THE 48% of voters who wished to Remain in the European Union are so mortified by the Leave result that a parliamentary petition calling for a second referendum has been set up.
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The petition will now have to be discussed in the British Parliament, having crossed 1,00,000 signatures required to trigger a debate in the House of Commons.
The uncertainty caused by victory for the out campaign, which attracted 52% support from voters in Thursday’s referendum, has already caused the credit rating agency Moody’s to downgrade the UK’s long-term issuer and debt ratings from stable to negative.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier was meeting with top diplomats from the EU’s five other founding nations in Berlin for hastily arranged talks following Britain’s stunning vote Thursday to leave the union.
Locally, Essex voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union, with every local authority ending up with a “leave” vote.
“If Boris Johnson is running the government and it is taking a long time to be implemented, two years down the line we could have another poll showing people actually want to reverse the decision and remain in”, he said.
Some were interpreting the petition to mean there was a pre-existing rule that could be applied to the result, although The Independent understands that no such provision exists in British or European legislation.
For a petition to go before the UK’s parliament it only requires 100,000 signatures.
House of Commons: Website crashes after petition overwhelmed by traffic.
A Change.org petition calling on Mr Khan to instigate the secession of London from the rest of the United Kingdom gathered more than 99,800 signatures by Saturday morning.
Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the U.K.’s economic outlook from stable to negative, saying Britain faces “a prolonged period of uncertainty. with negative implications for the country’s medium-term growth outlook”.
Set up by freelance writer James O’Malley, it calls on the new mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to declare the capital’s independence so it can remain part of the EU.
“This morning the reality is actually hitting in and the regret is hitting in”, she said.
Remain campaigner Jeremy Corbyn has also rejected the idea of a second referendum.
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Brexit negotiations must take place “quickly and swiftly”, EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told Britain’s Radio 4 on Saturday.
