Pro-EU protesters seek new vote on Brexit
london — Tens of thousands of anti-Brexit protesters marched on Saturday in London to demand a new referendum on leaving the European Union, as a divided Britain marked the second anniversary of its vote to quit the bloc.
Leading Brexit supporters, meanwhile, warned the British government not to delay or water down the divorce from the 28-nation bloc. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Prime Minister Theresa May must deliver the “full British Brexit” that voters were seeking.
Britain voted 52 per cent to 48 per cent on June 23, 2016 to quit the EU, and its official exit is slated for March 29, 2019. But the country remain divided about what kind of economic relationship it wants with the EU. Opponents of Brexit, many waving EU flags, marched through central London to Parliament on Saturday, calling for a referendum on whatever divorce deal is agreed between Britain and the EU.
The crowd numbered in the tens of thousands, with organisers estimating 100,000 people took part. Police did not give an official estimate. A rival pro-Brexit march, demanding that the U.K. not compromise with the EU, drew a far smaller crowd.
The People’s Vote campaign, which organized the march, argues that public opinion is turning against Brexit as the economic costs become clearer. James McGrory, one of the organizers, said voters were “made all kinds of
promises” during the Brexit referendum.
“But two years later, all we’ve got are broken promises, an economy that’s already feeling the strain of Brexit and a government paralyzed by internal divisions,” he said. Protester Matthew Mann, a Briton who is married to a French woman and
lives in The Netherlands, said he was “here to show what a European looks like.”
The leaders of both Britain’s Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party oppose holding another Brexit referendum, though many members of both parties disagree. —