Femi Oluwole chats to Put it to the People marchers
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Some one million people were estimated to have joined the Put It To The People march in central London today, organisers said.
Organised by the People’s Vote, Britain for Europe and Open Britain, protesters demanded the public be given a final say on the Brexit process.
Campaigners seeking a second referendum started in Park Lane at midday before gathering at Parliament Square for a series of speeches, with demonstrators tailing back through the route shown on aerial footage.
On stage Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson addressed Theresa May's own speech this week when she told voters fed up of Brexit that "I am on your side".
He said: “Have a look out of the window prime minister. Open your curtains. Switch on your TV. Here are the people. Theresa May - you don’t speak for us.”
Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest
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And Michael Heseltine told marchers that the EU represented "parliamentary democracies working together with power based on a shared sovereignty far in excess of anything any one of us could achieve individually" over decades.
People came from across the country to join the demonstration. Sorcha Kirker, 27, travelled from Orkney and told The Independent: "This is too important to miss because of something like geography. It’s our future."
The march took place as Ms May fought to stay in office, with ministers reportedly plotting to oust her. In a letter to MPs she did not guarantee that she would bring her deal back to the Commons for a third meaningful vote, amid suspicions it would fail to pass again.
Broadcaster Konnie Huq “implores” you to march for a final say Brexit vote today. Writing for The Independent, she says “all manner of new information has come to light … The funding, the strategy and the promises made all being highly questionable when scrutinising the referendum campaigns.”
More coming in from Nigel Farage’s March to Leave event in Nottinghamshire. The anti-Brexit group Lead By Donkeys has helpfully screened footage of Mr Farage’s campaigning efforts on behalf of Roy Moore, the Alabama senator accused of sexual misconduct in 2017.
One British bookmaker has cut the odds of Theresa May leaving No.10 before the end of the month to 4/1.
Ladbrokes has also cut the odds on Michael Gove becoming the next PM to 5/1, making him the co-favourite with Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson.
“The vultures are circling, and punters think May’s exit could be imminent,” said a Ladbrokes spokesperson. “Gove continues to attract punters’ cash and it’s now a three-horse race to replace the PM.”
Today’s Put it to the People marchers have plenty of big name backing. Here’s Roisin O’Connor with some of the famous people supporting a second Brexit referendum.
Second referendum supporters have sometimes been pigeonholed as urbanites. But backing comes from fans of Radio 4’s legendary rural soap The Archers too.
Writing for The Independent, radio broadcaster Shaun Keaveny says concerns about the future of the country his two children will inherit is the reason he’s marching today.
↵Sarah Wollaston, the former Conservative MP who joined the Independent Group last month, thinks there will be special significance to the moment marchers walk past Downing Street today.
Writing for The Independent, she says that if Theresa May “is so sure that she is implementing the “will of the people” – she should not be afraid to ask”.
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