Veteran actor Sir Patrick Stewart has joined a campaign to demand another referendum on the final Brexit deal.
Speaking at a rally in Camden, north London this afternoon, Sir Patrick, 78, told a crowd of over 1,200 people that he “will not stand idly by” whilst Britain’s “future is at stake”.
Opening the London launch of People’s Vote – a new grassroots movement campaigning for a referendum on the final deal – Sir Patrick said Brexit will mean he will show his new Blue passport “with less pride”.
The actor, famous for productions including Star Trek and X-Men, even said his fictional character Charles Xavier would have supported the Remain campaign.
He said: “It is not Charles Xavier standing here in front of you – although I can assure you that if he was, he would have voted Remain. And why? Because unity, common cause, wellbeing of society and
debate were paramount to belief of this fictional character.
“Since the 2016 referendum, there has been a concerted effort by many – including government – to shut down debate about Brexit and to tell us that we should simply trust ministers to get on with it because
Brexit is an irreversible process.
“That we shouldn’t worry about the cost and complexity of it or the litany of broken promises. Well today we say that’s not good enough.
“Our country’s future is at stake and we will not stand idly by.
“That is why I support a people’s vote on the final deal.”
Sir Patrick told the crowd that the day Britain joined the EU on January 1 1973 was one of the best days of his life.
“I was working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. My wife and I owned a tiny little cottage in Warwickshire. We had a young son and a daughter on the way,” he said.
“But the reason for the joy on that New Year’s Day was because the UK had finally become a member of the European Union,” he added.
Sir Patrick went on to discuss his upbringing in working-class Yorkshire, where he witnessed the aftermath of the Second World War.
He said: “The cost of war was everywhere and many never recovered from it.
“That was the Europe I grew up in and that is why when Britain joined the [European Economic Community] in 1973, that date was so special to me.
“When the UK and Ireland were brought in I felt for the first time in my life that the brutality of both World Wars could never happen again.”
Speaking at the event alongside Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour’s Chuka Umunna, Sir Patrick said: “Now that we are learning the real cost of Brexit, I want to urge that we think again and insist whether we accept the Brexit deal is a matter for the people.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel