John Barnes and Peter Reid among celebrities to speak at Leeds anti-Brexit rally

- > Huge anti-Brexit rally due to take place in Leeds this weekendThe anti-Brexit event - between 11.30 and 13.30 - has been organised by People's Vote and will take place on Saturday at New Dock Hall.

World champion athlete, Steve Cram, former England footballers John Barnes and Peter Reid as well as former Leeds Rhino star Garreth Carvell, will help the launch of People’s Vote North.

The organisation say they are "designed to make sure our region’s real voice is heard in the debate over Brexit" and to have "the democratic right to have a final say referendum".

The event listing states: "Join People’s Vote on Saturday 22nd June as celebrities, political leaders, and a thousand friendly faces come together in Leeds on (almost) the three-year anniversary since the referendum.

"Prepare to be moved and inspired as we celebrate our region, tell the truth about the impact of Brexit, and deliver a message loud and clear to the likes of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage - you do not speak for us!

"So, tell your friends, pack your flags, board the coaches. From every street, in every village, in every town, in every city. From farmers to firefighters, nurses to nannies, plumbers to painters.

"From Salford to Sunderland, Hartlepool to Hull, Doncaster to Darlington, and everywhere in-between. Let’s come together and send a message from the North of England that we demand a People’s Vote.

"For our cause does not require more followers. It requires leaders. It requires you."

The speakers will be on stage for around an hour.

Each is expected to "vent democratic outrage that our country’s future will be decided by the 160,000 Conservative Party members and mobilise those who feel their voice is being ignored by politicians hell-bent on imposing the hardest possible form of Brexit on the people", the organisation said.

Loose Women panellist and former Coronation Street star, Denise Welch, said: “I live in the North because I love the North. And of the many reasons I am worried about Brexit is the fear I have that the North will be hit hardest.

"I am not an expert on politics or economics, but I talk to people all the time and I know I am not alone in being worried about the future. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone says it is undemocratic to ask people again.

"We didn’t have the facts. We didn’t have an honest debate. We now know so much more, and it is crazy not to check with people whether they still want to go ahead.”

Speakers will include:

John Barnes, former Liverpool and England footballer

Garreth Carvell, ex-British international and Leeds Rhinos Rugby League player

Mary Creagh, Labour MP for Wakefield and chair of Commons Environmental Audit Committee.

Peter Reid, former England and Everton footballer

Steve Cram, Olympic athlete and former world record holder

Sam Gyimah, the Conservative MP and former universities minister

Majid Majid, the former mayor of Sheffield and Green Party MEP

Ellie James, a young For Our Future’s Sake (FFS) campaigner

The rally, held at New Dock Hall opposite Leeds Armouries at 12.30pm on Saturday, will be the first of 15 “Let Us Be Heard” demonstrations in towns and cities across the UK through a long summer of protests.

Ellie James, activist for the youth-led campaign group For Our Future’s Sake (FFS), said: “The North has taken lots of hits over the past few years, but we’re tough, realistic, intelligent people who know that our prosperity in the past has been based on looking out on the world as it changes, trading overseas and competing on the global stage.

"That means we collaborate, inspire and adapt with all sorts of communities. I am proud to be one of the many young people from the North carrying this message.

"We will be hit the hardest, for the longest by a disastrous No Deal that no one voted for. We are ready for the fight for our future and the futures of those following.”

Anybody who wants to attend needs to sign up here.