Final Say: The Independent's petition for fresh referendum most popular in UK as voters feel cut out of Brexit process

The Independent’s petition for a Final Say referendum has been revealed as the most popular UK petition all year, as new polling shows the majority of voters feel they have been cut out of the Brexit process.

More than a million people backed the call for a public vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal in just three months, after deadlock in talks with Brussels and growing concerns over the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

Change.org, the world’s largest petition platform, said Brexit was dominating public opinion and The Independent’s Final Say petition was the biggest UK campaign it had hosted in 2018.

It comes as a new poll by the influential site found that more than 85 per cent of voters felt they had been ignored over the Brexit strategy, compared to just 7.4 per cent who said they had been adequately consulted.

Change.org surveyed more than 89,000 users in the UK between October 31 and November 5, of which 63 per cent backed Remain, a quarter voted Leave and the remainder either did not vote or chose not to say.

Half of respondents believe their MP had failed to represent them properly over Brexit, compared to 16 per cent who said their MP had represented them fairly. A third of those who replied were undecided.

The majority (63.3 per cent) backed a second referendum when asked how the government could give people a say on the terms of Britain’s exit from the bloc, while 10.9 per cent suggested a public consultation.

About 10 per cent said they trust the government to do a good job, and 7.4 per cent said the UK should just leave the EU.

Kajal Odedra, executive director of change.org UK, said people feel “bombarded but gagged by Brexit”, regardless of whether they voted to leave or remain in the European Union.

Writing exclusively for The Independent, Ms Odedra said: “The choices the government makes in negotiations are critical.

“But they are being made far away from the public with no consultation whatsoever.

“When we asked change.org users, only 7 per cent of those polled felt they have been given a chance for their voices to be heard since the referendum.

“And 85 per cent felt they didn’t have any say in shaping the government’s Brexit strategy.”

She added: “It’s no surprise to me that the biggest UK campaign on change.org this year was the [Independent’s] petition for the public to get a vote on the final deal.”

Leave voters were more likely to feel heard by ministers at about 23 per cent, while only 1.4 per cent of Remain voters said they had been listened to, according to the poll.

Young people were also more likely to feel ignored than older voters, the findings show, with just 8.3 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting that they believe their voices are being heard.

Around a quarter of over-65s said they felt listened to, compared to 20 per cent of those aged 55 to 64, and 10.5 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds.

It comes after a special parliamentary event heard that more people back a fresh referendum than oppose one in all of the 67 most marginal Tory seats.

The YouGov survey of 25,000 people also found that a majority of voters in the Labour constituencies that voted Leave in 2016 now back a fresh referendum, by an average of 59 per cent in favour compared to 41 per cent against.

It also comes as more than 3,000 people were expected to attend a major rally in London to urge MPs to reject a bad Brexit deal.

Cross-party MPs have backed the call, including Tory Jo Johnson, who resigned from government last week over Theresa May’s Brexit strategy, Labour’s David Lammy and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who backs the Best for Britain campaign, said: “No one voted for this pathetic little deal which actually hands over our sovereignty, making the UK a rule taker rather than a rule maker. It is the opposite of taking back control.”

Caroline Lucas, former Green party co-leader, added: “The only solution is to take the final decision out of the hands of deadlocked politicians, away from the backroom deals, and give it back to the public with a People’s Vote.

“On Brexit, it’s clear we have a parliament in stalemate that can’t deliver a clear choice for the future. So it’s time to let the British public do it instead.”