By Anna Damski
Sunday 22nd September, long before the Autumn Equinox dawn, my brother and I set out on the road from Lowestoft in his taxi, heading northwest. Ahead of us, a 265 mile journey to Liverpool, our destination the Labour Party conference. Stopping off at Beccles to pick up two passengers, and then at Bury St Edmunds for four more, volunteers from the Suffolk EU Alliance were going all the way there just for the day. A very long day!
Perhaps I should explain: we weren’t going to the party conference. We were going to rally outside it, after marching through the heart of this world-famous port. Billed as the “March for the Many”, thousands of us gathered at St George’s Plateau opposite the main railway station, where a short, sharp shower gave way to sunshine, which thankfully persisted for the rest of the afternoon. Our march through the streets of this newly regenerated city centre brought it to a standstill as we wound our way down to the banks of the Mersey. In all, nine of us proudly marched behind our Suffolk EU Alliance banner, shouting, “What do we want? A People’s Vote! When do we want it? Now!” A surprising number of locals thanked us for travelling so far for the cause.
And what was the cause? Labour Party policy had, up to that point, been that the People Have Spoken and done so Democratically. There was no going back on The Vote. Our noisy rally outside the conference spurred members inside, the majority of whom supported remaining in the EU, to push for a motion backing a People’s Vote on the final deal. Happily, this was passed the following day and represented a huge breakthrough for the People’s Vote movement. Our long trip had been worth it.
The sun was setting as we waved goodbye to the city that brought us the Beatles. And on the long drive home, I reflected that sometimes you can’t just sit back and Let It Be. Sometimes you need a Revolution!