I will be up long before the crack of bloody dawn on Saturday to begin the long journey to London to take part in the People’s Vote march. Although make no mistake, our intention is not just to secure a vote but to stop this Brexit nonsense.
Lib Dems will be meeting at the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park at 12 noon.
This country’s membership of the European Union has brought this country so much social and economic benefit. Our sex discrimination laws, maternity leave, workers’ rights, environmental and health and safety protections started there. And we didn’t have them imposed on us – we were one of the most important voices at the table shaping them.
Being part of something larger than ourselves, something that has kept the peace on this continent for almost three quarters of a century, which has championed human rights and democracy, is such a good and healthy thing.
I don’t generally feel comfortable around national flags. I’d never wave a saltire or union jack. They symbolise selfishness and insularity and isolation to me. However, I feel completely comfortable wrapping myself from head to foot in the European Union flag because it is a symbol of togetherness and common purpose and co-operation.
I am very much of the A C Grayling school of thought – resist Brexit by all peaceful means. I’ll be marching on Saturday for my family’s future and to preserve the rights we are about to lose. Brexit puts this nation in peril by threatening the unions with Northern Ireland and Scotland. It puts so much we take for granted at risk – from things as simple as taking a flight or, scarily, access to essential medicines.
So, I’ll be there marching for the right to mark the Government’s homework on Saturday. I don’t want my future decided by whichever faction of the Conservative or Labour Party is winning the power struggle at the moment.
I am intrigued by what I hear coming out of party HQ in terms of props on the day. Watch this space for more details.
Are you going on Saturday? If so, tell us why….
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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22 Comments
The EEC always reserved a place for East Germany (so-called German “Democratic” Republic). The West Germans always promised to work for German unity., and move the capital from Bonn to Berlin.
It followed that the orchestra which played Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony after the fall of the Berlin Wall and played the Ode de Joy were celebrating the possibility of freedom, democracy, prosperity and unity for all Germans. The earlier breaching of the Iron Curtain by a Hungarian Minister was not treated with the same excitement. Perhaps retribution by Moscow was feared, but it was the Russians who sent the tanks into Moscow.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ode+de+joy+youtube&view=detail&mid=A33EA5E7307D464EEEE7A33EA5E7307D464EEEE7&FORM=VIRE
Soviet troops in East Germany went back to Russia, but not through Poland, which also had cause to celebrate. (Nothing about us without us).
I can’t make the march as I’ll be at work, but I’ll be there in name (and spirit) as someone has kindly placed the names of myself and other non-attendees on a Lib Dem banner.
It’s a shame I’ll miss it too but will be spending the weekend in Lib Dem territory, Eastbourne for a short break. I hope the weather is nice there and at the People’s vote march.
Even the People’s Vote March can’t get in the way of the apple harvest, but I wish all the marchers well and will be making a donation to the cause. Mind you, it sounds increasingly likely that Brexit will fall apart anyway without any help from me!
I wonder if on the march people will be informing people of a sight called http://www.myeu.uk. This informs people ,after putting in their post code, where the EU money has been spent in their area.This money is not publicised (no EU flag flying or placard showing it). This sight should be more widely known ie LEAVERS and others who may be sightseers at the fringe of the march.
For those of us who can’t make it to the march, there are other things we can do for the cause. e.g. tonight’s Question Time had TWO Tories, both of whom were strong Leavers (Lord Dobbes and James Cleverley). Also the editor of the Spectator, who was basically pro-Brexit too, albeit a softer version. The anti-Brexit side was ‘represented’ by Keir Starmer (!) and Nish Kumar, who was more interested in making jokes than saying anything real.
Having 2 Tories is surely unacceptable. But they do this because people don’t complain enough. To complain, go to https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/faqs/forms
I’ll be there on Saturday but with Windsor for EU, as we’ll be there as a family and there are children we know in our group for our youngsters to play with. But we’ll be wearing our Lib Dem exit from Brexit t-shirts!
I will be there – have taken down the details of where you are meeting. I think this is where I joined you for the march which was before the triggering of Article 50. I will be there for this one. I passionately believe that Brexit is Britain’s suicide – the benefits peddled by the leavers where mere myths. I have been a Remoaner since before the vote – but knew we had lost once the Leavers produced that bloody red bus! I won’t give up supporting membership of the EU. The EU machine is far from perfect but how it works can only be resolved as part of it, not outside of it!
TonyH 19th Oct ’18 – 12:00am..
Tony, I, long ago, gave up believing that Question Time was a serious programme.
It is, usually, just an excuse to shout at the TV and wonder at the thought processes of some panel members (and the audience) whilst Dimbleby shuts down any discussion that he doesn’t agree with.
” ….They {flags} symbolise selfishness and insularity and isolation to me. However, I feel completely comfortable wrapping myself from head to foot in the European Union flag because it is a symbol of togetherness and common purpose and co-operation.”
The EU flag, is just the same representation of the same nationalism as any other but on larger scale.
If there is a second Referendum, is there any chance of the Remain Team being more positive. Saying that leaving the EU will be a disaster didn’t work last time and there wasn’t melt down the day after the vote as George Osborne, Nick Clegg and others predicted. To say the same thing again is even less likely to sway people who voted Leave last time as it won’t be believed this time (even if it may be true). Can we have positive reasons to Remain this time e.g. collective security, supporting each other in a volatile world etc
“Our sex discrimination laws, maternity leave, workers’ rights, environmental and health and safety protections started there.”
This is simply not true. For example the first sex discrimination act was implemented by a largely Eurosceptical Labour Government in 1975.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Discrimination_Act_1975
Yes there’s been improvements while we’ve been members of the Common Market/EEC/EC/EU but we’ve also been members of the UN and NATO too. It doesn’t follow that we have better maternity leave laws because we’ve been members of NATO.
expats – I actually agree with you, but unfortunately QT still has a big audience and is probably one of the only ways that significant numbers of voters engage with politics, so we still need to complain when this kind of thing happens.
EU Regulations have the force of law ostensibly so that there is a level playing field. Which Nato or UN regulations have the same status ?
Vince Cable says it was time for young people to have a say over their “betrayal” by the older generation……
At 75 I find such remarks divisive and insulting. I’m sure such remarks will go a long way (not) to uniting the generations.
@ expats I agree. Sir John Vincent Cable (75) is old enough to know better.
I’m afraid the sureness of touch of the Mr. Bean question seem a long time ago now.
expats, David
As someone a generation younger, I support you on that, would be keen to know about the comment by Sir Vince, as reported here, a vetting process according to suitable views based on anything other than individual stance, not age, gender , race, etc, is not what a Liberal Democrat should be up to.
In a week in which my patience was little for Sir Edward Davey and his not supporting even for carrying corrosive substances, mandatory sentencing of a minimum of at least some sort of prison, I am of the view that if the nicely ensconsed new resident to be of the US, Sir Nick Clegg, has a nice job for me, California here I come…
Good luck to everyone going to this, and here’s hoping for some fair coverage that isn’t pushed down the agenda by a Boris ‘gaffe’.
In terms of things like Question Time, I sort of agree that most people tune in to agree with people they already agree with, or shout at those they expected to disagree with, but representation on the panel is all part of the general awareness of the existence of our party and that alternatives exist. I happen to think that the typical voter is more open to influence when our MPs are being interesting and reasonable during the paper review section of news programmes and similar segments where political allegiance is less obvious. The down-side being that people might remember that they quite like so and so, but might forget that they are a LibDem politician.
Agree wholeheartedly withRichard C. I said so at the time and when I applied to work for the remain campaign. There are websites saying what the EU has done for us. We need to give them more prominence.
Good luck to all the marchers. With you in spirit. Family christening keeps me at home. Let’s kill the nonsense that a 2nd referendum is not democratic. Democracy is an ongoing process not a single event. Democracy allows people to change their minds, it doesn’t freeze a decision for all time. If it did, we wouldn’t have had a referendum in 2016, because we would have made up our minds for all time in 1975!
@Fiona “the typical voter is more open to influence when our MPs are being interesting and reasonable during the paper review section of news programmes and similar segments where political allegiance is less obvious”
I remember Charles Kennedy being exceptionally good at that sort of thing but I can’t think of any other Lib Dem figures who have managed or could manage that (or other appearances in the lighter entertainment end of current affairs) without appearing too earnest and/or party-political.
A leaver on today’s Politics Live said that “nobody voted for a coalition” as if that were an established fact. She is quite wrong. She would be better to say that a coalition with Labour was expected if she had listened to David Steel or with Paddy Ashdown (who negotiated with Labour.)
The mathematics of such a deal were very marginal, bring in the SDLP (3) Green (1) and assume that Labour is coherent, but, what to do about Gordon Brown? Cannot do the deal with him, cannot do the deal without him.
He demonstrated his importance in the 2014 referendum, a Scot in Scotland.