Final Say: The Independent's petition demanding a vote on Brexit deal reaches 195,000 signatures

Campaign demands electorate is given a vote before the UK leaves the EU

The Independent’s petition calling for the British people to have a final say on the government’s Brexit deal has been signed by 195,000 people in less than 24 hours.

The Final Say campaign demands the electorate is given a vote before the UK leaves the EU in 2019.

Tens of thousands of people signed the petition within hours of its launch and the petition reached more than 195,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

You can support our campaign and have your voice heard on our future relationship with the EU by signing our petition here.

The campaign has the backing of senior members of parliament, including ex-cabinet minister Dominic Grieve, who said it was a “sensible” way out of the UK’s current political crisis.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna and Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran have also backed the campaign, arguing that giving the public a vote on the final deal was becoming “more urgent”.

The Independent’s campaign, launched on Tuesday, calls for the public to be given the chance to decide whether or not to accept a deal, if there is one, or decide whether or not to leave without a deal.

Recent polling shows that amid the chaos of the Brexit process, the largest number of people in the UK would prefer to simply remain in the EU, if forced to choose between staying or going.

It comes as Theresa May urged voters not to worry about Brexit, despite her government setting out plans to stockpile food, blood and medicine in case it goes badly.

She said people should take “reassurance and comfort” from news of the plans to be implemented if the UK crashes out of the EU without an agreement in March next year.

The scenario is looking increasingly likely given deep divisions in the Conservative Party over Ms May’s approach, her wafer thin Commons majority and the EU’s resistance to what the prime minister is proposing.