Osian, 22 (voted Remain in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
The urgency of the matter. We’re getting nearer to the 31st of October now and it looks like we’re going to crash out without a deal or with a deal that was worse than Theresa May’s. I think Brexit would be a disaster for Wales, and widely the UK as well.
How do you feel the march went?
I think it was very good- it was a good turnout. We had a good cross-section of society there. And also, even though I’m of a particular political party, we had lots of different representatives of different political parties, so that was good.
James, 22 (voted Leave in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
I came out to the march because I believe that we should have a vote on the final terms of leaving the EU or remaining. I did vote Leave originally, three and half years ago. The circumstances have changed since and the government hasn’t done any steps to actually have some form of Brexit which wouldn’t be a complete disaster. I think, seeing as it’s been that long, we should have a vote on the final terms.
How do you feel the march went?
I feel like it was ok. The weather wasn’t great. A lot of speakers, a lot of good speakers. And a lot of positive energy.
Katie, 20 (too young to vote in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
I was too young to vote in the last one, so I wanted my voice to be heard. As well as the fact that there was a vote today to show whether the Benn Act was actually valid, which showed it is, which means Boris Johnson must now put a three-month extension in. Otherwise, he can go to jail, which I think is beautiful. I like the idea of him in jail.
How do you feel the march went?
It was successful, there were loads of people. I think it beat the last record, which was one and half million. I think there was more than that there.
Amy, 32 (voted Remain in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
I’m a student midwife, and there were already so many shortages in nursing anyways, and I read a statistic that in the last two years, the amount of EU nurses recruited has dropped down to 10% of the normal amount, so it has gone from 9000 to 900- which is disgusting. We need nurses and we need to be out there saying we are part of the EU, we need help, save our NHS.
How do you feel the march went?
It was brilliant. It’s the first time we’ve come to a march like this but we feel so strongly about it that we came, and it has been amazing.
Lucia, 21 (European Citizen- could not vote in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
I found a post on Facebook that said this is being organised and I thought it was a good initiative. I wanted to get involved in something like that, because I’m a European citizen- I don’t have a say here, but still I wanted to be a part of it because it affects me.
How do you feel the march went?
I think it was pretty good. As other people said, it was a nice atmosphere, and it brought people together in a way.
Sian, 21 (too young to vote in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
Fundamentally, I’m scared of Brexit because I’m scared that the British government will violate every single human right we are accorded by the Geneva convention and the European Court of Human Rights. If we get an extremely scary, populist leader, things could get bad. I am many minorities- things could get bad.
How do you feel the march went?
I think it was a really successful day where people were able to display their dissatisfaction with being ignored since the vote in 2016.
Christopher, 19 (too young to vote in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
I think Brexit is going to ruin our country in all sorts of ways, and I wanted to stop it. Plus, I’ve been doing it for several months now, so it seemed like something I should do.
How do you feel the march went?
Very well indeed. There were a lot of people there, crammed up through Whitehall through most of it. And I think the passing of the Letwin amendment gave it a new lease on life.
Marian, 22 (European Citizen- could not vote in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
We’re French, so we wanted to feel what it is like for British people to be living Brexit and stuff. It was kind of historical. We wanted to see what it really meant to them.
How do you feel the march went?
I guess it went alright, in the sense that they were not too disappointed with the outcome. It was nice to see the joy of the crowd at one point- it was very nice to see. They were kind of happy- not the happiest it could have been.
[Interviewee’s friend]: Some of them were really stressed before, anxious.
Yes, some were on the verge of crying, so it was nice to see the relief on their faces.
Thomas, 20 (European Citizen- could not vote in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
It was very easy to get to- we just had to sign up, pay a five-pound bill. Also, the fact that it was kind of a historic day, or was planned to be anyways, with an important vote. Everybody in Britain is concerned by Brexit, either British people or international students. For British people, they’re concerned because it’s their country, but international students are also concerned because some might not even be able to come back next year if Brexit goes through with no deal.
How do you feel the march went?
It was pretty interesting how it went- pretty different to what we’ve got back in France. People were very adamant about their cause, but also very nice about it. There wasn’t any violence or anything as there might have been if it had gone on in France, for example. I’m happy about how it went through and how people reacted.
Vicky, 22 (voted Remain in 2016)
Why are you marching for the People’s Vote today?
I think Brexit is a terrible decision. It had free transport to something that I feel quite strongly about and I probably couldn’t have afforded to drive myself down here otherwise.
How do you feel the march went?
I thought it went really well. It was a really nice atmosphere. It rained a bit, which sucked, but everyone still kept going.
