Paper petition details
Peoples Vote on the final Brexit deal
Its two years since the Brexit vote and the Government still has no
satisfactory Brexit plan. Since the vote we have gone from the top
of the G7 for economic growth to the bottom.
For communities up and down the country, jobs and businesses are under threat and it is absolutely right for local authorities to be making a stand on their behalf.
Councils in Swansea and Hammersmith and Fulham have already passed motions calling on for a Peoples Vote on the final Brexit deal,
In the 2018 Mayoral manifesto John Biggs stated:
"We will campaign for a referendum on the final terms of any Brexit
deal, so that local people are able to express their view on the
future of this country"
We the undersigned demand that our Tower Hamlets Mayor fulfils
this manifesto promise, campaigns for a second vote and Tower
Hamlets council passes a motion to support a Peoples Vote the final
Brexit deal including the opportunity to vote on Remaining in the
EU.
On reaching 30 signatures Eligible to present to Council
This Paper petition ran from 21/08/2018 to 05/09/2018 and has now finished.
85 people signed this Paper petition.
This is a paper petition received by the council. It has never been available for signature online.
Council response
Response:
Thank you for bringing your petition to the Council. Brexit is such
an important issue that warrants a proper debate, which is why I
and my colleagues tabled a motion for full debate at the meeting
which I hope you were able to stay to see, the motion was passed
and showed the clear support in our council chamber for a
People’s Vote on any final Brexit deal.
As you will know, Tower Hamlets will be particularly exposed to the
potential impact of Brexit for a wide range of reasons. The
concentration of international financial, professional and tech
companies based in Canary Wharf, the City Fringe and Shoreditch
will be under threat. We must also prepare for the possibility that
Brexit will result in labour and skills shortages that may impact
on critical public services like the NHS and the social care
sector. And as a borough we could lose up to £2.6 million EU
funding, currently provided through the European Regional
Development Fund and the European Social Fund.
This is why we launched the Tower Hamlets Brexit Commission earlier
this month, chaired by Cllr Amina Ali and made up of experts from
across society to examine the opportunities and impacts of Brexit
on our part of London.
The Commissioners are drawn from a range of areas and
include:
• Professor Tony Travers, professor in the Department of
Government at LSE and an expert in local government.
• Howard Dawber, Managing Director for Strategy at Canary
Wharf Group
• Ivana Bartoletti, an expert in privacy and Data Protection
and an EU national.
• Michael Pantlin, Director of People at Barts Health NHS
Trust
• Sue Terpilowski, London policy chair at the Federation of
Small Businesses
• We are also fortunate to be joined by Tower Hamlets Young
Mayor Fahimul Islam and Deputy Young Mayor Sadia Ahmed
The Commission will focus on three central areas to build a
holistic and detailed analysis of the potential impact of Brexit on
Tower Hamlets: These are the economy, civil society and public
services.
Our work on the economy will explore issues like trade, market
access, employment, skills and productivity. We will examine the
impact on small and medium sized businesses, as well as the big
Canary Wharf firms.
On civil society, we will work to establish what impact our
departure from the EU will have on key issues such as access to
funding and community cohesion, particularly with regard to the
many citizens of other EU countries living in Tower Hamlets.
We will also consider how the delivery of services by our public
sector partners will be impacted by our departure from the
EU.
I would encourage all the petitioners and the general public to
engage with the commission, come along to hearings and submit
evidence online by visiting the Tower Hamlets website.
As an administration, we completely agree that this Tory government
has not made satisfactory plans for our exit for the EU. We will do
everything in our power to plan and mitigate against this
disastrous decision, one which Tower Hamlets did not vote
for.
In terms of your request to back a Peoples Vote on a final Brexit
deal, you are correct and I am proud to have backed the campaign
for a Peoples Vote.