National Rejoin March III – The fight goes on!

By Bev Haigh-Jones

The trip to London seems a long time ago now, even though it’s actually only three weeks since we set off to join other pro-EU campaigners from across the country to take part in NRM III.

With our coach making the first pick-up at Penzance at 4.00 am, we began the day. This year we were sharing the coach with Devon for Europe, and further pick-ups took place at Truro, Victoria, Launceston, Exeter and Tiverton. By 7.40 am we were all on board and on our way. After a brief pitstop for refreshments, where we gave the group banners and the Cornwall for Europe “Brexit elephant in the room” an airing for the photo shoot, we continued our journey. While on the move, we sorted souvenir badges for those on board and handed out postcards for people to write and post to their MPs, telling where they were and why, and asking for support for the rejoin cause. We made it to London in good time and were dropped off on Park Lane for the march.

Once there, we soon met up with other campaign groups, Bremain in Spain being the first of many. The Achilles statue always provides a good meeting point for the groups and individuals wishing to join their group for the day, and that was our first focal point. It was great to meet some members of the European Movement in person for the first time as well – colleagues previously only seen via the regular Zoom meetings.

By about 12.30 pm we moved off across Park Lane to join the quickly growing crowd. There were plenty of police in evidence, but the mood was cheerful and optimistic and, fortunately, the weather was kind as we set off at 1.00 pm for the march to Parliament Square. On the way we bumped into other group members, including Keith and Pat, both members of both CfE and DfE.

It was interesting to see a slightly different approach to the policing this time. Apart from there being more police officers, many of them were walking with us, which had not happened previously. I had a really interesting conversation with a PC who was walking nearby. We asked if the march made a pleasant change from his usual police work, and he said it did. He was also quite happy to say that he supported our cause. Continuing the conversation, it turned out that he was actually Polish. He was personally affected by the Brexit vote and was devastated that we voted to leave the EU. He does not have British citizenship and, at the time, he did not have settled status, so his career, his family and his future were in doubt for some time. Appalling that someone who serves our country in this way should have been put in this position and, quite frankly, we’re fortunate that people like him have not abandoned the UK for pastures greener!

The marchers continued their walk as the police closed various roads to allow us to pass without danger from traffic. There was some singing, chanting, whistle-blowing, bell ringing (courtesy of CfE’s Howard), and a stop outside the gates of Downing Street for a special mini demonstration. Needless to say, Steve Bray was involved, amongst others.

Once arrived at Parliament Square, we found a suitable spot to set up camp. Sadly, because of the recent rain, the lower end of the lawn in the square, the part nearest to the stage, was very wet and muddy and, as a result, some of the marchers did not stay for all of the speeches. Their loss: the speeches were encouraging and uplifting, and some interesting facts were provided. Apparently, 80% of our current MPs actually voted for Remain in the referendum! Surely, then, there cannot have been a better time for us to write to our MPs urging them to champion the call for a return to Erasmus, and lobby for acceptance of the Youth Mobility Scheme and any other beneficial offer that might be made by the EU towards repairing some of the damage caused by Brexit.

When the speeches ended at 4.30 pm, we made our way along the river to rendezvous with our coach for the return journey. Everyone was in high spirits and felt that they had been part of a very worthwhile day. Sad that the UK media chose to ignore the event (again!), though it was reported by a number of EU countries. It seems that Spain, Poland, France, etc., are more interested in our fight for Rejoin than the likes of the BBC or ITV. Even the Observer failed to provide any coverage this time.

Nevertheless, it was a day that I will happily repeat next year, as seems may be necessary given Keir Starmer’s reluctance to accept any of the offerings by the EU so far. The estimate for the number of people attending this year was 15,000 – not verified, but from a reliable source. It’s a shame that it wasn’t more, and it would have been good to have had more members with us on the coach, but there was little notice for the event, and many people already had other commitments. Hopefully, we will have plenty of notice next time and we can make an even bigger impact.

In the meantime, let’s keep writing to these apparently pro-EU MPs, and ask them to lobby for progress in resetting our relationship with the EU as soon as possible.

More photos from the day can be accessed here.