Majority of Brits want new vote
CALL FOR SECOND REFERENDUM
A CLEAR majority of British people want a public vote to break the parliamentary deadlock on Brexit, according to new research released by campaigners for a second referendum.
Analysis of polling of more than 6,700 people found 60.2% favour a public vote if MPs cannot decide, against 39.8% who oppose it, said the Best for Britain campaign and Hope Not Hate.
For the first time, the polling – carried out in mid-December and early January – found a majority in favour of a second referendum in every part of Great Britain.
The analysis showed support for a second referendum is particularly high among Labour voters, with a majority in every seat held by Jeremy Corbyn’s party.
The findings come as the Labour leader is under pressure to commit his party to a second referendum if he is unable to secure a general election through a noconfidence motion in Mrs May’s Government.
The research is based on “multi- level regression and post-stratification analysis” applied by market research company FocalData to two waves of YouGov polling involving a total of 6,785 voters.
Participants were asked whether, if Parliament cannot decide on the best way forward for Brexit, they would favour a public vote with three options – Remain, Leave with Mrs May’s deal or Leave with no deal.
Excluding “don’t knows”, a total of 60.2% favoured a second referendum, with strongest backing in Scotland (67.7%), London (67.6%), the North West (61.2%), Wales (60.3%), North East (59.8%) and Yorkshire & Humber (58.9%).
Highest levels of opposition were recorded in the South West (44.9%), East of England (44%), East Midlands (43.2%), South East (42.2%) and West Midlands (42.1%). Support for a public vote was high among Labour supporters across all regions of the country, ranging from 75.1% in the North East to 82.2% in London. A view of the Brexit-inspired mural by artist Banksy in the ferry port of Dover, Kent, which depicts a workman chipping away at one of the 12 stars on the flag of the European Union – ministers have warned that the port, one of Europe’s busiest, could be severely affected by a no-deal Brexit