Thousands sign Article 50 petition in Scarborough
But Theresa May has ruled out cancelling the Brexit countdown despite the petition soaring past 2.5 million signatures.
As of 10.30am on Friday, 1,519 people in the Thirsk and Malton constituency had signed the petition – 1.5% of the population.
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Hide AdThat rate was not quite so high in Scarborough and Whitby, where 1.2% of the population had added their names to the petition – 1,132 signatures.
The petition, which had attracted more than 2.8 million names by 10.30am on Friday, reads: “The Government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is ‘the will of the people’.
“We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now for remaining in the EU. A People’s Vote may not happen – so vote now.”
The Prime Minister said she did not believe in halting the deadline after the EU offered a delay plan, adding: “I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.”
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Hide AdWith the highest sign-up rate on record, more 2,000,000 people had pledged their support by the time she fielded questions from reporters in Brussels on Thursday.
Asked by the Press Association whether she thought the public’s view had shifted towards revoking Article 50, Mrs May said: “If you look back to what happened in the referendum, we saw the biggest democratic exercise in our history.
“And there was a clear result that we should leave the European Union.
“We said here’s the vote, what is your decision, and we will deliver on it.
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Hide Ad“And I believe it’s our duty as a Government and as a Parliament to deliver on that vote.”
The Petitions Committee said nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime, crashing the website because of the unprecedented number of visitors.