Sheffield pro-EU campaigners say majority of residents interviewed want new public vote on Brexit

Members of Sheffield for Europe visited Wadsley to speak to residents about the current political situation and more specifically about Brexit.

They asked about the top three issues that concerned people, a People’s Vote as the best way to break the Brexit deadlock and the options to include on the ballot paper if there were a public vote.

The campaign team found positive feedback in favour of a new public vote.

The majority wanted the choice on the ballot paper to be between remaining in the EU, or the deal negotiated by the Government.

Residents raised their concerns around education, the NHS, social care, homelessness, mental health, crime and policing, and care for the elderly. It was clear that these could be negatively affected by Brexit, or worse, by a no deal Brexit.

The majority of those interviewed strongly supported a People’s Vote, and many signed the ‘Let us be heard’ petition that calls for a public vote on any Brexit deal.

Residents said we should have the final say on any deal.

Sheffield for Europe campaign group chair, Mary Seneviratne, who co-ordinated the campaign team, said: ‘It was great to see so much support for a new public vote, and to see that people are changing their opinion about this issue.

“Only two years ago, a People’s Vote was not considered as a valid and reasonable option. Now everyone is talking about it, and more and more people are seeing it as a way to resolve this chaos’.

Ms Seneviratne added: ‘The promises made in the 2016 referendum are impossible to deliver. It is clear now that we cannot continue to enjoy ‘the exact same benefits’ of being in the EU, if we leave the EU. Any Brexit deal would make people’s communities and families poorer.

“Leaving the EU means less trade, fewer opportunities and lower living standards.’

‘The final decision on leaving the EU should be put back to the people. Now we know what Brexit involves, and the harm it will do to our country, we deserve a final say.’