Shropshire Star

EU Referendum result: Telford votes LEAVE

Telford has voted leave in the EU Referendum by a majority of over 24,000 votes.

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Lucy Allan MP at Telford & Wrekin count at TCAT
Telford & Wrekin count at TCAT

There were 56,649 votes for Leave and 32,954 votes for Remain.

There was a turnout of 72.15% with at total of 89,704 votes cast.

Pro-Brexit Telford MP Lucy Allan also said at the start of the count that she had been expecting the borough to vote strongly in favour of leaving the European Union.

"Certainly, almost everyone I have spoken to in Telford told me they wanted to leave," she said shortly after counting began. "On Saturday, I got two people who told me they wanted Remain to win.

"I think we will see a strong vote to leave here, but whether that is replicated across the country, that is another matter."

  • More: Live coverage from the local counts

  • More: The national picture

Ms Allan said it was important that the Conservative Party united behind David Cameron now that the poll was over.

She was one of the signatories of a letter expressing a desire for Mr Cameron to continue as Prime Minister irrespective of the outcome of the vote.

Former Telford & Wrekin councillor Bill McClements questioned whether a referendum was the best way to decide matters such as this.

He said the vote had already caused the pound to fall by six per cent, meaning that the extra cost of imports would well exceed the cost of EU membership.

"I think we need to consider whether the referendum mechanism is the right vehicle for making very technical decision," said Mr McClements.

"I think the average person thinks themselves an expert on immigration, but they are not experts on financial services. It leads to decisions being made on emotion rather than statistical analysis."

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