This is about people.
Last Saturday again 100,000 people marched to Parliament. On the 60th anniversary of the European Union, people came together to celebrate 60 years of peace amongst neighbours.
But while across Europe people came together in celebration, in London it was also a march of the disenfranchised. Not just the 31,000 EU citizens in Islington, but also for most of the other 193,000 Islington residents. Leave or Remain, we have all been played for fools. As it turns out the Referendum wasn’t about membership of the European Union at all; the question may well have read “Do you feel disenfranchised?” The referendum was the ultimate divide and rule proposition.
Now on the eve of the government triggering Article 50, it is clear to most that what awaits us is not a bright future, but a black hole. It seems there is only one agenda item for this government, the Free Movement of Goods, business above all. But Islington residents also need protection of worker’s rights, protection of the environment, a well-funded NHS and schools; Islington residents care about the achievement of peace and the free movement of EU Citizens (who make up 15% of the neighbourhood), is essential to the functioning of our borough. A cynical and hollow vision of what really matters is the only deal being sought.
Last Saturday’s march shows that this is not simply about business, this is about people. The families that make up Islington in all their diversity are about to lose much of what they hold dear. And nothing meaningful is offered in return.
It is time to take back control. Brexit or its outcomes need not be a foregone conclusion. This is what the 100,000 were marching for. Unfortunately mainstream political parties either do not believe in this or do really seem to think this is just about protecting access to the Single Market. This is why I stand with the Green Party, who have come out positively as the only voice both for this planet and the needs of the families that together constitute this country.
– Roderik Gonggrijp
