On Saturday 22 October 50,000 people marched from Park Lane to Parliament square in an effort to persuade parliament to rejoin the EU.
Thousands gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster. Many were veterans of earlier pro-EU marches, the largest, of nearly 1 million, being in October 2019 while Parliament was debating the EU Withdrawal bill. Saturday’s march was an effort to press parliament once more into re-joining the European Union. EU supporting groups from all over the UK stood in protest against Brexit. There were many speeches, all summing up the reason why they all stood there, wanting their voices to be heard, and they certainly were.
More marchers than expected
The police closed both Pall Mall and Park Lane as the 50,000 Rejoiners marched. One man on the protest named Andrew Walmsley said, “One and a half million came a couple of years ago and nothing happened. An overwhelming majority want to re-join the EU.”
Many felt that the 2019 prorogation of Parliament attempted by Boris Johnson was more than an insult, it was ‘illegal’ as another protester, Jamie Wright, said. There were 50,000 voices today chanting “Tories down”. This could be felt amongst the crowd, and it was powerful. After Liz Truss’s short time in office, the masses seemed fed up and wanted change.
Is Keir Starmer right?
Keir Starmer constantly says “Make Brexit work” – but Saturday’s marchers did not want that. They do not want any form of Brexit, even a working one. It was a huge display of togetherness, which feels needed in the current political state of this country. Jamie Wright also believes “it is as vague as ‘Brexit means Brexit’ ” when asked about Starmer’s approach to Brexit.
A survey by Statista held between 6 and 7 October with 1,797 responders showed that 52% of people in Britain thought it was wrong to leave the EU. This is an interesting statistic, raising the question whether the British people regret their choices, or if they still want to push them through.
