Vast crowds join march against Brexit
London streets gridlocked as protesters demand new vote over leaving EU
LONDON— Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through London on Saturday afternoon in a last-ditch, longshot effort to reverse Britain’s looming split from the European Union, calling on lawmakers to heed the enormous anger among pro-Europeans and break the political stalemate by holding a second referendum.
The protesters, some of whom travelled for hours on buses and trains, set off from Hyde Park holding placards that nodded at their European roots — “50 per cent French, 50 per cent British, 100 per cent European,” one boy’s sign read — and employed a bit of British under- statement — “Brexit really not going well, is it?” read another.
The crowd — organizers estimated one million people turned out, though there was no way to independently confirm it — clogged vast stretches of central London, with thousands of people still waiting to begin marching by the time those at the front of the rally were filling Parliament Square.
But hanging over the march was the reality that, as frustrat- ed as many Britons have become over the gridlock in Parliament, there remains little appetite among lawmakers for another public vote. And as much as anti-Brexit organizers have tried to cast their movement as inclusive of the people who voted to leave the Europe Union in a 2016 referendum, the idea of a second referendum is still divisive.
Still, marchers on Saturday said they were reaching for a way out of the bleak political landscape in Parliament. Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal has repeatedly been rejected, including by her putative allies, and the prospect of a calamitous no-deal Brexit is looming.
Absent from the march Saturday was Jeremy Corbyn, the opposition Labour leader, who has long dithered over a second referendum. His support would be crucial to any move in Parliament for another public vote.
The idea that the British could still be debating in late March a reversal of the coming split once seemed far-fetched. The country had been scheduled to leave March 29. But European leaders have agreed to delay Brexit. And frustration is growing in Britain, with a petition calling to cancel Brexit racking up more than 4.4 million on Parliament’s website on Saturday — the day of the march.
The march Saturday also featured some Conservatives who said they disagreed with their party’s line on Brexit.
Daniel Poser, 52, a landlord in London who belongs to Conservatives Against Brexit, was walking by government buildings stickered with anti-Brexit slogans on Saturday.
“You’re now seeing the proof that Brexit is a puzzle with no way out,” Poser said. “We as a nation are trapped by the lies told during the referendum.”