Hundreds of people attended the People’s Vote and Best for Britain campaign rally held on Sunday the 9th to denounce the current Brexit deal and call for a second referendum. The deal was supposed to be voted on Tuesday but has been cancelled until further notice.
Several speakers took to the stage to express their frustration that Prime Minister Theresa May moved forward with an agreement that they believe will leave the country worse off than it was before.
Actors Eddie Marsan and Jason Isaacs from the Harry Potter franchise, MPs from across the political spectrum, and other esteemed personnel including, former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine were speakers at the event.
Actor Eddie Marsan
“Brexit being left or right is manipulative, it’s undemocratic and it’s authoritarian. Its priority is its ideology and not the people that it is meant to serve,” said Marsan.
Labour MP for Liverpool, Luciana Berger explained that when the referendum was held in 2016, people did not know all the facts, which are now known. In addition, a new group of young voters have turned 18 since the last referendum, which is why a second referendum should be held. She emphasized that Brexit will hurt the economy of the UK and “make people poorer.”
Lord Heseltine highlighted that the current deal will leave Britain having to abide by European Union’s rules without being part of the decision-making process.
All the MPs that attended the event made it clear that they will vote against the deal in parliament.
Gareth Steel, a retired 69 year-old, has dedicated the last two years to protesting against Brexit, said that the electoral commission found the Leave campaign in 2016 illegal as they had spent more than allowed. “It is established that they [politicians who campaigned for Brexit] broke the law,” explained Steel, adding that the first referendum results are void and therefore a second referendum must be held.
Margaret Spooner, 75, said she came to the rally because she wanted to inform herself about the situation, but because she also believes the deal would be economically damaging for Britain.
The People’s Vote Campaign was founded in 2016 after the Brexit referendum was held and has since been hosting multiple events, protests and rallies calling for a second referendum and stopping the UK from leaving the European Union.
The campaign is supported by its constituent groups including Open Britain, the European Movement UK, Britain for Europe and six other groups.