On Saturday 23rd March 2019, an estimated one million people marched through London to demand a second vote on Brexit - reader Nell was there and tells us why it mattered so much to her!
Nell says:
Yesterday, I made history. I was one of the million or so people who attended the ‘Put it to the People’ demonstration in London on the 23rd March 2019.
I decided to go on this march because, even though I am only thirteen, my voice needs to be heard: it will be mine and other young people’s future and we deserve a say in it! Just because I cannot yet vote, it doesn’t mean my opinion is invalid or pointless. Young people can still make an impact on modern politics.
The demonstration seemed quite daunting at first, as there was a lot of people, a lot of noise and everything was very busy. I felt nervous because I knew it would be crowded, but at the same time I was excited and that excitement grew due to the already friendly atmosphere on the journey to the start of the march. While we were still on the tube train there was a woman with blue and yellow jewels (blue and yellow are the colours of the European Union flag) on her forehead and glitter on her face. The woman said hello to me and had a chat with me and my mum. Behind her was a man looking at the glitter and jewels and he asked if she had any leftover? She then proceeded to put glitter on him and, and as we all left the train, she was still adding the finishing touches on the train platform!
We met up with a lot of my mum’s friends and then joined the march at Park Lane, in London. Even at midday it was already busy and I could see thousands of people both behind and in front of us. After a few hours we finally got moving (we later found out that the delay was due to the sheer number of people turning up). We marched for a couple more hours and had great fun chatting to those around us and singing and chanting. For me, the best part of the day was definitely all the placards and signs: they made us laugh and kept us going.
By the time we reached the end of the march, we were absolutely exhausted, but bumped into a carnival drumming band and they lifted everyone’s spirits and gave us the energy to get to the finish line!
At 5pm we finally reached Trafalgar Square and headed for home. At the end of the day, how did I feel? Well, firstly I felt proud of myself for standing up for what I believe in, as I think that is very important. I also liked the sense of unity and community between everyone marching.
So, all in all, I was very pleased that I went and would recommend that anyone who believes in something strongly, whether it be remaining in Europe or climate change or equal rights, stands up and makes their voice heard.
That way you can become one in a million too….
Cathy says:
Wow! I love that young people like Nell are making their voices heard - both on the issue of Europe and on other important issues too! Would YOU march for something you believe in? And do you have strong views on Brexit? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!
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