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AN ONLINE PETITION calling for a re-run of Britain’s EU membership referendum, which amassed over four million votes, has been dismissed.
The petition, which called for a new referendum given that a certain quota hadn’t been reached, was quashed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in a statement.
Last month’s vote saw the British public choose to leave the EU by a margin of 52% to 48%.
“We the undersigned call upon Her Majesty’s Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based a turnout less than 75% there should be another referendum,” the petition reads.
The petition garnered 4,127,123 signatures.
Today’s response by the UK government says that the EU referendum act “did not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout”.
“The referendum was one of the biggest democratic exercises in British history with over 33 million people having their say,” the FCO’s statement reads.
The prime minister and government have been clear that this was a once in a generation vote and, as the prime minister has said, the decision must be respected.
“We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations.”
Last month’s referendum result provoked anger on the Remain side, most especially among younger voters who voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU.
The result saw prime minister David Cameron fall on his own sword, with his place currently being hotly contested by Conservative MPs Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom.
The result has also triggered the creation of a pop-up newspaper, entitled The New European, aimed at the 48% of the electorate who voted to stay in the EU.
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