Anti-Brexit protest to be held at Tory conference in two weeks

An anti-Brexit protest will be held at a Tory conference in Manchester in two weeks’ time.

Pro-EU members of the Grassroots for Europe group will come from all over the UK to ensure Brexit will be at the top of the party’s agenda at the 3 October meeting.

One of the key demands protestors will make is a better deal with the EU, which would include a return to the single market and customs union and freedom of movement for workers.

Demands

Activists will also call for an end to the hostile environment towards EU citizens in the UK, with physical proofs of residency replacing the current digital-only system and legal guarantees for their residency rights.

According to North East Bylines, protestors will also call for the Tories to scrap the Policing Bill.

As Tory delegates will be making their way to Manchester on 2 October, protestors are set to meet in Mnachester’s St Peter’s Square on 2 October at 2pm.

Speakers are set to talk about Brexit’s negative impact on various people, businesses and institutions.

‘We are still European, we are still fighting’

EU campaigners will also organise a March for Rejoin in London on next year’s Europe Day.

Adam Poole, 56, from Swindon said the march is an opportunity for the pro-EU movement to tell the world: “We are still here, we are still European and we are still fighting”.

He told The London Economic: “It’s a simple statement: we haven’t gone away and we are not going to go away and it’s an opportunity for us all to get together after the pandemic and celebrate Europe Day.

“It’s important to say to the current government and the rest of the Leave campaign, Dominic Cummings and Nigel Farage: ‘You have not won anything, and it’s not over, not by a long shot. We don’t think what you have done is right, we are not going to get over it and we are going to be here until we are back in the EU.’”

‘Lives completely destroyed by Brexit’

Peter Corr, 41, from London, told The London Economic: “People’s lives are completely destroyed by Brexit and in my opinion all politicians are completely ignoring it. Every single day we see these stories and have we seen Starmer or Davey talk about it?

“They just go about with the same lines, they are not talking about what we had in the EU, we should go back to what we had before.

He added: “I am hoping to bring attention to rejoining the EU because a lot of people think it’s unrealistic. But in my opinion, it’s something that can happen now if there is political will because it’s hurting so many people every day.

“I don’t understand why politicians don’t jump to this, even if it’s just to get people’s votes, so if they are not going to do anything about it, then I think we have to.”

Registration is open until Saturday, 7 May, when the march is scheduled for.

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Andra Maciuca

Andra is a multilingual, award-winning NQJ senior journalist and the UK’s first Romanian representing co-nationals in Britain and reporting on EU citizens for national news. She is interested in UK, EU and Eastern European affairs, EU citizens in the UK, British citizens in the EU, environmental reporting, ethical consumerism and corporate social responsibility. She has contributed articles to VICE, Ethical Consumer and The New European and likes writing poetry, singing, songwriting and playing instruments. She studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield and has a Masters in International Business and Management from the University of Manchester. Follow her on: