Thousands campaigners are converging on east London this afternoon for a rally calling for a People’s Vote on Brexit ahead of Tuesday’s crucial vote in Parliament.
The 2pm rally at the ExCel centre in Canning Town rally aims to put pressure on MPs to reject Theresa May’s deal with Brussels to quit the EU on March 29.
It follows two years of protesters by the 48 per cent Remainers following the 2016 Referendum.
The government suffered three defeats in the Commons last week in when Remainers successfully tabled an amendment with an option for a People’s Vote if the final Brexit deal is rejected at Westminster.
“It’s clear that the Brexit that was promised can’t be delivered,” National Society of Apprentices and leading rally organiser Poppy Wolfarth said.
“The only deal available is put forward by the government which is worse than that which we already have inside the European Union. This Brexit deal is bad for the economy and jobs, especially for apprentices.”
The 2016 referendum has already led to the start of banks and insurance companies in the Canary Wharf financial services district moving funds and staff to the Continent. Canary Wharf is also losing two major EU agencies.
Economic forecasts by the Bank of England last week put Britain worse off with any Brexit deal than if the UK remained in the EU.
Today’s rally centres on the European Court of Justice declaration that the UK has the legal right to cancel Article 50 which triggered the Brexit process—if it wants to—without having to ask the other 27 countries.
That’s what rally organisers are calling on MPs to vote for in the Commons on Tuesday and to put the issue back to the public for a vote that puts the Brexit implications on any future ballot paper rather than the simple ‘in’ or ‘out’ question in the 2016 referendum which scraped though by four per cent.
Meanwhile, police are bracing for potential disorder by a counter demo today led by English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and Ukip, inspired by last week’s ‘yellow vests’ violence in Paris while praising the rioters on social media and warning the prime minister of “revolution”.
The Met Police have imposed conditions on the march by the ‘Brexit Betrayal’ campaign and on another by ‘Unite Against Facism and Racism’ under the 1986 Public Order Act.
The decision was based on current tensions and concerns over Brexit and intelligence about today and previous protests by similar groups, Scotland Yard confirmed. A policing operation is now in place.
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