It’s been a rude awakening for me that freedom, rights and democracy have to be fought for. There is so much to stand up for whatever the cause.
To my utter surprise I found myself shouting at the top of my voice ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, look there is John Redwood, the man who told his clients not to invest in the UK. He is, he is an utter bastard’.
I felt I had no voice politically and was totally unrepresented. Getting into political activism and protesting regularly outside Parliament is the only thing I can thank my ex-MP, Baroness Hoey for.
My MP is a rabid Brexiter and a Boris-backer. His correspondence contained untruths. He was given fair opportunity to correct that disinformation. He didn't take it.
I had been following Steve’s protest since Autumn 2017 and felt it was in the right place at the right time. He was often alone, so many of us fighting brexit, so few of us at SODEM. I had to go and support him.
I learned so much about myself between 2016 and 2020. I am not the same person I was before. I am stronger, braver, more passionate, more rebellious.
Ended up being one of the main organisers of the protest and saw it grow to one of the most successful grass roots protests of modern time. I'm proud we gave a voice to the groundswell of anger in the UK at the Brexit process and that we have a place in political history.
I was a co-founder of Veterans for Europe, but immediately found my home at SODEM after my first visit. I was very late to the Remain campaign, but I'm proud I did everything I could to stop Brexit.
I came along as an unknown, spent 6 months "undercover" but formed part of the safety team, looking after Steve and the others when possible.
It all started with hanging flags from Bridges. Then there was the march in March 2017. From then on there was no choice. A visible protest every day Parliament sits.