Under the slogans of “We will return” and “Give us back our star!”, thousands of Britons crossed the center of London this Saturday with EU flags in the so-called Rejoin March, which started timidly in Hyde Park and ended up taking shape in a of the largest anti-Brexit demonstrations in the last three years, with a sea of blue flags along Piccadilly.
The march was, however, marked by the absence of political leaders, in the midst of the debate sparked by Labor's Keir Starmer, who has promised to “rewrite” the Brexit agreement if he reaches Downing Street but has expressly renounced returning to the European Union.. 58% of Britons are currently in favor of re-entry compared to 32% who are in favor of remaining outside the EU, according to the average of the polls extracted by the portal What UK thinks.
The activist Gina Miller (who once took Brexit to court) and the MEP and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt were the most recognizable faces next to the banner that opened the march in London. Next to them was Steve Bray, who has been tirelessly demonstrating in front of Parliament for five years despite harassment from the police.
“No one wants to recognize the disaster that Brexit has been, neither the Government nor the Labor opposition,” denounced Bray.. “Much of the country is still in a state of denial and does not want to accept the truth. They keep making fun of us, they call us remoaners (those who keep complaining). But it is very important to keep the message and hope alive.”
The Beatles' Yellow Submarine version (We all live in a Brexit Tragedy) set the musical background in motion, in competition with Hey Jude/Hey EU and Beethoven's ode to joy.
Also leading the way was Charlotte Morrow, 60 years old, English with Canadian and Ukrainian blood, pushing the cart containing her Irish dog (Pipin) and her French dog (Pebbles) with all the European paraphernalia.. “This has always been an open and tolerant country, and it has to be that way again.”. “It is very important to defend those values and remind the world that those who voted for Brexit are and remain a minority.”
With his daughter Isabela on his shoulders, the British Tim Robinson (40 years old) grimaced when we asked him if returning to the EU is a realistic proposal today.. “I believe that the return will be slow but firm, if there is a change of Government. I believe that we will return little by little, and that my daughter can one day participate in the Erasmus program.. But Starmer can and must be braver, although I understand his caution.”
Greg Melville, 23, a university student and Green Party activist, sees things differently.. “I can not wait. I want to have the same right that my older brothers had to study and work in Europe. “We are tired of the hypocrisy of our politicians and that no one dares to say 'Brexit was a mistake.'”
At the Rejoin March there was also representation from Bremain in Spain, led by Sue Wilson, who has not missed a single pro-European march since the referendum campaign.. Clarissa Killwic, from the Brexpats group, denounced “the loss of rights that has affected the daily lives” of Britons living in EU countries.
The demonstration broke out in the early afternoon in front of the British Parliament and received more coverage in the international media than in the local ones.. Conservative newspapers, such as The Daily Express, described the protesters as “desperate Rejoiners” while the GBNews channel predicted an “epic fail” and minimized the number of attendees.