AFP
Sat, September 23, 2023
Britain left the EU after voting in favour of Brexit in a 2016 referendum
Hundreds of people waving European Union flags on Saturday rallied in central London calling for Britain to rejoin the bloc.
The National Rejoin March (NRM) gathered near Hyde Park and was due to culminate in Parliament Square as supportive motorists beeped their horns.
Protesters brandished placards reading "the road to rejoin the EU starts here", and "rejoin, rejoice".
The NRM movement backs a return to membership of the EU which Britain left after voting in favour of Brexit in a 2016 referendum.
An exit deal was negotiated under the premiership of former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and came into force in 2021, with a review set for 2025.
Peter Corr, leader and co-founder of NRM, said he decided to organise the march as it "felt like everyone had given up" on the cause.
"Brexit was a huge mistake, we’re all -– especially working class and poorer people –- paying for it and we need to do something about it," Corr, a lorry driver from the central English city of Derby, told the domestic PA news agency.
Protester Rachel Ashley, wearing over-sized star-shaped glasses, told AFP she was "just absolutely furious" about Brexit.
"I know people who are utterly mortified. They are so deeply ashamed.... They've been played for fools," she said.
Another Brexit critic, Frances Smith, a 68-year-old retiree, said she saw herself as a European.
"To take that away from me is wicked," she said.
The opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on Friday was forced to deny he wanted to rejoin the EU after recent comments led the ruling Conservatives to accuse him of wanting to "unpick Brexit".
Starmer insisted there was no case for returning to the EU, its customs union or the single market.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, the fourth largest party in parliament, has also said voters are no longer "talking about Europe" on the doorstep.
The Lib Dems had previously pledged to "stop Brexit".
"We want Britain to be back at the heart of Europe but we're also realistic that’s going to take some time," Ed Davey said ahead of his party's annual conference on Saturday.
Campaign to rejoin EU gathers strength at Brexit protest march
Barney Davis
Sat, September 23, 2023
Pro-EU campaigners descend upon streets of London for National Rejoin March
Pro-EU campaigners descend upon the streets of London for the National Rejoin March.Source: The Independent
Thousands of protesters have formed a sea of blue and yellow in central London as they call for the UK to rejoin the EU.
The National Rejoin March attracted around 3,000 people as they marched from Park Lane, outside the London Hilton, toward Parliament Square for speeches and a waving of flags of the EU nations.
At Parliament Square, speakers, including former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt and high-profile campaigner Gina Miller – who masterminded an anti-Brexit legal challenge, addressed the crowd.
Hundreds of people joined the second National Rejoin March in London on September 23 (Barney Davis)
“I think everyone young and old can see it’s a disaster,” said Eric Stock, 23 from north London, who was painted from head to toe in blue body paint. He added: “We don’t have much left of a democracy at all. Getting out on the streets is one of the few beacons of democracy we have left.”
Ceira Sergeant, a leader in the youth wing of the rejoin movement, said she was too young to vote in the 2016 referendum.
She said: “Everytime I come to London I’m stunned by just how positive everyone is. It’s the best turnout I have ever seen.
“I have true faith we will rejoin in my lifetime. In the last year this movement has grown exponentially.
“Everybody in power needs to wake up to what young people especially want.”
However, not everyone was in support. One motorist heckled the activists, shouting: “You’re wasting your time”. But others on an open top bus passing the rally gave their thumbs up to the cheering activists,
March headed to Parliament Square in London (Barney Davis/The Independent)
It was the second annual march held - although this year’s event started off slowly, the crowds swelled in the sunshine like last year when thousands of people joined. Those taking part want to put rejoining the EU back on the agenda.
It comes as The Independent reveals Keir Starmer held secret talks with Emmanuel Macron about Brexit. The Labour leader has said he will seek to improve the government’s Brexit deal – but also insisted there is no case for rejoining the EU, its single market, or customs union.
Eric Stoch, 23, north London, was painted head to toe in blue body paint for the march (Barney Davis)
Saturday saw the second annual Rejoin March (Barney Davis/The Independent)
As the march started, Madeleina Kay, 29, said the country had taken a “darker turn” after the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Ms Kay, who was awarded Young European of the Year by the Schwarzkopf Foundation in 2018, said: “I was very disappointed thought it was a different country. The only people I’m angry at are the politicians because they lied to us.
“They’ve let everybody down and we can see the consequences of that now, the cost of living crisis they have taken rights away from us.
“Rejoining is going to be a long campaign but the younger people voted Remain and that is the future.”
Proud Welshman Gareth Kearns, 53, said: “People always say only old people for Brexit is sort of true but when you get to the very elderly the people who actually remember the Second World War they are with us. But they can’t be expected to go on a long march from here, they all take a shorter route.”
Speeches are made at Parliament Square with thousands of people gathered in front of the stage (Barney Davis)
On the march reaching Parliament Square, dancers waved EU flags while preparations were made for the speeches. German MEP Terry Reintke told those watching: “When I see thousands of Europeans in the streets it makes me so hopeful that we will be back together again.
“The EU is far from perfect we know this. We live in a cost of living crisis, we see war in Ukraine where geopolitical situation is really hard. Europeans are struggling. It’s even more important for EU to stand together.
“People are clear we want the UK to be part of that we want the UK to rejoin the European Union. We are still with you, we love you and we want you back.”
The Green Party’s Zack Polanski proudly declared “Brexit has failed” as he took to the stage. “It has been a disaster for the climate crisis,” he said.
“But most of all it’s hitting the poorest and the most vulnerable in the country the hardest. They have been lied to. We will be heard, we will stand up and be counted. Our cause is just, our commitment unwavering. The young people know what needs to be done let’s make sure our future is in Europe.”
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