Second EU Referendum Unlikely Till General Election

There is no chance that a petition signed by more than two million Brits will succeed in a second EU referendum, according to a top election expert. Not until at least the next general election where the new Conservative leadership might be dragging its heal in leaving the EU, and an opposition party with a mandate to stay could then ask for a second referendum. The Evening Standard reports: Professor John Curtice, who produced the only general election exit poll to predict a Conservative victory, said the referendum would be unlikely to form a campaigning issue for some time – let alone spark another public vote. Thursday’s referendum saw 17.4 million votes cast to leave the EU, compared with 16.1 million for remaining part of the bloc, with a turnout of 72.2 per cent. In response, more than 1.7 million people have signed an online petition calling for the Government to implement a rule that “if the Remain or Leave vote is less than 60% based on a turnout less than 75%, there should be another referendum”. Prof Curtice said: “How many people voted in favour of Leave? Seventeen million. One million is chicken feed by comparison. “It’s no good people signing the [...]