Leave protesters march across London to voice fury at Brexit betrayal
The ‘liberty bell’ tolled as thousands rallied outside Parliament to mourn the Exit Day that never was
Robert Mendick, Cara Mcgoogan and Bill Gardner
YESTERDAY was supposed to have been a day of celebration; it became a day of protest. They had dreamed of March 29 for two years, the day that Britain would finally leave the European Union. Instead they marched in their thousands on Parliament Square to voice their anger and their despair.
“This should have been a joyous occasion,” said Arabella Arkwright, 51, a businesswoman and landowner from Warwickshire. “But I woke up this morning and I burst into tears.”
Fifty hardcore – and now footsore – Brexiteers had begun their protest march in Sunderland 300 miles away, two weeks ago. Yesterday, they were joined on the streets of central London by Leavers who had come from all over the country to show their support – and vent their frustration.
Banners read “Keep calm and pretend your vote counts” and “The French rebel. We march and have a nice cup of tea and get shafted by Parliament and their cronies.”
March 29 will now go down in history as a very British day of protest.
William Walsh, 53, a bricklayer from south London who gave up £200 he could have earned to join the protest, came dressed as Winston Churchill, complete with top hat and cigar and a poppy in his lapel. He would have smoked the cigar yesterday, but now has to wait for a new Brexit day.
“Churchill must be spinning in his grave,” he said above the shouts of the crowd of “What do we want? Brexit! When do we want it? Now!”
As if to prove this was Britain not France, one entrepreneur was struggling to sell “yellow vests”, pleading with passers-by: “Come get your yellow vests! £5 each or three for £10.”
As the crowd shuffled along Chelsea Embankment and past the home of the Chelsea pensioners, a 150-year-old bell brought specially on the march carried on a 19th century funeral bier tolled for the Brexit that never came.
“The bell would have been ringing to celebrate democracy and our liberty,” said David Waller, 58, a chartered surveyor from Shropshire. “It would have chimed for our freedom, but instead it’s tolling.”
The striking of the bell and chants from the crowd mixed with the sound of the Musselburgh True Defenders flute band, parading through the Brexit crowd. The band has previously paraded through Belfast.
At Tate Britain, the Brexiteers were booed by visitors to the gallery who stood on the steps and signalled a
‘This should have been a joyous occasion. But I woke up this morning and I burst into tears’
thumbs down. Here, it seemed, was London’s metropolitan elite jeering the largely out-of-town Leavers as they walked past. Perhaps nothing so much summed up the nation’s divide.
When the Remainers booed, the Leavers shouted back: “Losers!” The reality is, of course, that no one is quite sure who is winning. Although nobody thinks it is Theresa May. One banner read: “Axe Lady Haw Haw.”
With the march progressing towards Parliament Square, news filtered through that the Withdrawal Agreement had been defeated.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Cathleen Mainds, 73, from north London. “The last thing we want is to be tied down by those appalling sell-outs in Parliament.”
Cars hooted approval and builders cheered from construction sites. This was Leavers regaining the streets after last weekend’s demonstration pressing for a second referendum.
Clarence Benbow, 67, said that despite recovering from prostate cancer he was determined to march, walking 50 miles to Parliament Square on four separate days.
“Nothing will stop me from doing this,” he said. “I’m raging. Today should have been one of celebration, but it’s a march of betrayal.”
The mood remained largely genial. “Brexit’s coming home, it’s coming home,” chanted the crowd as they edged towards parliament.
However, staff in the palace of Westminster were urged to leave work early, while Lisa Nandy, a Labour MP, complained that she had been “accosted by people shouting f---ing traitor as we tried to get in to vote”. Observers reported tense scenes on Westminster Bridge over threats of clashes quickly broken up by police.
As the rally ended, some protesters pushed and shoved police officers. Last night police said five arrests were made, including one person who assaulted an officer. Around 200 protesters gathered outside Downing Street, chanting “We want our country back” and “You love your paedophiles”.
Just 100 yards away from the Parliament Square demonstration, a rival group was gathering in Whitehall – this one backed by Ukip and the far-right supporters of Tommy Robinson.
The two groups have become intertwined. Mr Robinson, founder of the English Defence League and whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-lennon, has the backing of Ukip’s new leadership. Ukip’s rally was staged in front of a giant television screen paid for by Mr Robinson. Ukip’s spokesman Alan Craig introduced Mr Robinson as “our national hero”.
Later, Mr Robinson suggested strongly that he would stand in the next election as a Ukip candidate, to loud cheers from the crowd.
“Tommy Robinson is not the demon that the mainstream media and his political opponents claim him to be,” Gerard Batten, the UKIP leader, said.
Back in Parliament Square, the sun was setting on the Brexiteers’ day of protest. They cheered Mr Farage, who told them to not be defeated and to push for a no-deal on April 12.
“This day should have been one of celebration,” said Mr Farage. “[Instead] it is one of the saddest and worst chapters in the history of our nation.”