‘Stop Brexit’: hundreds of thousands march in London to demand a second people’s vote on EU divorce
- Organisers estimated around a million protesters took to the streets of the British capital on Saturday
With Britain mired in political paralysis over Brexit hundreds of thousands of pro-Europeans thronged London on Saturday calling for another referendum on EU membership, in one of the biggest protests in decades.
Organisers estimated around a million opponents of Britain’s departure from the European Union joined what they called the “Put it to the people march”, descending on the capital by road and rail from across the country.
Wielding an array of anti-Brexit signs and EU flags, people first gathered at Hyde Park before walking the approximately two-mile route to Westminster – whistling, cheering and chanting “people’s vote”.
“The message is clear: stop Brexit,” said the leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable, who led the vast crowd which set off at lunchtime ahead of a rally outside parliament.
“We are now a Remain country. Nearly 90 per cent of young voters who weren’t allowed to vote in 2016 would vote to remain,” he added.
In Westminster speakers including Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and opposition Labour deputy leader Tom Watson began addressing attendees from early afternoon.