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Photos: The enduring protest of “Mr. Stop Brexit”

Bray frequently gets in the shots of news cameras broadcasting live from outside Parliament.
Bray frequently gets in the shots of news cameras broadcasting live from outside Parliament.
Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images
By
Johnny Simon
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Throughout the saga of resignations and reorganizations of Brexit, few figures have had nearly the shelf life as one of Brexit’s most loyal opponents. Known as “Mr. Stop Brexit,” Steve Bray has kept up his near-daily protests outside London’s Houses of Parliament, 10 Downing Street and other loci of power for the past few years since the 2016 referendum.

“I just started doing it to make myself feel better that I’m shouting at the seat of power,” he told the Guardian in 2018.

Bray’s persistence and consistency (he has a few tried and true slogans, and is almost always seen in his blue and yellow top hat) have made him a minor media celebrity as the UK grapples with the unfolding realities of leaving the European Union.

Here’s a look at some of Bray’s appearances as one of the most recognizable faces of the resistance to Brexit.

October, 2017

Steve Bray, then masked, waves EU flags as security stand guard in front of the Midland Hotel, adjacent to the Manchester Central convention centre, in Manchester in September of 2017.
Steve Bray, then masked, waves EU flags as security stand guard in front of the Midland Hotel, adjacent to the Manchester Central convention centre, in Manchester in September of 2017.
Image: Oli Scraff/AFP/Getty Images

December, 2017

Bray in December of 2017, outside the Houses of Parliament.
Bray in December of 2017, outside the Houses of Parliament.
Image: Reuters/Toby Melville

January 2018

Bray holds the EU and UK flags outside the Houses of Parliament on January 22, 2018.
Bray holds the EU and UK flags outside the Houses of Parliament on January 22, 2018.
Image: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty

March, 2018

Bray, with other demonstrators, protests opposite 10 Downing Street as Britain’s prime minister Theresa May meets EU Council president Donald Tusk on March 1, 2018.
Bray, with other demonstrators, protests opposite 10 Downing Street as Britain’s prime minister Theresa May meets EU Council president Donald Tusk on March 1, 2018.
Image: AP Photo/Frank Augstein

July, 2018

Bray holds placards on Abingdon Green across the road from the Houses of Parliament in London on July 9, 2018.
Bray holds placards on Abingdon Green across the road from the Houses of Parliament in London on July 9, 2018.
Image: AP Photo/Matt Dunham

October, 2018

Bray and other protesters outside the Houses of Parliament on Oct. 17, 2018
Bray and other protesters outside the Houses of Parliament on Oct. 17, 2018
Image: Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock

November, 2018

Bray protesting outside Downing Street in London, Britain on Nov. 14, 2018.
Bray protesting outside Downing Street in London, Britain on Nov. 14, 2018.
Image: Andy Rain/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

January, 2019

Bray protests with a megaphone outside of the Houses of Parliament in London on Jan. 9, 2019.
Bray protests with a megaphone outside of the Houses of Parliament in London on Jan. 9, 2019.
Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA/REX/Shutterstock