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British EU lawmakers clean up their offices ahead of Brexit

Packing her office into a box, Caroline Voaden is one of 73 European Union lawmakers winding down in Brussels - as Britain prepares to leave the European Union next week.

As leader of the Liberal Democrats in the EU parliament and a member of the Renew Europe group, Voaden is feeling sentimental.

SOUNDBITE) (English) LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MEP FOR SOUTH WEST ENGLAND AND GIBRALTAR, CAROLINE VOADEN, SAYING:

"You know, I'd like to pay tribute to my European colleagues who have really embraced us and treated us as proper members of the Renew family, and haven't looked at us as people who are just going to be here temporarily and will then go. They always believed that we would win the fight and we would stop Brexit, and I think it has been as much of a shock to them as it has been to us that we've failed at the end.''

Voaden's sentiment was shared by protesters on Thursday (January 23) - who demonstrated outside European Parliament is a last ditch attempt to stop Brexit.

While Remainers mourned, their rivals from the Brexit Party were celebrating.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) BREXIT PARTY MEP FOR NORTH WEST ENGLAND, CLAIRE FOX, SAYING:

"Actually I consider myself to be a European and an internationalist. I don't like the EU as an institution but I love Europe. I love European culture, I have many European friends. I love the countries. I mean it's a ridiculous concept. So I think I'm proudest of opening the eyes of many MEPs who've told me that they had a very biased and one-sided view of what had happened during the Brexit referendum and that they'd really paused to think because of things that I've said or that my fellow Brexit Party MEPs have said."

There's only one session at the European Parliament-- when they will vote on the Withdrawal Agreement on Thursday January 29, two days before the United Kingdom officially leaves the European Union.