Since British voters decided to leave the European Union in a referendum two weeks ago, more than 4 million people signed a petition calling for a do-over.
Now, the U.K. government has issued an official response to the petition, dashing the hopes of voters who want to see another referendum. “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,” it reads.
The vote on the so-called Brexit required more than 50 percent of the voters to favor leaving the EU. “The petition contends that in such an important decision, the bar should be set higher,” as Larry Miller tells our Newscast unit.
The petition reads: “We the undersigned call upon HM 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.”
In its response, the government says that the legislation which determined the referendum’s rules “received overwhelming support from Parliament.” It adds: “The Act did not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout.”
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SOURCE: MERRIT KENNEDY
NPR
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