The People's March

London, 23 March 2019. Photo credit: Vajrapriya Moss

We live in extraordinary times.

There have been a few notable moments during my lifetime that stick in my mind, the same way that people older than me say that they remember where they were when they heard that Kennedy had been shot.

• When Princess Diana died. I was living in West Didsbury, Manchester, and a good friend was staying who was utterly unmoved by the event. I'm not an ardent royalist, but I felt so sad for her sons - what they had already gone through and what they were about to suffer. Yes, they have money and privilege, but they didn't ask for the job and the costs are higher than I would ever be prepared to pay.
• September 11, 2001. I landed at an airport in Scotland where I was going to be speaking at a conference, and the taxi driver told me that something terrible was happening. All afternoon I watched what little footage there was at that time showing on a loop on the TV in my hotel room.
• When I heard the result of the Brexit referendum. I was listening to the radio in the morning before I got up, and I actually felt sick.

So here we are. Prime Minister David Cameron misjudged the electorate and arranged the most damaging protest vote in the history of this country, then ran for cover and hasn't been seen since. I still hold grudges against Margaret Thatcher for her cold hearted 'Greed is Good' approach in the 1980s and against Tony Blair for his behaviour in the Gulf War (that infamous Dossier), but those two have paled into insignificance compared with the evil that Cameron has unleashed on this country.

Three years on it continues to divide communities, families, political parties, businesses. Our politicians have been exposed for what they are, and maybe have always been - I am not naive enough to think that politics is about what is best for the country or its people in the short term. And nobody will ever please all of the people all of the time. But the hypocrisy, the contempt for truth, the dishonesty, the immorality! We rely on our elected Members of Parliament to work for us, to come up with a way to lead the country, and many have shown themselves to be utterly deficient.

On Saturday we marched. Actually, we stood around for more than two hours, then we walked very, very slowly for another three. Six hours for me in all, because coming from out of town I arrived an hour earlier than the official start. I met two other friends through the magic of Google Maps 'share location', and another friend joined us whom I hadn't seen for more than thirty years. We had lots of time to catch up on news. Lola II and Mr M also found us, Lola II appearing as if onto a stage through the curtain of a large flag that another marcher was carrying. There were stickers, placards, banners, whistles, flags, T-shirts and berets all variously decorated with the EU blue and yellow star colour scheme. There were lots of variations on the theme song titles using 'EU' instead of 'you': "I can't live if living is without EU", "Never going to give EU up" and many more. There was singing, chanting slogans, a few bands along the route and a couple of bands actually marching. My favourite banner just said "Even Baldrick had a plan."

I don't even know who was behind the march on Saturday, and while marching I realised that I don't really support the idea of the People's Vote. I was marching because I couldn't not march. All the metaphors have been used too often - we are on a precipice, the brink of disaster etc. - but we really are in trouble. Writing this is helping me to pick apart and analyse what I really feel. I was going to write about how much I want Article 50 to be revoked, how much I want the UK to remain in Europe, how disastrous it will be for so many people if we leave, especially if we leave without a deal, and how frustrating it is to be left without any voice in parliament which is in accord with what I want. Why haven't I got anyone to vote for? I can't be the only one to feel this way!

I don't really believe anything will change as a result of the march or the petition, which has more than 5 million signatories last time I looked. I signed the petition and marched because if we do nothing then it is certain that nothing will change. But in reality I believe it is too late. Britain will survive whether we stay or leave. I believe the damage to our society and our economy and our way of life and our future will be greater if we leave, but even if we stay, the majority of the damage has already been done. Every difficulty we face in the future will be ascribed to the decision to leave or to stay. It doesn't matter which it is, the rifts will take decades, maybe generations to heal. If we leave the EU and an economic result is announced, good or bad, "it's because we left the EU," people will say. Or alternatively if we stay, "it's because we stayed in the EU" other people will say in exactly the same situation.

The march was supposed to be about a People's Vote - a second referendum. I think there is sufficient justification for a second referendum, and I can't understand why barely any politicians seem to agree publicly. Even if all the lies and deception associated with the first referendum hadn't been exposed, it can't be denied that we all know a whole lot more about the implications of Brexit now than we did then. But the risk of a second referendum is a second inconclusive result. I am not convinced that there will be sufficient support for rescinding Article 50 even if this were allowed to be on the ballot. But if the only way to sweep aside Article 50 is to have a second referendum, then yes, of course we must.

Photo credit: Lola II