Brexit: Put It To The People march demanding Final Say referendum to take place six days before UK leaves EU

Politicians of all parties hail fresh demonstration at pivotal moment – with current stalemate poised to 'go down to the wire'

Campaigners for a fresh Brexit referendum will pour onto the streets for another huge demonstration next month, with the decision poised to “go down to the wire”.

The Put It To The People march – organised in partnership with The Independent’s Final Say campaign – will take place in London on Saturday 23 March, just six days before the UK’s scheduled departure from the EU.

That decision still hangs in the balance, with the EU refusing changes demanded by Theresa May to reverse the crushing defeat of her divorce deal last month and cabinet ministers threatening resignation.

Now the People’s Vote campaign has announced a repeat of last October’s massive event, which attracted up to 700,000 people in London and many more at marches in other cities.

Backed by The Independent, it will give the public another opportunity to tell the government that voters must be “given the Final Say on any Brexit deal”.

Politicians of all parties immediately welcomed the announcement, arguing it was likely to come at a pivotal moment, as the stalemate in parliament drags on.

Cabinet ministers have refused to rule out Ms May waiting until the eve of Brexit before a second “meaningful vote” by MPs, in what has been criticised as a form of “blackmail”.

Meanwhile, Labour grassroots anger with Jeremy Corbyn has grown, as he has refused to throw his weight behind a referendum – in breach of the party’s Brexit policy, say the delegates who wrote it.

“There is now a real danger that this is going to go right down to the wire,” said Anna Soubry, the pro-EU Conservative MP. “Come the final week of March there will be nowhere for any MP to hide, which is why this march could be of historic significance.”

Caroline Lucas, the former Green Party leader, said: “Brexit is already causing deep damage and this may very well be our last chance to demand the public have a say on the way forward before it’s too late.”

Labour’s David Lammy said: “Whatever parliament decides over the coming weeks, and whatever amendments have already been passed, it is in those final days that we have the biggest chance to convince MPs to give this decision back to the public.”

And Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: “I know that hundreds of thousands of people from right across the United Kingdom will take to the streets and join us in demanding that their voices are heard.”

The Independent has been campaigning for a fresh public vote since last July through its Final Say campaign, with more than 1.1 million people having signed our petition.

Support surged at Westminster after last October’s unprecedented turnout, when “the crowds stretched so far back that plenty of people never even made it to the rally”.

The 23 March demonstration will begin at 12pm – “high noon” – on London’s Park Lane, leading to a rally and speeches by supporters in Parliament Square.

It will be staged the day after a crucial EU summit, potentially the prime minister’s last chance to secure concessions to avert the no-deal Brexit she has threatened, if her deal does not pass.

However, the prime minister’s “my-deal-or-no-deal” strategy could yet be thwarted by MPs attempt to “take control” of the process, in a vote on 27 February, if ministers carry out their threat to quit.

For more details about the Put It To The People march – and to sign up – please visit peoples-vote.uk/march

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