Support growing for a second referendum
A MAJORITY of voters in all 257 seats held by Labour, and where many returned a leave result in 2016, now support a second referendum on Brexit, according to latest findings from a YouGov poll, based on 26,000 people. It was commissioned by the People’s Vote campaign to increase its lobbying of opposition MPs hoping to persuade them to push for a second vote, with a ballot paper choice of final deal, no deal, or remain.
Also, this Brexit survey showed significant movement away from ‘getting on with it’ towards ‘vote on the final deal’ if the Government’s final deal, or no deal, both got rejected by Parliament, plus any attempt to enforce a general election.
Surprisingly, support for second referendum is largest in Jeremy Corbyn’s Islington North at 80 per cent, with the number at 53 per cent in Ashfield’s East Midlands seat. What such a poll would show in Somerset’s Tory seats, such as Taunton Deane, where 53 per cent voted to leave in 2016, makes interesting speculation and maybe our local press or media could do it?
As most readers know, Tories with 317 seats do not have an overall majority in Parliament without the £1 billion bribed 10
DUP MPs. Needless to say, the vast majority of Greens like myself, and all other minority parties, made up of 35 SNP seats, 12 LibDems, eight Independents and four Plaid Cymru, have been ‘final deal second vote’ supporters almost all along, especially when the obvious quick settlement with retention of a bespoke customs union, deliverable within a few months, was so pathetically rejected by Theresa May early on, just to try to appease hardright Brexit extremists and the DUP, as well as keeping her rational Tory MPs onside.
Hence her mission impossible drags on into a usual hard-right Tory management mess, still blaming Labour, not greedy City banker pals, for the 2008 financial crash, which was bailed-out by nearly £1,000 billion of our public funds. The ensuing public debt balloon got met by typical Tory massive attacks on public services and welfare benefits when Cameron became PM in 2010.
Hammond’s recent budget has eased, certainly not ended, austerity, with zero relief for local councils and mere pittances for police and schools. Plus yet another hike in our council tax running alongside maintained cuts in inheritance and corporation taxes, with no offshore extra tax enforcement, nor wealth and financial transaction taxes.