Petition · past parliament
For the government to stop saying that Britain overwhelmingly voted for Brexit
Rejected
18 signatures
What the petition asks
52% of those that voted in the referendum voted to leave. 48% voted to remain and thus lost. However only 72% of the voting public voted at all, meaning that only 37% of those eligible to vote, voted leave.
Government language when discussing the referendum result must reflect this statistic.
Government language when discussing the referendum result must reflect this statistic.
Those eligible to vote in the referendum were about 46 million.
In the recently published white paper on Brexit May says: "The strength and support of 65 million people willing us to make it happen"
The government has continually been using phrasing and terminology that implies that all of the UK wishes to leave the EU.
37% of the voting public, or 27% of 65 million people supported Brexit. This statistic that must always be used when describing the number of people who voted to leave.
In the recently published white paper on Brexit May says: "The strength and support of 65 million people willing us to make it happen"
The government has continually been using phrasing and terminology that implies that all of the UK wishes to leave the EU.
37% of the voting public, or 27% of 65 million people supported Brexit. This statistic that must always be used when describing the number of people who voted to leave.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 4 Feb 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 8 Feb 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
18
Status
Rejected
Rejected
8 Feb 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.