How would you vote on EU now?
June 23 marks six years since the UK voted to leave the EU, but what do Sunderland shoppers think about brexit?
Nationally, the UK voted to leave by a 51.9% to 48.1% margin, with 17,410,742 people voting to leave the EU back in June 2016.
Sunderland was the first city to vote leave on the night, by a margin of 22%, with 61% of voters (82,394) coming out in support of exiting the European Union.
Today, June 23, marks six years since the referendum result as Office Minister Responsible for “Brexit Opportunities”, Jacob Rees-Mogg, hopes a “revolution” to reform EU law retained after Brexit will help cut the cost of living for Brits.
The Government is set to publish data every three months to show how many changes have been made to the 2,400 pieces of EU legislation in place following the UK’s departure.
The Echo spoke to shoppers in Sunderland city centre to ask for their thoughts on the matter.
Patrick Lyons, 66, from East Durham said: “I voted leave at the time after I watched David Cameron in Europe and I didn’t think politicians in Europe treated him respectfully when he was pressing for reform, they were ignoring him.
"It’s been a long drawn out affair and we’re nowhere near getting it all done and I think when I voted I didn’t take into consideration the implications for Northern Ireland – that was not spelt out enough, so on reflection, I think I might have not have voted the way I did.”
Janine Mullen, 33, from Ford Estate, said: “I voted leave because I was under the pretence that David Cameron would leave if we voted that way.
"If I voted again I would vote to remain in the EU because the country is just falling apart, we’re better together.”
Naz Robinson, 36, from Middlesbrough, said: “I voted to remain because I was very aware of what could happen with regard to my rights as a gay person.
"I was scared that quite a lot of the rights we’ve gained over the last few years through the European Union, we would start losing gradually.
"If there was another vote, I would still vote remain.”
Mark Wright, 49, from Millfield said: “I don’t think much has changed, it hasn’t affected me but we’re not going to know whether we’re better off for years.
"I think we do better on our own, why should the European Courts dictate to us, we should be able to look after our own country."
Lisa Harrison, 39, from East End, said: “I voted leave because I thought it was time for change. I thought it was better for our country to do stuff on our own.”
David Percival, 64 from Hylton Castle said: “I didn’t vote at all because I didn’t think it was going to affect me, leaving or staying. If the vote came around again, I would vote to stay because when I’ve been watching the news, it’s made me think we might have done wrong by leaving.”