Marta Guerreiro

Originally published: RisingEast On 29 March 2019, the day the UK was meant to Leave the EU, protesters gathered in Parliament Square to voice their anger at the ‘treachery’ of MPs who have blocked Brexit – so far. Meanwhile, across the road in the House of Commons, MPs had already voted down prime minister Theresa May’s deal for leaving the EU – for the third time of asking. For the protesters, this was no great loss. They described it as ‘the worst deal in history’. But they mourned the loss of ‘democracy’ and ‘sovereignty’, and vowed to reclaim them on behalf of the people of Britain. On stage for the Leave Means Leave campaign were speakers such as Claire Fox (Academy of Ideas), Tim Martin (boss of Wetherspoons), Kate Hoey MP, and, finally, Nigel Farage, who infamously declared the Brexit referendum in June 2016 as ‘our independence day’. When the Leave Means Leave rally dispersed, attention turned to the other end of the square where Ukip and Tommy Rob...

Originally posted: RisingEast Text: Marta Cerdá  On Saturday around 400,000 people marched to Parliament Square to demand a final say on Brexit. People may argue about the exact numbers, but the conviction of those that attended was almost palpable. The marchers included people from all over the UK and Europe, and whether you agree with them or not, it is clear that Theresa May has failed to win the public’s trust, and that Brexit has created a deep gap between the citizens and their government. A tide of blue flags with golden stars filled Westminster as the protesters marched to the rhythm of many songs, including a Celine Dion hit with an appropriate title for those on the march who worry that the UK will be left isolated after Brexit: “All by Myself”. The marchers on Saturday were unlikely to have included any of the over 17 million people who voted to leave Europe. But what the march showed was that those who don’t want to leave are dete...