Milton Keynes votes OUT of the EU

Milton Keynes has voted to leave the European Union.
EU referendumEU referendum
EU referendum

Five and a half hours of frantic vote counting resulted in an announcement at 3.25am that Leave scooped 51.4 per cent of the votes and Remain 48.6 per cent.

Ironically the announcement was made in the very same spot occupied last Sunday by Prime Minister David Cameron, when he appeared in a special edition of Question Time promoting his Remain campaign.

But, though it was a tight race, the people of MK were not persuaded. They turned out in their masses, 130,536 of them, to cast their EU vote.

Labour-run Milton Keynes Council pledged its allegiance to Remain and Conservative MP for MK North Mark Lancaster did the same.

MK South Tory MP Iain Stewart, however, opted firmly for Leave.

He told the Citizen immediately after the result: ”Nationally it looks too close to call at the moment. Whatever the outcome is, it is clear that it cannot be business as usual for the EU.”

The official turnout of voters in Milton Keynes was an unprecedented 73.7 per cent, which compares to 33.6 per cent at the last local council election and around 66 per cent at the general election.

Postal vote figures were even more impressive, with more than 90 per cent returned.

The overall national voting figures are 51.3 per cent Leave and 48.7 percent Remain - echoing those of Milton Keynes.