On Saturday 3rd September about 500 Cambridge residents marched through the city calling for the UK to remain in the EU. They sent a strong message to our elected representatives that they must demand a vote on Parliament before Article 50 on leaving the European Union can be invoked by the Prime Minister, and that they should vote to reject Brexit.
The march was one of several being held across the UK to mark the return of MPs following the summer recess, telling them that the best way to secure an open, tolerant and prosperous future for the UK is still for us to remain in the EU.
As 12.30 approached and hundreds of people began to gather on Parker’s Piece, Cambridge Stays committee member Paul Browne got things under way by calling on them to reject the social and economic race to the bottom of Brexit, and to continue to campaign for a brighter future within the EU. He was followed by Friends of the Earth Director Craig Bennett, who delivered an impassioned speech on the role of the EU in protecting people and the environment, noting that nature has no borders. Following his speech Craig was off to catch a train to London, where he delivered a speech to the tens of thousands gathered for the March for Europe in Parliament Square.
Shortly after 12.30 the march set off down regent street the logistical challenge of moving a group of 500 people through the narrow streets of central Cambridge with minimal disruption became apparent, but the applause and cheers of onlookers encouraged us, and as we turned into St. John’s Street on our way towards Market Square our chants got louder.
Our first speaker was Daniel Zeichner, Labour MP for Cambridge, who focused on the effect of the referendum vote on the 9,000 EU nationals who are not UK citizens living in Cambridge, and deplored the fact that they now risk being used by the government as bargaining chips in negotiations with the EU, saying:
We are seeing people in the NHS, upon whom we depend for so much, suddenly worrying about their future, horrible for them and disastrous for us”
Daniel was followed by Dr Andrew Steele, a research scientist and member of the organization Science is Vital, who highlighted the importance of full participation in EU research programmes – and the collaborative research they support – to science in the UK, and especially to the success of our great Universities ans high-tech industries, noting that:
Teresa May says Brexit means Brexit, whatever Brexit actually means we need to maintain access to EU research programmes, because without that we cannot stay at the forefront of global science”
Lord Richard Balfe, a former MEP and member of the Conservative Party, spoke about how the European Union benefited not just the UK but also other countries, and decried the way the the referendum debate focused narrowly on just what it meant for the UK. He said:
“The case for Europe, as we all know, is a moral case, it’s a case for working with neighbours, with friends, with other countries, helping people to work together and building on cooperation”
Councillor Lewis Herbert, leader of Cambridge City Council and Labour Party member, spoke next, and in a wide-ranging speech also highlighted the issue of EU nationals resident in Cambridge, saying:
“I want our Parliamentary colleagues to campaign to get an early commitment from Teresa May that our EU citizens can stay and end this uncertainty about their future”
Sharon Kaur of the Green Party recalled the key role of the EU in protecting workers rights and the environment, and demanded that the decision to leave the EU should be made by Parliament, saying:
We demand a Parliamentary vote on any terms of exit before invoking Article 50…we must demand the protection of young people’s futures”
Gaia Aurora Costa spoke about the role of the EU in protecting LGBT rights, often proving more effective in this than individual national governments, and said:
Staying inside the EU is a strong way of showing solidarity with gay people across the EU, but is also a concrete way to achieve change”
Sam Owens of Thirsty Cambridge highlighted the increased non-tariff barriers and paperwork that businesses engaged in import and export will face once the UK outside the EU, highlighting his own experience of dealing with customers and suppliers both inside and outside the EU, and concluding that that:
Stuff is going to get more expensive, because it’s going to get more complicated”
Our final speaker Dr Julian Huppert, former Cambridge MP and Liberal Democrats member, looked back over the issues raised by the earlier speakers, and called for the UK to remain within the EU, stating:
On my list that is non-negotiable, is free movement…it’s the free market of goods and services…it’s workers rights, it’s the environment, it’s LGBT, it’s everything, in fact the easiest way to get that package would be simply to stay in the European Union, lets make sure that happens”
The event concluded with Paul Browne and Lewis Herbert calling on those present to keep campaigning, through their friends, professional and trade organizations, unions, political parties, to make sure that the fight against Brexit does not end now. From the loud applause and cheering that punctuated the speeches, and the positive mood among those present (despite the now traditional Cambridge Stays rain!) it is very clear that this isn’t over yet.
We’d like to thank everyone who helped us to put this march together at such short notice. We thank especially all our speakers for their inspirational words, Unite for loaning us their PA system, St John Ambulance and Cambridge Constabulary for keeping an eye on things, our friends in March for Europe, Stronger In and Cambridge for Europe for helping us advertise the march, and of course everyone who helped deliver thousands of leaflets around Cambridge and Ely.
Most of all we’d like to thank all those who joined our march, it’s your enthusiasm that reminds us that there are many who reject the debacle of Brexit, and encourage us to carry on campaigning.
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