EU referendum petition: Anti-Brexit voters' hopes of a second poll dashed by Government

Protesters turned up to an anti-Brexit rally in Trafalgar Square - despite organisers saying it was cancelled
REUTERS/Paul Hackett
Mark Chandler9 July 2016
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A petition signed by 4.1 million people calling for a second EU referendum has been rejected by the Government.

The petition had been the most popular ever published on the Government’s website, with record numbers signing up and crashing the site within hours of its appearance.

But, in an official reply, the Foreign Office has dashed their hopes of a re-run of the vote.

They wrote: “The European Union Referendum Act received Royal Assent in December 2015, receiving overwhelming support from Parliament. The Act did not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout."

The reply went on: "As the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 27 June, the referendum was one of the biggest democratic exercises in British history with over 33 million people having their say.

“The Prime Minister and Government have been clear that this was a once in a generation vote and, as the Prime Minister has said, the decision must be respected.

“We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations.”

The petition was set up by a Brexit supporter before the poll was held, who then complained it had been “hijacked” by disappointed Remain voters.

It had called on the Government to introduce a rule that, if the vote was less than 60 per cent to either side, based on a turnout less than 75 per cent, there should be another referendum.

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