Hundreds of thousands of people marched through London to demand a new Brexit referendum

What did the day achieve?

BREAKING: new crowd estimates now say 700,000 are marching for a #PeoplesVote today - bigger than the population of cities such as Bristol, Sheffield & Cardiff! pic.twitter.com/gWNLgRECW5

— People's Vote UK (@peoplesvote_uk) October 20, 2018

There’s every sign the march’s organisers are cockahoop with how the day went, saying 700,000 people attended.

The streets of Whitehall were certainly packed with people carrying homemade banners.

It’s a cliche, but there was a festival atmosphere.

There are still people milling around Parliament Square, enjoying the last of the evening light.

The power of the march didn’t come from the politicians who held microphones at the rally but from the spectacle of so many thousands of people marching in pursuit of another opportunity to vote to stay in the EU.

In the years leading up to the 2016 referendum it was rare in Britain to see any public demonstrations of affection for the EU. The UK contrasts with many European countries where the EU flag is prominently displayed in public buildings.

But a new demographic has appeared in British politics has emerged since that historic vote - the proudly pro-Europeans. For them, the EU is not a necessary evil but part of their identity.

Even if the UK does leave the EU on March 29, these political awakened citizens, thousands of whom just spent Saturday on the streets of the UK capital, are not going to quietly retreat. They are a political force and parties of different colours will already be calculating how to bring them into their tent.

One thing is for sure, if there is another referendum the pro-Remain argument will be made with a passion that was absent in 2016. There is an army of people who are unhappy about the direction the country is heading in who want to take back control.

A new referendum 'is the only honourable course left'

Here’s what Geraint Talfan Davies, the chair of Wales for Europe, has to say as marchers make their way home.

“This march was an astonishing statement of public intent. With six times the number that turned out at last June’s march this is an unmistakable sign that opinion is hardening against Brexit.

“And that certainly goes for Wales that sent 11 coaches of people to the march from north and south, with hundreds more arriving by train.

“It is clear the public is seeing through the Government’s underhand plan to try to slide through a blind Brexit, if, indeed it can secure a deal at all.

“A new referendum, with Remain as an option, is the only honourable course left.”

Wales in London

There were plenty of Welsh voices calling for a second referendum... With some Welsh Labour figures making it very clear where they stand on this issue.

‘Fromage not Farage! #PeoplesVoteMarch pic.twitter.com/Rl0LH2tt20

— Owen Smith (@OwenSmith_MP) October 20, 2018

Flags flying the @Wales4Europe @Bridgend4Europe @BestForBritain @peoplesvote_uk pic.twitter.com/ranfJTLu6e

— Madeleine Moon MP (@MadeleineMoon) October 20, 2018

Great to bump into @RebeccaEvansAM and @lynne_neagle @peoplesvote_uk https://t.co/1vPD2JkK4f

— Leighton Andrews (@LeightonAndrews) October 20, 2018

Amazing scenes at #PeopesVoteMarch with latest figures showing almost 680,000 people from all over the U.K. All desperate to stop the Tory chaotic #Brexit and give the people the final say @WalesForEurope @Cardiff4EU #CardiffNorth pic.twitter.com/XOUUXFHCqY

— Anna McMorrin MP (@AnnaMcMorrin) October 20, 2018

WATCH: this is HUGE!! Well over half a MILLION marching for @peoplesvote_uk from every walk of life and every part of Britain -amazing! Parliament must LISTEN and ACT. Please RT so everyone knows what’s happening here at #PeoplesVoteMarch #Brexit #FinalSay pic.twitter.com/f5y4deBRcN

— Stephen Doughty MP / AS (@SDoughtyMP) October 20, 2018

Dafydd WIgley calls for more demonstrations

The former Plaid Cymru leader, draped in the Welsh flag, calls on people to take to the streets to demand the final say.

Absolutely huge march today at the #PeoplesVoteMarch. We had a proud Welsh contingent and @Dafydd_Wigley was here to tell us why he was joining the march pic.twitter.com/MDGqlQpa9R

— Wales For Europe • Cymru Dros Ewrop (@WalesForEurope) October 20, 2018

Glyn Davies says the march is a gift to the EU's negotiating team

The Montgomeryshire MP argues another vote is a terrible idea. He wrote:

“I remain totally opposed to the whole idea of a second referendum. And it’s not going to happen anyway.

All today will do is give succour to the EU negotiators, and make No Deal more likely. The words ‘shooting’ and ‘foot’ come to mind. I’m backing our Prime Minister 100%, and giving her the room and trust needed to take Brexit ‘over the line’.”

But this Lib Dem former AM had a much more positive take on the day...

Great to catch up with @LibDems and @WelshLibDems from all over the country at the #peoplesVoteMarch #ExitFromBrexit #peoplesvote #PeoplesMarch pic.twitter.com/oR4dAneukH

— Eluned Parrott (@Eluned_Parrott) October 20, 2018

Chuka denies the campaign is driven by a metropolitan elite as the rally climaxes

Labour’s Chuka Umunna accused Brexiteers of trying to divide people against one another, saying: “They tried to smear us as some liberal metropolitan elite when nothing could be further from the truth.”

He was joined on the stage by pro-EU Conservative MP Anna Soubry who urged the tens of thousands of people who marched to continue fighting to “take back control of the future of this country”.

The Lib Dems’ Vince Cable made the case that “there’s no better deal than the one we have now”.

The big question is what impact a day like today will have on the political process.

MPs will watch the polls closely to see whether the campaign for a second referendum gains a new momentum.

Anglesey's Carmen Ria Smith addresses the People's Vote rally in Parliament Square

Carmen Ria Smith has been active in the National Union of Students and is well known in Plaid Cymru circles, but she’s probably just addressed her biggest ever audience with a passionate call for a second referendum.

The #PeoplesVote rally in Parliament is underway - we demand a #PeoplesVote on the Brexit deal: pic.twitter.com/bUYBdfiv0s

— People's Vote UK (@peoplesvote_uk) October 20, 2018

She told the crowd...

“From every corner of the country we have travelled here. And together, we cannot, we will not, be ignored...

“I’m from Ynys Mon, a beautiful island in North Wales, from a nation where the roads are long, and the valleys wide. And the journey we have travelled together has been taxing...

“But in six months, look at how far we have come. And it’s because - no matter where you’re from - we can see that the Brexit being delivered is a million miles away from what was once promised.

“Because the Brexit elite, the pale, male and stale, told young activists, young women like me, to sit down and shut up. But hell hath no fury like women ignored.

Extremely excited to be speaking at the #PeopesVoteMarch today!!! Repping @FFSake_ for Wales!!

Join the march today!!

— Carmen Ria Smith (@CarmenRiaSmith) October 20, 2018

“They told all of you that the fight was over, the cause lost. Well let’s tell them that people here today have a very different view.

“A fortnight ago I proudly witnessed my party Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales overwhelmingly support a people’s vote because we know that Brexit will hit the vulnerable the hardest, for the longest, women bearing the brunt of Boris Johnson’s shortcomings... The working classes, living in Jacob Rees-Mogg’s brave old world.

“Democracy means we do not have to accept their vision of the world. So, to all of you I say let’s fight – let’s fight for a better future. Er lles dyfodol pawb! For all our Future’s Sake!”

Lord of the RIngs actor makes the case for another trip to the polls

The Press Association reports Actor Andy Serkis is marching alongside thousands in central London, with his 14-year-old son Louis and wife Lorraine Ashbourne.

The Lord Of The Rings actor said he believes there should be a second referendum “now that people are more informed”.

“The will of the people doesn’t have to stand still, it’s not an immovable thing that is fixed.

“The will of the people is now, it’s people expressing their points of view in a more informed state.”

Treatment of Leave voters is 'disgusting'

Monmouth MP David Davies is not impressed by the spectacle of today’s march.

He warned that “nobody will ever, ever accept the result of another referendum”.

Mr Davies fears the UK could be looking at “referendums every couple of years for ever” and described the push for a “people’s vote” as a “pointless exercise”. He said:

“As they know perfectly well we had a people’s vote in 2016 and then we had another vote of the people in 2017, when people voted overwhelmingly for MPs who were standing on manifestos supporting Brexit... If they manage to force another referendum with the help of Tony Blair, John Major and the rest of the British establishment, [absolutely] nobody would accept the result. I wouldn’t.”

He thought there could be the potential for unrest, saying: “Certainly, people who have emailed me have threatened it.”

Claiming there is a lack of respect for people who voted to quit the EU, he said:

“[People] are saying, ‘Oh well, we mustn’t listen to those who voted to leave because they are working class... they are racist, they are stupid, they didn’t go to university.’ I think the way in which Leave voters have been viewed is just disgusting.

“It’s been the most disgusting spectacle of people looking down their noses at those who they consider to be their social inferiors.”

A Welsh cleric pushes for a second vote

Among the marchers today is one of Wales’ best known clergymen, the Rev Aled Edwards, who has been a prominent human rights advocate.

Degau o filoedd o Gymry ym mhrotest ⁦@WalesForEurope⁩ yn Llundain. #PeoplesVoteMarch pic.twitter.com/0vyRzdyeaI

— Aled Edwards (@alededwardscym) October 20, 2018

He said:

“It’s been quite a day, a lot of good spirit.

“Obviously people have got concerns but I think they feel relieved that they’ve been able to come to the street and express their view which is very good... As the negotiations have evolved, and as we are getting a picture of how badly managed it appears to be, I think any constitutionalist would say that there has to be a vote put to the people.”

Sadiq Khan insists another referendum would not be undemocratic

The Mayor of London, who will shortly address marchers, has defended the campaign against charges that it’s a repudiation of democracy to seek to overturn the result of the 2016 referendum.

“We’ve heard some complain that a public vote would be undemocratic and unpatriotic. But the opposite is true. There’s nothing more democratic - nothing more British - than trusting the people to have the final say on our future.

“The lies, the mistruths and the deceptions of the referendum campaign have now been exposed, and it’s clear the will of the people is changing. No one voted to leave the EU to make themselves poorer. No one voted to make life harder for our children and grandchildren. No one voted to see our NHS damaged. And no one voted for the shambles that this Government has created.”

Nicola Sturgeon says Theresa May is 'trying to scare the UK into the frying pan out of fear of the fire'

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has sent a full-throttle message of support to the marchers in London:

“Let me say this loudly and clearly, if the issue comes before the House of Commons, SNP MPs will support a People’s Vote which includes the option to remain in the EU. The Leave Campaign has already gone down in history as one of most disingenuous, dishonourable and downright dishonest electoral contests of modern times. Those responsible should be utterly ashamed of themselves.

“Instead of a coherent vision and clear prospectus setting out what a vote to leave the EU would mean, all we got was waffle and that infamous lie on the side of a bus. Incredible though it may seem, things since then have got even worse.

“The Tory government’s handling of these negotiations has been chaotic, incompetent and shambolic. Having spent two years telling us that no deal was better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister is now preparing to pile pressure on MPs to vote for a bad or blindfold deal on the grounds that ‘no deal’ would be catastrophic.

“She is trying to scare the UK into the frying pan out of fear of the fire. It is a scandal and it should not be accepted.”

Delia Smith backs a referendum

Delia Smith, the celebrated broadcaster and food writer, has made an impassioned call for another referendum. She said:

“This is the most important issue in our lifetime. I am so afraid about what is happening to our beloved country and the people making grave decisions on our behalf.

“When the vote happened we were not fully informed. Now we know the dire consequences, just two words will do: unmitigated chaos…

“The NHS will lose doctors and nurses, large companies will move out, factories will close, jobs will be lost. And what are we doing? Stockpiling drugs and building lorry parks.

“The only way we can avoid this total madness and win back our future has to be a People’s Vote. My message to MPs is please sort this out. Let the people you serve have their say…So come on MPs, you are ones that represent us.”

What Theresa May's done today

Theresa May is not in Westminster, which promises to get rather noisy quite soon. She went on a constituency visit today, but you couldn’t make this up. PA reports:

Theresa May visited an arts exhibition in her constituency of Maidenhead today... Titled Maidenhead And Me, the exhibition featured work by locals with different perspectives of the town. One of the works was called Bridge Over Troubled Brexit Waters and depicted Mrs May carrying a cross over a river of bad Brexit headlines.

That’s exactly the type thing she was probably hoping to get away from.

The crowds gather ahead of the march to Parliament Square

Can a march makes a difference? The thousands of people converging in London will hope that by showing up they are making a referendum more likely.

INCREDIBLE shots of the packed streets of London, full of campaigners demanding a #PeoplesVote at the #PeoplesVoteMarch. Please RT: pic.twitter.com/XlV0NoDwWh

— People's Vote UK (@peoplesvote_uk) October 20, 2018

Odds shorten on a second referendum

Nine months ago William Hill were offering 12/1 that the UK would see a second referendum before the end of 2020.

That’s now been slashed to 6/4.

The bookmaker says that 100% of bets placed are for a second referendum.

Spokesman Rupert Adams said: “In January the odds suggested that there was a less than 10% chance of a second referendum; astonishingly that has now increased to 40%.”

Here's how this Welsh Conservative MP thinks the second referendum could come about

Aberconwy MP and former Defence Minister Guto Bebb reckons that a significant number of his colleagues would rather see a referendum than another general election if Theresa May can’t get her Brexit deal backed by MPs. He said:

“[To] a very large extent it does depend on the nature of any deal that is brought back by the Prime Minister because, personally, I think that a people’s vote becomes more likely if we have a poor deal or indeed a no-deal scenario. I would wish the Prime Minister nothing but the best in the negotiations but increasingly it looks to me that there is no real majority in the House for any option.”

Here’s how he thinks the referendum could be secured

“Once you end up in the situation where the Prime Minister’s concept is rejected then at that point obviously the Government has to come back within 21 days with a statement – and my understanding is that that statement will be amendable and that’s an opportunity really for the House to take control of the situation, unless the House is willing to [accept] a no-deal scenario.

“And the one thing I’m pretty confident about is that there is no majority in the House of Commons for a no-deal Brexit.”

Would enough MPs back the idea?

Mr Bebb said he thought there were eight Conservative MPs who openly supported a second referendum but there were another 15 to 20 who “have made it very plain that if the choice is between a no-deal Brexit or a people’s vote they would certainly prefer the latter”. He added there was also a “whole bunch of MPs” whom he knew “which way they would jump” if they “were of the view that the choice is between a general election and a people’s vote”.

Does Owen Smith regret getting sacked from the shadow cabinet after backing another referendum?

Not a bit of it.

When asked if he regretted making that call for another vote, he said:

“No. It’s absolutely the right thing to have done.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat... I spoke out for what I believe protects the interests of my constituents economically and also protects the country that I believe in, which is the United Kingdom [and] protects, crucially, the people of Northern Ireland and the precious peace process that they fought so hard for and which is being recklessly jeopardised by the Brexiteers.”

The Pontypridd MP was sacked by Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in March after backing a second referendum.

He argues that conflict over Europe within the Conservative party led to the 2016 referendum, and “it’s perfectly possible that another outcome of that civil war in the Tory party is a people’s vote”.

When asked if he is hopeful Labour will come to an unequivocal position in support of a referendum, he said:

“Yes, and I think we have to is the short answer because [I] think it is now impossible to imagine we will do anything other than oppose the deal. We’ve set these six tests...

“I think it impossible to imagine now that the deal is going to meet those tests so it’s going to fail to clear the bar that we’ve set...

“So if it fails to clear that bar what cannot be allowed to happen is that we are then presented with a sort of ‘take it or leave it’ Brexit.”

He describes a referendum which allows people to either back the deal negotiated by the UK Government or vote to stay in the EU as the “best possible outcome”.

Adam Price's message for the marchers

Newly elected Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price had this message in support of a new referendum:

“In just a few weeks, we’ll know the real Brexit, finally, that’s on offer - not the fantasy Brexit that was promised.

“We’ll have a real, clear choice. We’ll have the actual facts. We know now that the people were lied to and in those circumstances it’s the people, not the politicians, that should lead.

“We need a People’s Vote now, so we can rebuild our faith in the future of our democracy.”

Will today's march insult people who voted for Brexit?

The push for a second referendum has been condemned by the group Leave Means Leave.

John Longworth, a former director of the British Chambers of Commerce, had this warning for politicians:

“If you just get out of Westminster and go around the UK you will very quickly realise people feel betrayed and will not stand for watching the result of their right to vote turned over by politicians protecting pensions and multinational protecting profits. For vast of numbers of people this was the most significant decision in a generation and the idea that they were too stupid or ill informed after a long and hard fought campaign to make a proper decision is frankly insulting.

“To observe a select few trying to reverse that result is disgusting.”

This is what Wales' Ukip MEP thinks of today's pro-referendum march

Nathan Gill Mr Gill denies that a new referendum is needed to settle the question of Brexit once and for all.

He said: “We had a referendum to settle the matter [in 2016].”

The MEP fears that a second vote would shake people’s faith in democracy and said politicians had a “duty” to follow through on the Brexit vote.

“We’ve told them that we want our laws made from Westminster now,” he said. “And I think a lot of [MPs] suddenly got very worried because they are probably not up to the job and it’s time for them to move aside and let people who can do the job move in.”

Commenting on today’s march, he said:

“I remember when a million people marched against war in Iraq. It didn’t do any good, did it? Because the decision had already been made and they were going to war and it’s a little bit like this.

“The decision has already been made. Instead of putting all of this effort into trying to undo it, [why] the heck don’t they do what Britain always does best and get together and make this work? Because whatever the world has thrown at us in the past, we’ve been able to make a massive success of it. Always.”

This is where Mark Drakeford stands on a second referendum

Welsh Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford is widely seen as the frontrunner in the race to be the next Welsh Labour leader and take the reins from First Minister Carwyn Jones.

He said:

“I support a further referendum if all else fails. The Brexit vote was about Britain regaining sovereignty, so let Parliament do it’s job first.

“If it can’t settle on a way forward there should be a General Election or, if that is denied by the Tories, a fresh referendum. That was the unanimous decision by the members at the conference in Liverpool in September.”

Welsh Labour leadership candidate Vaughan Gething also wants a referendum

Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething accused the Tories of a “disastrous” handling of the Brexit negotiations.

He said:

“It is clearer every day that the Tory handling of Brexit is a disaster. People were made promises by the Leave campaign that are impossible to keep.

“Instead of meekly accepting a hard Brexit with stockpiled food and medicine, the people should decide. We had a vote on an idea – we now deserve a vote on the plan.

“Only a People’s Vote will do that.”

This Welsh Labour leadership hopeful wants a second referendum

Eluned Morgan, who wants to succeed Carwyn Jones as First Minister, had a strong message of support for those campaigning for a second referndum

She said:

“For me, being a European is personal. I want my children to grow up in a world where people matter more than borders. No-one voted to be poorer or to lose their jobs and futures and livelihoods. Europe has invested in our people and invested in our economy.

“Europe has made Wales stronger and Europe has helped us clean our rivers and seas and guaranteed new markets for our food. All of this is at risk because Brexit is a project of billionaires many of whom are already moving their wealth out of Britain.”

The Mid and West Wales AM says a referendum would be the “beginning of repairing our politics”.

She added:

“The Tories have made a mess of the negotiations. They are making our country an international laughing stock.

“I am angry when I see Theresa May putting the interests of the Conservative Party ahead of our national interests...

“She has been incompetent, inept and entirely ineffective... I have seen at first hand the fears of people who may lose their livelihoods.

“Whether it is a hill farmer or someone working in the automotive industry, I have been speaking with people who know the Leave Campaign lied to them and people who share my anger with what is happening to our country. As leader of Welsh Labour I will repair our politics. I will rebuild trust in our politics. A Peoples Vote is the beginning of repairing our politics.”