--- description: Sir Patrick Stewart recalled his childhood during World War II and the start of the European Union while arguing against a Brexit. title: Patrick Stewart Argues Against a Brexit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c730a1bed95e921/698896033c163976b845d7e1/patrick-stewart-brexit-against.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Patrick Stewart Made This Impassioned Plea for Britain to Stay in the European Union  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2016 3:03 PM CUT  Patrick Stewart in 2015. Patrick Stewart in 2015.Jenny Anderson—WireImage  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2016 3:03 PM CUT The actor Sir Patrick Stewart recalled his childhood during World War II and the start of the European Union in a piece [he wrote](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/02/i-saw-postwar-europe-unite-reject-isolationism-leave-eu "undefined") for the _Guardian_ arguing against [a Brexit](http://time.com/4232768/britain-eu-referendum-brexit-guide/ "undefined"). “Though I am convinced that the stay vote will win the day, nevertheless the fact that so many fellow British citizens want to leave Europe is shocking. Standing alone was how we were in 1940,” [Stewart](http://time.com/3954363/patrick-stewart-voices/ "undefined") wrote. “Why campaign to put us back there?” Britain will take to the polls on June 23 to vote on whether to leave or stay in the E.U. [Stewart,](http://time.com/4004381/patrick-stewart/ "undefined") best known for his role in Star Trek, wrote that Britain should stay, because he saw the country come together after World War II and develop into a stronger nation when it began cooperating with Europe. “When the European Union came into existence and the U.K. became a member, it was for me a triumph of all those convictions that the future must be one of worldwide cooperation and unity, and here we were paving the way with the beginnings of collaboration across Europe and learning the lessons of our own history.” Stewart is the latest in a long queue of British celebrities, including [Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley](http://time.com/4342844/brexit-remain-campaign-letter/ "undefined"), who have come out against Brexit. \[[_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/02/i-saw-postwar-europe-unite-reject-isolationism-leave-eu "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4354959/patrick-stewart-brexit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4354959/patrick-stewart-brexit/"},"headline":"Patrick Stewart Made This Impassioned Plea for Britain to Stay in the European Union","datePublished":"2016-06-02T15:03:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:21:02.351Z","description":"The actor recalled his birth in the Second World War and watching Britain prosper as it improved links with Europe","url":"https://time.com/4354959/patrick-stewart-brexit/","keywords":["politics","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c730a1bed95e921/698896033c163976b845d7e1/patrick-stewart-brexit-against.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c730a1bed95e921/698896033c163976b845d7e1/patrick-stewart-brexit-against.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"patrick stewart brexit against","caption":"AOL Build Presents: \"Blunt Talk\"","creditText":"Jenny Anderson—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4354959/patrick-stewart-brexit/","name":"Patrick Stewart Made This Impassioned Plea for Britain to Stay in the European Union"}}]}] ```