Shock poll as 60 per cent of readers back second EU referendum

In June 2016 the people of Shropshire and Mid Wales went to the polls – and voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU.

Now, little more than two years on, 62 per cent want a second referendum according to a poll of Shropshire Star readers.

Of nearly 2,000 readers who took part in our online poll, a clear majority said they wanted another chance to vote on the issue which continues to divide the country. Thirty-eight per cent said they did not want another vote.

There have been increasing calls in recent weeks for a second referendum, after former cabinet member Justine Greening called for a vote where people had a three-way choice between accepting the final deal negotiated by the Government, remaining in the EU, or leaving without a deal to trade on World Trade Organisation terms.

An online poll carried out by pollster Yougov on behalf of campaign group People's Vote found that half of Britons wanted a second referendum if talks with Brussels broke down.

Some 45 per cent want a say on the outcome of the Brexit negotiations with 34 per cent opposed, the survey found.

But the figure rose to 50 per cent if talks broke down, it found. A quarter said Parliament should decide.

A similar poll commissioned by the same organisation in the south-west of England – which voted Leave in 2016 – found 47 per cent backed a second referendum if the Government failed to reach a Brexit deal with the EU, while just 27 per cent opposed it.

The same poll also suggested a shift in opinion on how people would vote if a second referendum was held ­– it said a voters would opt to stay in the EU by a margin of 51 per cent to 49.

Of course, the polls should be treated with a degree of caution.

People's Vote was set up with the express intention of campaigning for a second referendum, and online polls are likely to be weighted towards younger voters who are more likely to support remaining in the EU.

Debate

Polling expert Matt Singh, of Number Cruncher Politics, said second referendum questions were particularly sensitive to how the questions are worded.

"Mentioning a referendum directly is far less popular than a 'people’s vote' and 'final say', giving a net difference of 15 points," he said. "It’s open to debate which of these wordings best captures the public mood."

He also said what people were being asked to vote on in the referendum also made a huge difference on whether people wanted a second referendum or not.

"Support for a fresh plebiscite collapses among Leavers if it’s a choice between a deal and Remain, and it collapses among Remainers if it’s between deal and no deal. As if to prove the point, Sky Data found a ten-point lead (50-40) for a three-way referendum."

Of course a three-way referendum poses other problems. For example, if Remain proved the most popular choice in the vote, but was less popular than the two 'Leave' options combined, it would lead to fresh questions about what the will of the people actually was.

Mr Singh added: "The debate won’t be completely over even when the negotiations are concluded, or indeed ever. There will, inevitably, be people who would support rejoining."

For and against

Bill McClements - For

We need a second referendum shortly after November to decide the way forward because our politicians seem incapable of telling the people the truth.

I’m not a fan of referendums, especially if run badly with no detailed facts for the people to judge the best outcome. Reluctantly I have come to the conclusion that we need a second referendum because the Government and major parties are incapable of telling the people the hard truths.

Theresa May doesn’t have the authority to tell her MPs the stark reality of our position and is hostage to 90,000 Tory Party members.

The damage to our living standards is mounting daily, banks and major industries are moving some jobs to the EU, inward investment has slowed and Liam Fox has failed to fine any easy trade deals.

To give stability we need a second referendum. I’m for the three-way option, which gives a better choice, and possibly would be more helpful to heal the nation if people had votes for the three options. Brexiteers must set out the case – where are the advantageous trade deals, and will this business be greater than what we lose. Remainers must set out the case for keeping our EU business and influence.

• Bill McClements if a former Telford and Wrekin councillor

Christopher Gill - Against

I have lost count of all the local and national elections at which I have stood as a candidate, not always successfully.

But at each and every one of them it was axiomatic that the candidate with the highest number of votes would be declared the winner.

By and large we British have always accepted that that’s the way democracy works.

Although I concede that there are many who believe that our electoral system would be improved by, for example, adopting proportional representation.

In all my long years I have never known the losers say that the election should be re-run because they don’t like the result, unless, that is, we’re talking about the European Union which has a long track record of demanding that countries vote again whenever, as in the case of Denmark, France, Holland and Ireland, the people have had the temerity to vote, in national referendums, against the express will of the EU!

On June 23, 2016, the British people voted emphatically to leave the European Union.

Any politician or political party that ignores that specific instruction does so at their own peril.

• Christopher Gill is the ex-MP for Ludlow