'Let us be heard' marches to take place all summer for a People's Vote

The People's Vote march making its way through central London (Pic: Yui Mok/PA Wire) - Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Rallies for a People’s Vote are planned in towns and cities nationwide to put ‘relentless’ pressure on politicians throughout the summer and autumn.

Starting in Leeds on June 22, the ‘let us be heard’ campaign will bring people together in 15 towns including Sunderland, Luton, Newport and Glasgow, taking in the Conservative and Labour party conferences before building up to a “vast” march and rally in London on October 12.

Organised in partnership with dozens of local and grassroots groups, the march is led by the People’s Vote campaign, which got one million people on the streets during the Put it to the People protest on March 23.

“These protests will mobilise all those who feel their voice is being ignored by politicians hell-bent on imposing the hardest possible form of Brexit on the country without the public being given final say,” said a spokesperson for People’s Vote.

David Lammy, who supports the campaign, said he will be among those campaigning nationwide.

“Over the summer and the autumn, the British people have the chance to force their way back into the decision on Brexit before an outcome is imposed on them that threatens both our future and that of our country,” he said.

He said it is “genuinely shocking” that the front-running leadership candidate, Boris Johnson, is ready to allow a no-deal Brexit to happen without the public having a final say.

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“It would be a democratic outrage for a new prime minister to force a destructive Brexit on all of us, the people of Britain, without us all having the chance to be heard through a final say referendum.

Michael Heseltine said: “Farage has tried to grab the British values of patriotism and democracy – our mass movement will counter this, he does not speak for the people of Britain.

“By joining together across the UK we will show these values in action as we come together to demand our voice be heard at this crucial juncture in our country’s future.

“Whether you want to leave the EU or to stay in, the only way to unlock the Brexit process in Parliament, the only way to secure a stable majority in parliament, the only way to legitimise the outcome so we can build a lasting settlement in the country is to give the people the final say.”

The news comes on the day that grassroots campaigners have organised a protest timed for the week that a new prime minister takes office.