It’s not too late to think again, says

Campaigners for a second EU referendum have set out a roadmap to obtain a “People’s Vote” giving the public the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

Published as Theresa May travels to Austria to sell her Brexit plan to EU leaders, the People’s Vote report suggested the prime minister could be forced to concede a second referendum by a vote of MPs in parliament – or may even decide to call one herself.

And it insisted that the option of staying in the EU “must be on the ballot paper”.

The prime minister brushed aside the calls for a second referendum, saying voters had made their choice.

“When the referendum took place, we gave people the opportunity to make a choice. They made that choice,” she said.

“My answer to the People’s Vote is that we’ve had the people’s vote – it was the referendum – and now we should deliver on it.”

The report – backed by an author of the Article 50 clause which sets out the terms for EU withdrawal – argues that the March 29 2019 deadline for Brexit could easily be delayed to make time for a vote to be held.

And it warned that politicians will be judged harshly if they deny calls for a People’s Vote on the grounds that it would be too difficult to arrange in the short time remaining.

“More than two years since the 2016 referendum, a political, economic and possibly constitutional crisis is gathering across the United Kingdom,” said Article 50 author Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, a former head of the diplomatic service.

“Our view is that the most viable and democratic way of resolving it is to allow the public to have their say on Brexit. To deny them a voice challenges the basic principle of informed consent.”

With opinion polls regularly finding a majority of voters now think the UK made the wrong decision to Leave in 2016, the People’s Vote report said it was not too late to “think again” about Brexit.

And it said a decision to dump Brexit now would be “cost-free”, as the UK could retain its existing EU membership terms – including its budget rebate and exemption from joining the euro – while rejoining years later would require them to be renegotiated from scratch.

Drawn up by a crossparty committee including pro-EU MPs, peers and MEPs from Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens, the roadmap outlined six possible routes to a fresh referendum, but said others may emerge.

If Mrs May secures a

European Council president Donald Tusk said the plan was a ‘welcome evolution’