More than 100,000 British people will take to the streets of London in the People’s Vote protest this afternoon to call for a second referendum on leaving the European Union.
The People’s Vote protest movement, which campaigns for a second referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, has organised the march to give a voice to the thousands of Britons who feel unrepresented and let down by current Brexit negotiations.
MPs across the three main parties in the South-East of England have encouraged their constituents to turn out, while celebrities across the UK have sponsored buses from their home towns to the People’s Vote protest meeting point in London. Bus sponsors include Sir Patrick Stewart (Huddersfield), Alastair Campbell (Burnley) and Armando Iannucci (Watford, Glasgow and Oxford).
Supporters of a second referendum, comprising both people who voted to remain in the initial 2016 referendum and Leavers who have changed their minds in the aftermath, say the current options being offered for a Brexit deal – and the unencouraging state of negotiations – do not represent what was promised by the Leave side before the referendum. The People’s Vote protest aims to convince UK politicians to vote in favour of a second referendum for a better-informed electorate.
Discussions of Brexit have become increasingly fraught in the UK, particularly in the wake of the revelation earlier this week that the Metropolitan Police will not be investigating alleged electoral misconduct by the Leave campaign due to “political sensitivity”. Meanwhile negotiations between Britain and the EU for an exit deal continue to fail to progress as exit day looms ever closer.
Organisers of the People’s Vote protest say: “MPs will have to decide whether to make our country poorer, trash our vital public services and wreck the life chances of the young or give us all a People’s Vote on any Brexit deal.”
Protesters are invited to meet at noon today on Park Lane, north of the Hilton Hotel. The march, led by entrepreneur Deborah Meaden and national treasure Delia Smith, will proceed to Parliament Square for 2pm, where speeches will be delivered.
