This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Campaigners demanding a public vote on the final Brexit deal rallied in Edinburgh on Saturday to increase pressure on the UK government.



Backers of the so-called People’s Vote gathered in Festival Square to call for Theresa May’s deal on leaving the EU to be put to the electorate.

According to the People’s Vote campaign group which organised the event and has called the Brexit process a “mess”, the rally was attended by about 1,000 people.

The broadcaster Gavin Esler, comedian Rory Bremner and former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell were among those speaking at the event.

Esler, a former BBC presenter, told the crowd: “Truth decay is a rottenness which is undermining our democracy. It has many sources, but one stands out – the Brexit bunch.

“Like most people in this country, whatever we thought of the vote, I accepted it at first – that’s how democracy works. But I’ve change my mind completely over the last two years of lies and incompetence.

“The Brexit bunch are the most incompetent bunch of politicians in my lifetime and Brexit is in deep trouble, not because of those of us who thought it was a bad idea, but because those who told us it was a good idea are so incompetent they don’t know what it is.

“We can argue against lies and cheating, we can argue for real democracy, we can argue for a truly fair and free and informed vote. We can continue to expose the hypocrisy of the Brexit bunch – we can argue for a People’s Vote.”

Those attending the rally waved flags and held banners with slogans such as “Whose deal is it? Let the people choose” and “We demand a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal.”

Tom Baldwin (@TomBaldwin66) “Boris Johnson doesn’t need to lie in front of bulldozers because he has lied in front of a bus.” @rorybremner backing #PeoplesVoteScot pic.twitter.com/TkAHJbNTgv

Vanessa Glynn, the chair of the European Movement in Scotland, told the crowd: “There is no good Brexit. There is rightly widespread pessimism about the impact of Brexit on Scottish jobs, businesses, farmers and public services.



“Scots believe that Brexit will make our nation’s economy weaker, Scotland’s NHS worse and our own families significantly poorer ... Let’s stop talking about Brexit and start talking about what we want for our future.”

Mary Ross-Davie, the director of the Royal College of Midwives in Scotland, said the organisation supports the People’s Vote campaign.

“We’re already 3,500 midwives short across the UK and if we lose our hard-working, fantastic midwife colleagues from the EU, it will be a disaster,” she told supporters.

Ross-Davie argued that the decision on the final Brexit deal must not rest with a few hundred politicians in Westminster.