What was it?
It was the latest of 12 UK-wide anti-Brexit demonstrations, and counting. They began in July 2016, there were ten in London up to the onset of Covid, then two other post-pandemic Rejoin marches, and then this one. You can listen to some radio coverage of the day online.
Why are people still marching?
Eight years since the referendum – over four years since the UK officially left the EU – Brexit is still not ‘done’. Not all the checks that are required post-Brexit have been enacted yet; even when they are, it’s not likely to improve the UK’s position or finances.
Why should I care?
In the world outside the Rejoin march, there are major problems. The UK is busy contemplating its own financial black hole. Brexit contributed to this deficit and it affects the people who live here. On the other hand, if some of the Brexit damage can be repaired, everyone will benefit.
“But there are wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, so why complain about Brexit?”
Many people say we’re now facing a polycrisis – the challenges we face are interlinked.
As some campaigners pointed out, forces within Russia helped spread disinformation that supported the campaign to Leave the EU. This disinformation was not investigated by the UK at the time it happened. Greater public awareness of the harm Putin has done in the past might help the world correctly assess the much more obvious threat he still poses today.
The role that divisive propaganda and misinformation play in violent acts remains relevant, as seen during the summer 2024 riots in the UK.
“What do we want?”
In no particular order, the Rejoin supporters demanded:
- To unite – in the face of alarming developments worldwide, we need each other’s help and support.
- To protest freely – this is increasingly difficult in the UK and elsewhere, and is urgently needed if the government gets things wrong.
- To adopt a fairer voting system – Brexit perfectly illustrates how democracy can go astray when democratic mechanisms are not up to scratch: for example, an advisory referendum was taken to be a binding instruction.
- To protect minorities from aggression – campaigners have now felt the abuse that other minoritised groups have been experiencing for much longer. Not to mention any anti-Brexit campaigners who are also part of one or more other minorities!
- To save the planet – apart from anything else, climate crisis forces people to migrate. This needs to be managed well in order to combat anti-immigration sentiment. Such feelings were famously exploited by the Leave.EU campaign.
- To rejoin the EU.
“When do we want it?”
“Now” of course, or even “yesterday”! The timeline is never an easy question to resolve realistically – and in a way, that isn’t the protestors’ job. It may not even be possible to discern yet. The details are for the politicians to sort out: after all, that’s what they are paid (and elected) to do! But first, we need them to listen.
Officially, “National Rejoin March (NRM) is a grassroots campaign action group, with the goal of putting Rejoin on the agenda, then keeping it there until the UK is back where we belong – in the EU.”
Fundamentally, the march called on MPs to think about an issue that most of them still refuse to discuss. Surely it’s important that our leaders face up to reality?
As York for Europe noted, “The speeches were powerful and unforgiving. Perhaps more politically explicit than on previous marches.” It felt as if it was now time to speak plainly: to address the elephant in the room.
The speaker Richard Corbett asked all marchers to write four letters when they get home: one to their MP, one to the Prime Minister, one to a local newspaper and one to a national paper. It is a question of keeping the Brexit disadvantages in the public eye, of asking for action on Brexit.
While acknowledging that Brexit has caused problems – and trying to fix them – won’t save the planet from harm, not acknowledging what has happened is unlikely to help the UK move forward. We desperately need to move on from our current position after years of stagnation and division, so we can tackle the challenges we’re facing.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
