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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Matthew Bunn

Whether you voted remain or leave we need another public vote, say campaigners

Campaigners calling for a public vote on the Brexit deal have taken to the streets of West Bridgford to garner support for their cause.

Supporters of the 'People's Vote' say the agreement reached by the Government to leave the EU will cause a recruitment crisis in the NHS, result in widespread job losses and make the country poorer.

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire branch of the campaign were canvassing opinion in Central Avenue on Saturday, March 30, with dozens of passers-by signing cards demanding a new vote.

Founder of the group, Susan Martin, said: "What we are saying is whether you voted leave or remain nearly three years ago, let us have a say on the Brexit deal once parliament knows what it looks like.

"We are getting leavers saying we were tricked and we were conned. [They say] 'I would never have voted leave if I knew what it meant'.

The People's Vote stall in West Bridgford. Pictured from left are Sue Jackson of East Bridgford, Lorenzo Salzano and Sue's husband Malcolm. (James Turner)

"People didn't know at the time, they didn't know what Brexit meant, none of us did really.

"It is really important to be out campaigning and talking to people. We are gaining momentum and promoting to people that you can have a choice in this, you can have a say."

The latest campaign has come a day after Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was defeated for a third time in the House of Commons on Friday, March 29.

The agreement is a draft treaty which means after May 22 the country will go into a transition period which would keep the UK within EU membership for around 21 months, but it would not have a say in the EU's decision-making institutions.

MPs voted against the motion by 344 votes to 286, a majority of 58.

Nigel Farage's message about 'humiliated' Britain on the first stop of March to Leave in Nottinghamshire 

People shopping in West Bridgford gave their views on the current situation and the campaign.

Barbara Whittingham, 80, of Ruddington, said: "I don't think they are going to do any good having different votes for different things. I just wish that everything would be sorted out and if they (politicians) can't get an agreement, just leave."

Fernando Collado Lopez, a 38-year-old architect from Belper, said he moved to the UK in 2010 with his British wife.

Prime Minister Theresa May speaking after the government's withdrawal agreement was voted down for the third time in the House of Commons (PA)

He discussed Brexit with the campaigners and told Nottinghamshire Live: "I want reform of Europe and I find myself in the UK in a bit of a limbo. A lot of people who speak to me who are leavers either want reform or just to leave. I think there is just no conversation at the moment about staying in and we can reform."

Meanwhile, Pauline Hall, of Ruddington, 90, felt it was time for MPs to find a way forward, rather than going back to the people.

She said: "We should have known a lot more in the first vote. They should have said what could happen. We didn't realise it would affect Ireland with the border.

"We are paying them (MPs) to make the decisions. They should do that now. They are messing about."

The People's Vote campaign say opinion polls are beginning to show a majority for calls to put the deal back to the people. They claim any form of Brexit would lead to a loss of sovereignty and control.

A spokesman said: "It’s now clear that what was promised in the referendum two and a half years ago, simply can’t be delivered.

"Brexit will mean negotiations go on forever, as successive governments try to make sense of what makes no-sense at all.

"And whatever form Brexit takes, it will leave us in a much worse position than the deal we already have as part of the European Union.

"That’s why the final decision must now be handed back to the people of Rushcliffe and the whole of the UK, because only the British people can sort this mess out."

Last week, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage appeared in the village of Linby, near Hucknall, as part of a 270-mile walk designed to be a symbol of Brexiteers wanting the leave the EU.

In a speech from the top of his battle bus he launched an attack on the Prime Minister, saying: "I have been in Brussels watching a British Prime Minister reducing our nation. In the eyes of the world it is a state of humiliation."

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