A new opinion poll in Cheltenham suggests that more than 60 per cent of residents want a chance to have their say on Brexit in a People’s Vote.
The People’s Vote is a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The group says the survey also shows that a large majority (59 per cent) of people in the town want their MP, Alex Chalk, to vote against the government’s Brexit deal when it is finally put before Parliament next month.
Mr Chalk is currently one of the MPs insisting he will back Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed deal.
According to the poll of more than 500 voters in Cheltenham, which was conducted by Populus and YouGov for the People’s Vote campaign:
* A growing majority of people in Cheltenham now think the UK should stay in the European Union: The constituency would now vote to stay in the EU by a margin of 61 per cent to 39 per cent, compared to 57 per cent to 43 per cent in the 2016 referendum.
* 62 per cent of voters in Cheltenham are against leaving the EU without a deal
* In a choice of leaving the EU without a deal or holding a People’s Vote, nearly two-thirds of voters (65 per cent) want a People’s Vote.
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A clear majority (54 per cent) of those polled are also against the UK leaving with what is called a ‘Norway model’, where the UK would accept free movement of people, pay into the EU budget, be part of a free trade area, but follow many of the EU's rules without having a say in them.
Philip Cole, chairman of Cheltenham for Europe, said: “This opinion poll clearly shows a significant majority of people in Cheltenham reject Theresa May’s Brexit deal and want their say on Brexit in a People’s Vote.”
He added: “Whichever way you voted two years ago, nobody voted for a deal that makes you poorer and offers less control.
“Brexit campaigners promised we would continue to enjoy ‘the exact same benefits’ of being in the EU, while ‘taking back control’. But Theresa May’s deal shows these promises will be broken – not because the Government won’t keep them - but because they can’t be kept.”
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“It’s a much worse deal than the deal we’ve already got in the EU and mean negotiations go on forever as successive governments try to make sense of something that makes no sense for Britain.
“The only way forward now is a People’s Vote, something voters in Cheltenham clearly agree with.”
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The poll was based on 505 respondents, with field work being conducted between December 1 and 13.