Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

EU referendum results: Newcastle upon Tyne declares narrow victory for Remain

The area was expected by experts to be a strong win for Remain

Adam Withnall,Katie Forster
Friday 24 June 2016 00:00 BST
Comments
EU referendum: Newcastle vote

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Newcastle upon Tyne has declared the first mainland result in the EU referendum, with Remain taking a narrower lead than expected on 51 per cent compared to Leave's 49 per cent.

The area was expected by experts to be a strong win for Remain.

Voter turnout in Newcastle has been confirmed as 67.7 per cent, with 65,404 (50.7 per cent) votes for the UK to remain a member of the European Union against 63,598 (49.3 per cent) votes to leave.

How the EU referendum result unfolded

The Newcastle result is one of the first to be announced, along with Orkney with 63 per cent of the vote for Remain and Gibraltar at 95.9 per cent for Remain.

"Newcastle result massively unsettled Remain party. They expected bigger margin of victory, tweeted ITV political editor Robert Peston.

The result from Newcastle was followed by a win for Leave in Sunderland, with more of the vote than expected at 61 per cent.

The value of Sterling dropped sharply by around 3 per cent on the markets in an instant reaction to the Sunderland result, as traders took on board the possibility of a strong result for Leave.

Nigel Farage described the Sunderland result as “fantastic'' and Newcastle as ”amazing'' for Leave, telling Sky News: “It's clearly very tight [but] I think Remain might just nick it.''

Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, speaking at Manchester Town Hall, appealed to Labour voters who had voted to leave in Sunderland and Newcastle.

“My direct message to them and indeed other Labour voters across the country who have voted to leave is we hear you,” he said.

“We understand what you are saying. This referendum can't mark the end of the process.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in