Up to 50,000 protesters demand a stop to Brexit in London

Demonstrators set off from at Hyde Park Corner in London, Saturday Sept. 9, 2017, protesting Britain’s plans to withdraw from the European Union. The marchers plan to converge on Parliament Square to challenge the government’s plan to implement Brexit by 2019. (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

Thousands of protesters gathered in London on Saturday to protest against Britain’s plan to leave the EU.

 

The demonstrators marched through the city’s streets to Parliament to challenge the plan to implement Brexit by 2019.

Some of them carried the EU flag, while others carried an ‘Exit for Brexit’ banner. While official estimates said that 10,000 marchers participated, the organisers themselves estimated that 50,000 people had been on the march.

The demonstration came at a delicate time for Prime Minister Theresa May’s government. Parliament will vote on a controversial bill on Monday that would allow the government to make more than 12,000 EU provisions to national British laws.

The opposition has strongly criticised the proposal, which they believe violates the rule of law, that it is the National Assembly that makes the country’s laws.

Negotiations on the UK’s EU withdrawal have had a difficult start. After three rounds of talks, the parties remain far apart, and there are major disagreements about key issues, such as the so-called ‘divorce payment’.

This is a one time payment that Britain will pay to the joint budget as part of their agreed EU commitment, which includes such items as loans to Ukraine, and the African Development Bank.

The EU side demands a decision on this before the next phase can start, and the negotiations have therefore stalled.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today