Thousands of people are expected to march against the Brexit vote in central London this weekend, with smaller protests planned across the UK.
The London protest, organised on social media, is gathering pace. So far, 23,000 people plan to attend, according to Facebook. It hopes to build on a rally earlier this week in Trafalgar Square, and others in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which attracted tens of thousands of participants despite bad weather.
Keiran MacDermott, a King’s College London graduate who organised the event, hopes to delay or stop the UK triggering article 50, which would begin the process of formally withdrawing from the EU and cannot be easily reversed. The protest is expected to emphasise the fact that the referendum was not legally binding and call for the result to be challenged or annulled.
“It is the responsibility of parliament to consider our democracy more carefully and call for a vote before they all accept the UK’s decline,” MacDermott wrote on Facebook.
“Let’s not leave the next generation adrift. We can provide the ammunition parliament needs to reason their way through this mess and reconsider Brexit, if we make a stand.”
Last week, 48% of those who took part in the referendum voted to remain in the EU. MacDermott hopes that the march will convey the frustration felt by almost half of the population, who were shocked by the outcome.
The protest in London on Tuesday attracted a huge number of young people, reflecting the geographical and generational split of UK voters. The capital largely backed remain, but outside it, the vote overwhelmingly swung the other way.
When it came to age, younger voters largely favoured remaining part of the EU, with almost three-quarters of 18 to 24-year-olds, 62% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 52% of 35 to 44 year-olds voting remain. Almost the reverse was true of older voters, of whom 60% supported leave.
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