Tag: Central London

Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, will address the People’s Vote march on Saturday, saying he is prepared to vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal in parliament as long she agrees to put it to a second referendum. The politician will be the most senior Labour figure to address the rally in Parliament Square in the afternoon, following a mass march through central London at which hundreds of thousands of people – and possibly more – are expected to attend. Source: peoples-vote.uk. © OpenStreetMap contributors “I will help you get it over the line to prevent a disastrous no-deal exit. But I can only vote for your deal – or any deal – if you let the people have a vote on it too. That’s why I’m proud to be marching. I trust the people I represent.” The last People’s Vote march in October attracted an estimated 700,000 protesters, and while its organisers are reluctant to say any more than that “hundreds of thousands” are due to attend on Saturday, the expectation is that significantly more will turn up. The Labour leader will be in Morecambe, Lancashire, campaigning for the local elections due in May. “Alastair Campbell asked me whether I’d be going along and I said to him very honestly that by going there I might alienate some of the people who are strong leavers who I want to bring on board.” Watson’s remarks make him the first shadow cabinet figure to publicly back a compromise proposed by Labour backbenchers Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, in which supporters would allow May’s deal to pass if it was subject to another popular vote. The former foreign secretary David Miliband is due to travel from New York to attend, while a string of leftwing junior shadow ministers and MPs will address a Left Bloc rally at 11am at Stanhope Gate, near the south end of Park Lane.

Thousands of anti-fascists are expected to attend a central London protest on Sunday to counter a march by the far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson and his supporters. A new group within the party, Labour Against Racism and Fascism, has been created and Momentum has been trying to counter a far-right social media effort which some members believed was often more sophisticated than its own web presence. (@PeoplesMomentum) "Did you find any hatespeech"? He said: “A newly energised, well-funded network of hate is emerging, from Steve Bannon in the US to the former EDL [English Defence League] leader Tommy Robinson at home, and it threatens the very fabric of our nation. The Labour movement must be front and centre in opposing them.” Thousands were expected to attend the Robinson event, which involves a march on Whitehall three days before MPs vote on Theresa May’s Brexit package and has been billed as a “Brexit betrayal rally”. Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, said: “There has been a reluctance at times from some in the mainstream of Labour to engage in events like this in the past. Niroshan Sirisena, a Labour councillor in Croydon and a Momentum organiser, said he and others set up Labour Against Racism and Fascism weeks ago as part of an attempt to develop the party’s anti-racism policies at a constituency level. “Labour is an anti-racist party, but I think it has to do a little more than say that it is one,” said Sirisena, who has also been involved in distributing anti-racism leaflets at Premiership matches as part of a move to counter the far-right focus on football fans. The Metropolitan police have imposed strict conditions on the times and locations those taking part could protest, and warned that anyone who commited acts of violence would be arrested. The deputy assistant commissioner, Laurence Taylor, the Met’s gold commander for the operation, said: “If you want to protest on Sunday we ask that you do so peacefully, no matter what your view.

At least 100,000 people took to the streets yesterday as part of the largest ever demonstration of support for a new referendum over Britain’s final Brexit deal. With more businesses poised to issue dire Brexit warnings this week and senior Tories already drawing up plans to soften Theresa May’s exit proposals, organisers of the march on Sunday said it showed Britain’s departure from the European Union was not a “done deal”. Anger on the streets at the prime minister’s handling of the Brexit negotiations is being accompanied by a renewed push from industry to ensure that trade with Europe is not disrupted as a result of leaving. More prominent manufacturing firms are set to issue warnings about Britain’s Brexit negotiations within days, after Airbus and BMW broke cover to say they could reconsider their UK investment plans unless a Brexit deal was reached keeping Britain closely aligned with Europe. Senior Tory MPs are already warning that the government will face another parliamentary crisis over Britain’s post-Brexit trade arrangements within weeks unless May gives clear indications that she backs such a deal. They have always had to have a wide manufacturing base, but it has always been an irritation to them that manufacturing wings for their aircraft is not carried out in mainland Europe, where its major shareholders are located. The timeline of some of these products is years.” One senior business figure said further public concerns were on the way and EU countries would benefit from an exodus of UK-based businesses. “There are people waiting in the wings if they think they can intervene without serious consequences from the government,” he said. Boris Johnson and other leading cabinet Brexiters have come under renewed attack from business leaders for pushing for a hard Brexit. A Downing Street source said: “The government is getting on with delivering the Brexit people voted for and we are working hard to ensure that our future outside the European Union is brighter and better.”