It's here! - the day we march against the chaos that is Brexit.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

A thread for those of us on the march today :)

Weather still looking good, (perhaps, possibly, even some sunshine?) temps around 12-14, a little gusty at times, cooling off in the evening, so bring an extra jumper if you haven't set off.

Travel safely and see you at the march!

It’s like this I think. (And note the slightly different choice of excuses compared to October’s march if anyone remembers those.)

(1) There were only people there (standing completely still for 5+ hours apparently), therefore discredited.

(2) Fine, if there were people there, lots of them were German or not voters or they probably all shop at Waitrose or too old/young, therefore discredited.

(3) Ugh fine fine, if there were people there, it still doesn’t matter because it’s a number smaller than 17 million, therefore discredited.

Really, naysayers could have saved time by going direct to (3) so I wonder why they feel the need to do the wriggly denial dance. It's like they can't even bear to be reminded that Remainers ever existed at all.

Donald Tusk's words made me quite emotional when I watched him on the news this morning. This is the report of his words:

Speaking to the European parliament, Tusk reprimanded those who voiced concerns about a potential lengthy extension to article 50 in the event of the Commons rejecting the withdrawal agreement again this week.

Tusk said: “Let me make one personal remark to the members of this parliament. Before the European council, I said that we should be open to a long extension if the UK wishes to rethink its Brexit strategy, which would of course mean the UK’s participation in the European parliament elections. And then there were voices saying that this would be harmful or inconvenient to some of you.

Brexit extension could be until 31 March 2020, EU documents reveal
Read more
“Let me be clear: such thinking is unacceptable. You cannot betray the 6 million people who signed the petition to revoke article 50, the 1 million people who marched for a people’s vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union.”

To heckling from Ukip MEPs, Tusk went on: “They may feel that they are not sufficiently represented by the UK parliament, but they must feel that they are represented by you in this chamber. Because they are Europeans.”

Sorry c+p went a bit wrong - here's the report:

Speaking to the European parliament, Tusk reprimanded those who voiced concerns about a potential lengthy extension to article 50 in the event of the Commons rejecting the withdrawal agreement again this week.

Tusk said: “Let me make one personal remark to the members of this parliament. Before the European council, I said that we should be open to a long extension if the UK wishes to rethink its Brexit strategy, which would of course mean the UK’s participation in the European parliament elections. And then there were voices saying that this would be harmful or inconvenient to some of you.

“Let me be clear: such thinking is unacceptable. You cannot betray the 6 million people who signed the petition to revoke article 50, the 1 million people who marched for a people’s vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union.”

To heckling from Ukip MEPs, Tusk went on: “They may feel that they are not sufficiently represented by the UK parliament, but they must feel that they are represented by you in this chamber. Because they are Europeans.”

Three cheers for Donald!

BIWI I teared up listening to him too. I heard him on radio 4, following Rees Mogg who said the Rebrainers were talking rot saing there were a million people on the march, when 'experts' put the number at 300-400 thousand.
He was not even challenged by the interviewer.

JRM makes my blood boil I cannot abide him.
Donald Tusk on the other hand

JRM makes my blood both boil and run cold.

Is anyone else awake and wondering how to face the day because Brexshit just got even shitier? The farce that unfolded yesterday was at a new level (if that's possible). I can't wait to see what happens next! Heard JRM too claiming only 3-400,000 on the march. I'm mad as hell and if I had the option, would get off this sinking ship of an island asap.

Yes *Hildegard" it's all just totally unbelievable..

From my email from the Lib-Dems this morning - A record 268 MPs voted with the Liberal Democrats for a people's vote. This was the most popular vote of the night and got more votes than the Prime Minister’s deal has ever got. While no proposal commanded a majority, the largest support is for a People’s Vote. - and I've just seen Hilary Benn making the same point on TV. It's numbers, it's always numbers, and the numbers shift all the time as people gather round what' possible. Take heart my fellow Europeans. We are not yet sunk.

I don't want a people's vote. It'll just be the same.

I want a grown up to say "Brexit is not possible without (however many actual calculated) years of patient negotiation and disentanglement, and that's what we can do. In the meantime, this is what's happening..."

(Not that it matters what I want of course, I just worry about another vote where most people are just as entrenched and vote the same way again!)

I know, I know. It's shit. I just feel so angry this morning - and so determined. With my last breath I will work against Brexit. I refuse to give up. If we leave I'll be one of those nutters who bang on forever about re-joining. JRM is my MP. I'm just waiting for him to knock on my door so I can rant at him. He won't, because I've got a large EU flag hanging in my acer.

If JRM was my MP I would be sending him invoices for all the things that are now costing me more due to brexit and the pound nosediving.

I am very wary of a people's vote. If it re-confirms a leave majority there is no chance at all of revoking Art 50.

At least this way there is the tiniest glimmer of hope.

Onalong, I hope JRM does knock on your door so you can give him what for. I'll never forgot how filled with joy my lovely dad was when we joined the Common Market all those years ago. He died in 2015 so thankfully didn't have to witness any of the chaos. He married a German (my mother) who has lived here for 60 years and will now have to apply for settled status. I feel bereft but like you, increasingly determined.

Hildegard your poor mum. It's a scandal, the whole thing. To be honest I don't even know if JRM knocks on doors at all, the arrogant arsewipe, whereas the local Lib-Dem is tireless and lovely and I'm he hoping can pull off deposing JRM, which would be sweet revenge to least.

*at least

Farage’s march arrives in London on Saturday .... shall we count them ...

Hildegard huge sympathies My Mum died a couple of weeks before the Referendum and spent the last year of her life abroad but I’m always very aware we could have been in the same position. She’d been here about 55 years. My Dad voted Leave.

Wasn’t Farage’s March supposed to arrive tomorrow, Friday, Brexit day as was? Were they delayed by bridge closures they should have known about? Perhaps they should just wander around in circles (followed by led by donkeys screens) until April 12th.

I believe the plan was to be in London for the first day of ‘freedom’
We shall see

105 MPs voted against the SI after all.....

I wrote to [email protected] to ask them to try harder to estimate the numbers on the March if they are going to be saying anything at all about it.

At first I thought it was funny, people pretending that there weren't a million of us when there was, but i won't let them pretend it's a fact.

Bad look for an organisation whose raison d'être is providing evidence-based information. Won't use them again.

They wrote back
'The
^ estimate we published for the People’s Vote march was calculated using footage of the march at its busiest, rather than at the beginning or the end. While some people may have left the march early or entered late, video footage at this time showed no significant
groups trying to do so. The only exception was the large group at Park Lane, and this was included in the estimate.^'

So I answered back
Saying

'Well no, it was families like us arriving from St Pancras or Charing cross at 2pmm_, having a sandwich in Trafalgar Square and joining at Whitehall after looking on from the pavement from a bit. So it wasn’t a determined bunch that you could spot from a helicopter. What did TfL have to say about numbers of exits at Charing Cross as compared to another Saturday?

From above at 2:200_, I’m probably counted as a tourist in Trafalgar Square then, whereas in reality everyone around us had EU flags and was clearly intend on joining the march. We were just not visibly doing it from above.

That’s a very odd way of counting a swelling crowd, and completely like counting numbers [at a given point] in a train station. The only people who would put themselves through queuing in a way visible from a helicopter would have been those coming by coach who didn’t know london - others would obviously not queue, they would sit somewhere, like us, and join when they feel like it.'

I might send them a link to this thread!