Steven Bray is a British activist from Port Talbot in South Wales, who in 2018 and 2019 made daily protests against Brexit in College Green, Westminster. He is variously known as Stop Brexit Man, Mr Stop Brexit or the Stop Brexit guy. He was often heard during TV broadcasts from College Green at Westminster shouting anti-Brexit statements or seen quietly walking into the background of live TV interviews, wearing a colourful blue outfit and carrying placards with a simple 'Stop Brexit' or anti-government message. In March 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, formally initiating Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, following the result of the 2016 advisory referendum on the UK's EU membership. Bray was incensed, leaving Port Talbot and travelling to London to protest. British TV channel ITV call him a notable figure; for the length of his protest, and for the technique he uses to disrupt multi-camera interviews. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw has called him an international celebrity. Bray won PMP Magazine's Person of the Year award for 2018. Bray was the unsuccessful Liberal Democrat candidate for the Cynon Valley constituency in the 2019 United Kingdom general election.
Steve Bray was born 26 June 1969. Before becoming involved in political activism, Bray served in the British Army and was a self-employed numismatist, working in Port Talbot, South Wales.
Activity
Bray wears a European Blue jacket, with a blue top-hat with a yellow hat-band. He has a cape made up from a Union Jack sewn into an EU flag. He carries two double sided, burgundy coloured, A2 sized, placards with the messages "Stop the BREXIT mess," "We want a people's vote," and "Things have changed, it is time to reassess". Camera teams from all news sources interview politicians on College Green, outside the Houses of Parliament. When Bray spots a team arriving, he walks over, and as the live interview begins, he quietly walks into the background of the shot, displaying his posters. As the camera moves, so does he, remaining in the frame. He then walks off before the team can ask the police to remove him. With a two camera interview, he knows which camera is live and moves from one to the other as needed. In an incident on 14 November 2018 with Georgina Wright and Annita McVeigh, the camera hopping lasted over two minutes. and Labour MP Chris Bryant, on the day that Jeremy Corbyn called a vote of no confidence. When the camera team chooses to film against the door of the Palace, Bray uses another tactic. He stands close by and shouts 'Stop Brexit' over a loudhailer, ruining the sound track. On 19 October 2019 he was clearly heard to yell during a live TV interview ‘bollocks to Boris’ after the Brexit deal the Prime Minister proposed was not agreed by parliament. The BBC tried to circumvent Bray's disruption by building a platform on which to conduct interviews. Bray was not deterred and raised the EU flag on a 5-metre-high pole, which could be seen waving behind the presenter. Every evening at around 6pm, he performs another ritual, approaching the Palace and shouting "Stop Brexit, it's not a done deal" before leaving. He returns at 11 the following morning and states he will continue to do so until another referendum is called. In January 2019, Bray moved into an apartment opposite the Westminster home of Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. In order to rent the property in Westminster’s Cowley Street for two months, he raised more than £12,000 from the public. In response to the news of his new neighbour, Rees-Mogg said: "Should he wish to borrow a cup of sugar, he would be very welcome."
Steve Bray was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Cynon Valley constituency in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. The Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, noted that Bray was a passionate campaigner and should not be seen as a joke candidate. He came 6th of 7 candidates with 949 votes, 3.1% of the total, and lost his deposit. Bray described the Conservative victory in the 2019 General Election as "devastating." Shortly after the result, he acknowledged that the chances of the UK remaining in the EU were "tiny" and offered that "we are all going to end up in hell after Brexit happens." Bray decided to end his daily protests after 847 days.
2020
On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom became the first member state to leave the EU. In response, Bray vowed to continue protesting outside Parliament, noting that he would "not give up" until the UK rejoined the EU. In view of this, Bray has been likened to a Japanese soldier fighting on many years after the end of Wold War II. On 18 January, Bray was tripped up and assaulted in central London suffering minor injuries. He described the alleged assailants as "unpleasant thugs masquerading as Brexit zealots" and noted that "they’re not real Brexiteers or leavers." No arrests were made at the time.
SODEM
SODEM is a political movement founded by Steve Bray in September 2017. It is an acronym for Stand of Defiance European Movement, and its colours are yellow on blue. A previous action was to secretly place the European flag on an empty flagpole outside the Neath Port Talbot council offices on 19 August 2018.
