Leave Means Leave was a pro-

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

political

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

organisation that campaigned and lobbied for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union following the 'Leave' result of the EU referendum on 23 June 2016. The campaign was co-chaired by British property entrepreneur

Richard Tice Richard James Sunley Tice (born 13 September 1964) is a British businessman and politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness and Deputy Leader of Reform UK since 2024, having previously been the chairman of the p ...

and business consultant John Longworth. The vice-chairman was leader of the Brexit Party,

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

. The organisation has described itself as a 'campaign for a clean Brexit'.

History

Co-founded by

and John Longworth, according to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, the organisation grew out of the

Vote Leave Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leavi ...

campaign during the 2016 EU referendum. As of June 2020, following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the home page of the group's website declared that it had "achieved its aims when we left the EU on 31st January 2020". The website was subsequently deactivated. After a period of inactivity, the group's website was reactivated in 2022. As of July 2023, the group's website was still up and running.

Letter to the prime minister

On 30 September 2017, during the

Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of th ...

, the campaign wrote a letter to Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

. Four ex-cabinet members, including former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lawson, as well as former

minister David Jones, signed the letter alongside the rest of the board. The letter highlighted concerns including support for considering a no-deal scenario. The letter had multiple significant supporters outside of the organisation, including former Conservative leader

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...

, who said he shared its "aspirations".

March to Leave

and the Leave Means Leave campaign organised a march in 2019, setting off from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in the north east of England on 16 March and culminating in a rally in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 29 March, the date

was originally due to occur. The march set off from

on Saturday 16 March 2019 with roughly 100 marchers heading to

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

led by Farage. Supporters of Leave Means Leave had been asked to pay £50 to sponsor or to join the march from Sunderland to London and it had been claimed that more than 350 people had signed up although only 50 had agreed to walk for the full 14 days. The marchers did not plan to walk the whole route. At the start of the march, Nigel Farage was quoted as saying: "We are here in the very week when parliament is doing its utmost to betray the Brexit result ... It is beginning to look like it doesn’t want to leave and the message from this march is if you think you can walk all over us we will march straight back to you.” The following day roughly 150 marchers headed to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

but Farage did not participate. Farage rejoined the march the following Saturday in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

attended by roughly 200 marchers, drawing unfavourable comparisons to the hundreds of thousands attending the anti-Brexit People's Vote March in London on the same day. The March for Leave then proceeded through

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

with its numbers reduced to around 100. The march was accompanied throughout by an advertising truck displaying anti-Brexit messages paid for by the

Led By Donkeys Led By Donkeys is a British political campaign group established in December 2018 as an anti-Brexit group, but which has also criticised other actions of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government. After the 2024 election of Premiershi ...

campaign. On 29 March, the march arrived in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

, to join the Leave Means Leave rally in

. The rally was reported to have attracted "thousands" of supporters. The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' quoted their reporter Sebastian Payne as stating that the crowd size was "a couple of thousand". Speakers included

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

chairman,

, businessman John Longworth, broadcaster

Julia Hartley-Brewer Julia Hartley-Brewer (born 2 May 1968) is an English political journalist, newspaper columnist and radio presenter. She currently hosts a radio show on Talkradio simulcast on Talk called ''Julia Hartley-Brewer'' on weekdays from 10am. Early ...

, Spiked editor Brendan O'Neill, Labour MP

Kate Hoey Catharine Letitia Hoey, Baroness Hoey (born 21 June 1946), better known as Kate Hoey, is a Northern Irish politician and life peer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Home Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and Minister for Sport from 1999 ...

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim ...

founder Tim Martin, writer Claire Fox,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MPs Peter Bone and

Mark Francois Mark Gino Francois (; born 14 August 1965) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rayleigh and Wickford since 2001 and was re-elected in 2024 with a 25,000 reduction in his majority. A member of the Conservati ...

and DUP MP

Ian Paisley Jr Ian Richard Kyle Paisley Jr (born 12 December 1966) is a Northern Irish businessman and former unionist politician. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim from 2010 to 2024, ...

. A separate pro-Brexit "Make Brexit Happen" rally, organised by the

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

party formerly led by Farage, was also held nearby.

References

{{United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum 2016 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2016 Brexit-related advocacy groups in the United Kingdom 2016 quotations Political phrases related to Brexit (2016–2020)