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Britons demand end to Brexit in huge rally in London

Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. (AFP photo)

A huge crowd has gathered in central London to demand an end to Brexit amid immense uncertainty over how Britain will manage to leave the European Union in March 2019.

Organizers said hundreds of thousands had joined the long-anticipated march which is the latest and last bid to push for a reversal of a referendum in June 2016 in which Britons voted 52-48 for their country to leave the EU after more than 40 years.

The Scotland Yard (the police force in London) said it could not estimate the size of the protest and how many people attended it. However, a popular pro-EU campaign groups said its stewards on the route estimated 700,000 were taking part.

Demonstrators hold placards and European Union flags as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. (AFP photo)

Many have called for a fresh vote on the very issue of Brexit or at least a chance for the people in Britain to have their say on a deal that will be negotiated between Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU in the upcoming weeks.

The Saturday rally is the culmination of a series of marches and demonstrations across the UK over the summer in which thousands expressed their anger at the planned withdrawal from the EU which they said could have long-lasting implications for the entire Britain.

The rally, which ended in Westminster, where the British parliament is located, was dubbed  People's Vote March, a reference to a call from across the political spectrum in Britain for a second vote on Brexit.

Many believe  a re-run of the 2016 Brexit referendum would have totally different results, insisting that people would  have voted differently had they known the true costs involved.

Surveys carried out since the 2016 referendum have shown that most of the people who voted for Brexit lived in places with socio-economic deprivation, especially in towns or on the outskirts of cities in the Midlands or north of England. On the contrary, those who voted against leaving the EU were mostly from major cities or places close to universities.

The huge demonstration comes as May and her government is struggling to reach a divorce agreement with the EU. The talks have repeatedly stalled over disagreements on future trade mechanisms and how the only land border between the UK and EU would look like in future.

The rally against the Brexit came as people favoring Brexit also held their own march in another part of London. Reports said major pro-Brexit figures, including the charismatic Nigel Farage, who once led the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), attended the rally in Harrogate. 

Britain and the EU have expressed hope they could clinch a deal by November when the EU would call its member state leaders to an extraordinary summit to discuss the withdrawal agreement with Britain.


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