironically, these are all benefits offered by the European Union, and this makes us doubly outraged at what has happened.

We are also outraged at the attacks on fellow Europeans and other third country nationals resident in the UK over the last few days and condemn these incidents in the strongest terms. While our countrymen may be angry at migrant labourers, the true cause of the problems they perceive is neither the workers from the European Union nor any immigrants from beyond. Even if somehow they were, we believe nothing justifies physical attacks or harrassment of fellow human beings.

The free movement secured by the treaties is a fundamental underpinning of the Union and represents an amazing opportunity for all EU citizens, including those in Britain who, for the time being, are also included — whether they take this opportunity or not. It is this right above all that we implore you not to withdraw from us. We also recognise that to ask for free movement of goods without the free movement of people, as some of our leaders have essentially suggested, is a catastrophic misreading of the deal offered by EU membership, and we do not support this demand.

European Union membership in its existing form has given many benefits to the UK. Billions of Euros been invested in some of our poorest regions when they might otherwise not have been; Individual EU citizens using their freedom of movement have made an enormous net contribution to our economy — an incontrovertible fact lost on many Brits; but besides the economic benefits of our membership that have been made so obvious in the turmoil that has followed the vote, the cultural ties we have come to enjoy with our fellow EU nations are far more important still.

Both within the UK and in other member states, we have studied, learned, worked, played, worshipped, laughed and lived together. At least half of us would like to continue doing so, and there is a good case for believing it would be more than that if people had the important facts they needed.

It is not insignificant that the narrow vote to leave the EU was supported largely by older people, yet Europe is surely more about our common future even than our shared history, and remain voters are united in not wanting to lose that future. A comment by Nicolas Barrett on a Financial Times story last week read:

The younger generation has lost the right to live and work in 27 other countries. We will never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages and experiences we will be denied. Freedom of movement was taken away by our parents, uncles, and grandparents in a parting blow to a generation that was already drowning in the debts of its predecessors.

In the negotiations that are to come, we entreat you to bear this in mind, to be gentle and to remember that millions and millions of Brits of all ages never wanted to leave the European Union. We consider ourselves proud Europeans who wish to continue living and working alongside our fellow Europeans both at home and in other member nations. We are heartbroken that this hangs in the balance.

Yours faithfully,

More than 16 million ‘remainers’

• Esta carta ha sido traducida al castellano / This letter has been translated into Spanish (by/por Teresa Lopez Ortega)

More translations wanted