Some friends have said to me "I'm not going because it won't make any difference and they won't listen to us...". To which I can only respond: I understand, but that is not a reason not to go. Everyone who can go needs to be there. A million+ people on the streets of central London yelling that we want to save our youngsters' futures, and our own, can't go wholly unremarked by the rest of the world - though the only people who seem not to understand how desperately dangerous the current situation is are our own government.
Think about it. At present, the Northern Ireland boundary issue looks insurmountable, given the different directions the various pressure groups (DUP, 'ERG' etc) are pulling Theresa May. The chances of a "No Deal" Brexit are growing every day. If that happens and we crash out on 29 March, what happens?
-- The entire network of EU legislation that underpins how everything in this country connects to everywhere else in Europe ceases functioning.
-- Therefore: planes grounded, Eurostar grounded, massive lorry tailbacks at the ports, rotting produce, food and medicine shortages to follow.
-- The cost of matters such as visas, 'carnets' for travelling orchestras/bands, importing, exporting, transporting, everything, will go up.
-- The pound will crash and we won't be able to afford to go to Europe even if we want to.
-- Businesses will not be able to bear the extra costs and will start going bust quite soon.
-- People will lose their jobs.
-- Unemployment will soar and social security costs with it, while the exchequer takings plummet.
-- We lose all our financial input from the EU, which helps to support the poorest regions of the UK, which are some of the poorest in the whole of Europe.
-- The rest of the world, which thinks correctly that we are insane, will carry on without us. We won't be able to compete because a) we will be at a financial disadvantage, to put it mildly, and b) we are just too much trouble. Jobs for musicians in, for instance, European orchestras won't actually be closed to us, but if we need work permits to take them up, it will be very much easier for them to choose someone from one of the 27 members states if possible.
-- By the same token, we won't be able to attract top talent to the UK - because why would anyone want to come here?
-- Any business that relies on rapid transport time without travel red tape is going to be up shit creek without a paddle, opera included.
-- They are stealing our rights. Ending freedom of movement means ending OUR freedom of movement.
There is NO mandate for this. The vote was gerrymandered so that the people most affected by it were not able to vote (Brits living in Europe). We don't need to remind you of the lies and cheating of the Leave campaign. Many Leave voters of the older generation have died since 2016. Many young people have reached voting age and are aghast at the wholesale excision of their futures. Britain does not favour Brexit.
Britain would, actually, quite like not to fall apart in six months' time.
If you don't care about this, what the heck will you care about? Be there! Join us!
Please march with us!
