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I probably wouldn't have made the effort to venture in to London yesterday for the People's Vote Rally, but as I work there, it seemed logical to take advantage of the opportunity. Scheduled for 4-7pm, I decided there was no need to get there early, and headed towards Westminster after work. As I emerged from the tube station, I saw people heading towards the station with placards, clearly leaving the rally, but it didn't bother me; the timing suggested people were quite likely to come and go as worked best for them. I was a bit more concerned that there might be a significant Leave presence, and that I might find it difficult to ensure I was in the right crowd, but that turned out not to be an issue. (In any case, arguing for a second referendum that takes account of the result of the negotiations isn't strictly taking a position one way or the other.)
It was a much smaller gathering than weekend daytime marches, though still well attended; I had no difficulty getting a spot on the grass at Parliament Square and arrived in time to hear speeches from some of the usual suspects (Chuka Umunna, Anna Soubry - described by the event hosts as a "bloody difficult woman", though I'm sure she's been called worse, and Alastair Campbell), and from some new faces (Ian Blackford, Jason Isaacs and Kevin Whately). A modest contingent of Leave Means Leave paraded through the rally at one point, with a close police presence; this didn't provoke any trouble, just rather louder chanting by most of the crowd in favour of a People's Vote.
The big screens at the event switched over to the BBC Parliament channel at around 7pm. We'd heard that there would be only two votes. The first seemed to take an awfully long time, presumably because the tellers don't often have to count 600 in one lobby; the second, main vote, was a bit quicker. I think it's fair to say I wasn't alone in being surprised by the size of the defeat. It was rather surreal to be in front of one of the big screens, watching a larger-than-life John Bercow bellowing "Order!" as if at the euphoric crowd. I watched May's "Come and have a go - if you think you're hard enough" challenge to Corbyn, his characteristically self-inflated response, and decided it was time to leave, managing to arrive back home at a sensible hour.
It's difficult to see where we go from here; Corbyn has already, predictably, lost the confidence vote. In any case, a General Election with Corbyn's current no-policy policy wouldn't solve anything. I don't recall 2016 being a particularly good year, so I'm not persuaded that the "will of the people" from 2016 should trump the "will of the people" in 2019. Why not ask them?
It was a much smaller gathering than weekend daytime marches, though still well attended; I had no difficulty getting a spot on the grass at Parliament Square and arrived in time to hear speeches from some of the usual suspects (Chuka Umunna, Anna Soubry - described by the event hosts as a "bloody difficult woman", though I'm sure she's been called worse, and Alastair Campbell), and from some new faces (Ian Blackford, Jason Isaacs and Kevin Whately). A modest contingent of Leave Means Leave paraded through the rally at one point, with a close police presence; this didn't provoke any trouble, just rather louder chanting by most of the crowd in favour of a People's Vote.
The big screens at the event switched over to the BBC Parliament channel at around 7pm. We'd heard that there would be only two votes. The first seemed to take an awfully long time, presumably because the tellers don't often have to count 600 in one lobby; the second, main vote, was a bit quicker. I think it's fair to say I wasn't alone in being surprised by the size of the defeat. It was rather surreal to be in front of one of the big screens, watching a larger-than-life John Bercow bellowing "Order!" as if at the euphoric crowd. I watched May's "Come and have a go - if you think you're hard enough" challenge to Corbyn, his characteristically self-inflated response, and decided it was time to leave, managing to arrive back home at a sensible hour.
It's difficult to see where we go from here; Corbyn has already, predictably, lost the confidence vote. In any case, a General Election with Corbyn's current no-policy policy wouldn't solve anything. I don't recall 2016 being a particularly good year, so I'm not persuaded that the "will of the people" from 2016 should trump the "will of the people" in 2019. Why not ask them?