British government officially responds no to second referendum

(Baonghean.vn) - In an official statement responding to the call of more than 4.1 million British people asking forHolding a second referendum on Brexit, the British government affirmed that this event "only happens once in a generation".

The hopes of more than 4.1 million people who signed the petition to hold a second referendum were dashed after the British government gave an official response on the evening of July 8 (morning of July 9, Vietnam time).

According to regulations, petitions receiving more than 100,000 signatures will be considered by the National Assembly for a debate.

Although there has been no final decision on whether to hold a debate or not, in its response, the British Foreign Office pointed out that more than 33 million people expressed their views in the referendum.

The petition with more than 4.1 million signatures has failed to yield results. Photo: The Guardian

However, those who signed the petition said that a second referendum was needed because the percentage of people supporting Brexit did not exceed 60% and less than 75% of voters participated in the vote.

In response to the public opinion, the government's response notice explained that the Referendum Act does not stipulate a minimum voter turnout and stated: "This Act has been debated and approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Act only contains provisions regulating the date of the referendum, who is entitled to vote, and the questions to be asked in the referendum, while not stipulating a minimum voter turnout."

“The Prime Minister and the Government have been clear that the referendum is a one-off and, as the Prime Minister has said, the people’s decision must be respected. We must now prepare for the process of leaving the European Union and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible interests of the British people in its negotiations with the EU.”

Below the Government's response, the Petitions Committee also stated that the decision on whether to hold a debate would be postponed until July 12.

The reason is that the government needs to authenticate the signatures on the petition, as so far the Commission has found that about 77,000 out of more than 4.1 million signatures are forged.

Diep Khanh

(According to the Guardian)