People’s Vote march headcount less than half as high as claimed
THE “historic” march in favour of a second Brexit referendum was attended by just a third of the number its organisers claimed, according to an official estimate.
A debriefing document prepared by the Greater London Authority put the number of attendees at October’s People’s Vote rally at 250,000 – significantly below the campaign group’s claim that it was joined by more than 700,000 people. Last night the group was accused of attempting to mislead politicians and voters about its level of support.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, said: “Leaving the EU was an option on the ballot paper that attracted more votes than any referendum or politician in our history.
“The People’s Vote would do well to remember this and should stop attempting to dupe people about how many people support it.”
However, the People’s Vote cam- paign insisted its estimates were “based on intelligence from both volunteers and professional stewards”, and took account of the numbers that joined the march from the front, while it was in progress, which it suggested could have been discounted by other calculations. The People’s Vote website states: “On October 20th, over 700,000 people marched from Park Lane to Parliament, demanding their future back.”
However, following a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Scotland Yard told The Sunday Telegraph: “The Greater London Authority has included an estimated attendance figure of 250,000 in a debrief document. Please note this is not a Metropolitan Police Service estimate as we have not recorded an estimated attendance figure for the march.” The march, on Oc-
‘The People’s Vote should stop attempting to dupe people about how many people support it’
tober 20, took place between Park Lane, in central London, and Parliament Square.
It was addressed by politicians including Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, who oversees the Greater London Authority and who supports the campaign for a second referendum. Mr Khan said at the march: “Today will go down as an historic moment. A moment when, in their thousands, people from every corner of our country and every section of our society will take to the streets, to make our voice heard.”