Roundup: Hundreds rally for Wales' independence from UK

Two rallies took place in Wales Saturday with hundreds of people demanding the 3 million population region break away from the United Kingdom to become a member state of the European Union (EU).

It follows demands by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who wants a second independence referendum in her Scotland so it can apply to become an EU nation.

Hundreds of Welsh people gathered in Caernarfon in North Wales as well as in the capital city, Cardiff. Both rallies were organized by a group calling itself A Free Wales in Europe, or in its own language, Cymru Rydd yn Ewro.

In the referendum of whether Britain should leave the EU, the Brexit side in Wales won 52.5 percent of the vote, with 47.5 percent voting to remain.

Welsh Conservative MP David Jones, called the demonstrations in Wales undemocratic, saying "Frankly, these demonstrators should respect the will of the people."

Campaigner Ifan Morgan Jones told local media in Wales: "We do not believe the people of Wales were given all the facts before the vote. The discussion was held in a British context, and there was almost no discussion about the likely impact on Wales.

"The EU has invested over 4 billion pounds (about 5.3 billion U.S. dollars) in Wales since 2000. Wales gets a lot more out of the EU than it puts in. We're not attempting to overturn it (the referendum result), but to convince people that Wales' future now lies as an independent country within the EU."

Across the border in England there were rallies in a number of major cities in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, estranged from the vast majority of his MPs at Westminster.

Behind the scenes, established Labour Party politicians were attempting to convince Corbyn to quit as leader following the decision by more than 170 of his MPs to pass a vote of no confidence in him.

Lord Kinnock, who as Neil Kinnock was leader of the Labour Party in the 1980s, was the latest party bigwig to call on Corbyn to go.

It is understood senior names in the party have suggested an exit plan for Corbyn, promising to embrace some of his policies, if he resigns to pave the way for a new official opposition leader at Westminster.

Cornbyn supporters say their leader is to stand firm, convinced that a leadership challenge will see him holding on to his job.

In last year's leadership contest, Corbyn stormed to success capturing a quarter of a million votes, compared to his closest rival's 80,000. Since the referendum which saw Labour embroiled in an internal civil war, 60,000 people have joined the Labour Party, many of them loyal to Corbyn. Corbyn is expected to learn early next week if his leadership will be challenged by a fellow MP. Endit