A COUNCILLOR has been accused of trying to invalidate the 2016 referendum result by ‘resorting to smear tactics’ after calling for a second vote.

Warrington’s two Labour MPs Faisal Rashid and Helen Jones voted against the Government’s latest Brexit deal in the House of Commons on Tuesday night.

Following the vote, Cllr Dan Price, executive board member for culture and partnerships, has urged people to write to their MP in support of a People’s Vote.

He said: “Yet again our democratically elected Parliament has rejected Mrs May’s Brexit deal – a deal which seems to please no one, except the Prime Minister.

“In 2016, we had a referendum which we now know was fought on lies and criminal acts of leading Leave campaigners.

“We have a Parliament in total deadlock. We have a Prime Minster as blinkered as hardline eurosceptics.

“I believe this nation doesn’t support an irresponsible no-deal Brexit that risks peace in Northern Ireland and would be considered illegal internationally – Brexiteers never campaigned for that.

“Now we know May’s deal is the only deal, we should revert back to sensible and distinctly British pragmatism.

“We should extend Article 50 and put this decision back to the people with a legally binding referendum.

“Whether a Leaver or Remainer, we’ve all learned a lot over the last three years and should the public give informed consent for the only deal there is, or prefer remaining in the EU – without a second referendum I fear we will never bring our United Kingdom together again.”

But Warrington 4 Brexit has hit back following the comments.

In a statement, the campaign group said it is ‘appalled by the poorly planned and anti-democratic behaviour of most MPs in the House of Commons’.

It added: “After the House of Commons voted to hold a referendum on EU membership and to trigger Article 50, the majority of MPs have subsequently sought to sabotage Brexit and overturn the democratic referendum result.

“We would now urge all MPs to vote to keep no deal on the table – this is crucial as this is our leverage for getting a better deal.

“Our message to MPs is that it is time to respect your Leave voting electorate.

“We hear that Dan Price is yet again attempting to invalidate the referendum result by resorting to the usual smear tactics of the Remain campaign.

“We would simply remind him of Lord Justice Hickinbottom’s words in the Appeal Court last week when yet another legal challenge to Brexit was crushed.

“The judge rejected any notion that any breach of the rules had affected the referendum outcome, stating: ‘There is simply no evidential basis for the proposition that the breaches, or any of them, are material in the sense that, had they not occurred, the result of the referendum would have been different’.

“In reply to Dan Price’s call for a second referendum, we say that far from bringing the UK together, a second referendum at this stage would destroy voters’ faith in democracy and cause widespread anger and bitterness.”