London-Thousands marched in the streets of London yesterday, predominantly from young adults, against the results of the June 23 referendum to exit the European Union.
Nine days following the referendum, a large number of protesters gathered in Hyde Park in Central London on Saturday morning and marched through London to Parliament Square.
Brexit drove a political chaos in the country, at the local and European level and it was rejected by a majority in the capital, as 60 percent of them voted for staying in the European Union.
The majority of protesters on Saturday were young adults, many of whom attended the demonstration wearing the European Union flag. Others waved banners reading “I am with the European Union.”
Demonstrators also carried banners asking to annul the results of Brexit, while others chanted “We love You, EU.”
A reporter with the BBC said between 2,000 and 3,000 attend yesterday’s demonstration. Organizers had demanded Parliament to balk on leaving, saying that the future of Britain lies in the European Union.
More than 4 million British had signed an online petition to hold a second referendum. However, a specialized committee in Parliament had doubted the accuracy of all the signatures.
One demonstrator wearing yellow and blue, the colors of the European Union, told AFP: “I want to stay in the European Union. We can still do something as long as Article 50 is not implemented.”
To begin the withdrawal process Britain must invoke Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon treaty, which has never been used before.
“I think the Leave campaign misled people; we are (making) a wrong decision because of the lies,” protester Casey, 37, told the Agence France-Presse at the start of the march. “I would like us to reconsider and I don’t want to leave the EU,” she said.
A poll conducted by Ipsos MORI for BBC Newsnight found that 22% of people didn’t know if Brexit was a done deal, and a further 16% said they thought Britain would remain a European Union member state despite the vote to leave.
Front runner Theresa May and high-profile rival Michael Gove have both said they do not expect Article 50 – the formal procedure for leaving the bloc – would be invoked this year, which angered French President Francois Hollande on Friday.
Hollande had said that the decision of Brexit was made and it cannot be balked or annulled amid calls from European Union leaders to implement Article 50 as soon as possible to remove uncertainty.
Chief Political Commentator for The Independent John Rentoul wrote: “After the huge shock of the Brexit vote, the nation is looking for steadiness, competence and negotiating skills. She (Theresa May) may be boring. But boring and competent may be what the moment needs.”
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the fifth session of Scotland’s parliament on Saturday without mentioning last week’s vote by Britain to leave the EU.