Brexit: We still want OUT!

The Fylde coast is backing Prime Minister Theresa May to kick-start the process of Brexit.

Last year Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre residents voted in huge numbers in favour of Britain leaving the EU.

And it seems there has been no loss of appetite in the nine months since June.

A new Gazette poll, commissioned ahead of the anticipated triggering of article 50 found a majority of Fylde coast residents remain in favour of Britain’s exit.

In June 68 per cent of voters in Blackpool opted to leave the European Union.

The figure for Fylde was 57 per cent and for Wyre it was 64 per cent.

The latest online poll by The Gazette, in which nearly 3,000 readers took part, found 62 per cent of Fylde coast residents remain in favour of leaving the EU.

That comes as no surprise to people like David Haythornthwaite.

The businessman was an outspoken backer of the Brexit campaign.

And he believes there is still a strong appetite for change.

“It’s no secret I was a determined Brexiteer,” said Mr Haythorthwaite.

“Now nine months on the country has not collapsed,the world has not ended.

“If anything I would say things have got a little bit better.

“I know a lot of people who were Remainers at the time who are now saying they have changed their mind.

“Whether or not people backed the decision or not the thing is now we just need to get on with it, let’s not have any stupid delay.”

That is a view shared by many leaders in the business community who, Brexit backers or staunch Remainers, just want some certainty.

Babs Murphy, chief executive of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, admits business is split on the Brexit debate.

But she says bosses are clear they want business sense not political dogma to drive Britain’s negotiations in the coming months.

She said: “Prior to the referendum, businesses were expressing mixed opinions.

“Now they just want to get on with it.

“Firms across Lancashire want practical considerations, not ideology or politics, at the heart of the government’s approach to Brexit negotiations.

“What’s debated in Westminster often isn’t what matters for most businesses.

“Most firms care little about the exact process for triggering Article 50, but they care a lot about an unexpected VAT hit to their cash flow, sudden changes to regulation, the inability to recruit the right people for the job, or if their products are stopped by customs authorities at the border.

“The everyday nitty-gritty of doing business across borders must be front and centre in the negotiation process.

“What’s also clear is that the eventual Brexit deal is far from the only thing on the minds of the UK’s business communities.

“An ambitious domestic agenda for business and the economy is also essential so that business can drive our post-Brexit success.

“Firms want a clear assurance that Brexit isn’t going to be the only thing on the government’s economic agenda for the next few years.”

But what impact will Brexit have on Blackpool and it’s residents?

Peter Bowden, whose businesses include Blackpool’s Barvarian Bierkeller, none at all.

He said: “I’m absolutely pro Brexit.

“I think the European project will collapse over the next few years.

“What will it really matter to Blackpool?

“Not a jot, it won’t make any difference for a town like this.

“We haven’t had the Spanish coming here and spending their Euros, it’s a British holiday town!

“But it will mean the country is able to make free trade agreements with whichever country it wants.”

The House of Lords has threatened to delay the Brexit process, Peers last week adding a number of amendments to the Brexit Bill.

Although eager to see Britain on the road to departure Mr Haythornthwaite admits the political process must be followed.

He said: “It’s part of politics.

“We have to get their blessing.

“But if they continue to stand up to it I think it is a little like Turkeys voting for

Christmas, if you know what I mean.”

Mr Haythornthwaite has been impressed with how Thresa May has gone about her job.

She said: “She deserves a lot of credit.

“She is a formidable lady and I trust her to get us the best deal.”