1,000 people from St Albans and Harpenden join historic People’s Vote march
People waiting to board a train and go to the Brexit march. Picture: St Albans for Europe/Harpenden for Europe - Credit: Archant
A mass of St Albans and Harpenden Remainers joined the largest-ever Brexit demonstration through the streets of London.
About 1,000 people from the district marched from Park Lane to Parliament Square on Saturday with a million other like-minded activists to demand a People’s Vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Withdrawal Deal.
This comes in the midst of uncertainty about the future of Brexit. With less than a week to go until Britain was originally due to leave the European Union, MPs have voted twice to reject the negotiated document.
A petition urging the government to revoke Article 50 has also racked up more than 5.5 million signatures - the most popular ever to be submitted through the Parliament website.
Chair of St Albans for Europe (StAfE), Fiona McAndrew, said: “The timing of this march could not have been better.
“We had so many newcomers joining us to march for the first time in their lives, all absolutely enraged by the government’s Brexit chaos and very anxious about the current political climate.”
Remainer groups StAfE and Harpenden for Europe (HfE) have also lead an active local campaign, including circulating 30,000 leaflets around the district.
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Fiona added: “Huge thanks go to all our brilliant volunteers and campaigners who have worked so hard to campaign for a People’s Vote and to promote this march on street stalls and by leafleting door-to-door.
“Brexit is a disaster and the government needs to let the people decide what to do about this mess. Anne Main, are you listening?”
One of the St Albans marchers, Karen Gordon, was interviewed by Sky and Japanese TV.
Chair of HfE, Richard Scott, said something has “snapped”: “The people in this community have had enough of being patronised and taken for granted by the Government, and especially by our MP Bim Afolami.
“If Bim thinks that he is entitled to a job for life in Hitchin and Harpenden, then he has made a very serious error of judgement. It is now Harpenden vs Brexit and Bim Afolami is on the wrong side in this fight.”
People of all ages joined the march with StAfE and HfE. Twelve-year-old Fran said: “I marched yesterday as it is my future and I think the UK would be better in the EU.”
Visit http://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584 to view the petition.