South Glos votes to leave the EU

South Gloucestershire, like the country as a whole, has voted narrowly to leave the European Union. The official result in our area was:

Remain: 74,928 (47.3%)
Leave: 83,405 (52.7%)
Turnout: 76.2%

Your Focus Team campaigned positively with people of other parties and none for the UK to remain in the European Union, so of course we are disappointed. Now the momentous decision has been made to leave, we will continue to work to get the best for local people as our country takes the next steps.

We need to work together to reconcile the divisions this referendum has highlighted – if you would like to join us in doing that, please get in touch.

The most important 10 minutes this year

This Thursday our country faces its most important choice in a generation, as we vote on whether to remain in or leave the European Union. Your Focus Team believes it's vital that you use your vote to support REMAIN.

We believe we should stay in the EU, because that’s how we can tackle our most important problems – through a strong economy that can pay for vital services like the NHS and co-operation to tackle complex global challenges like climate change and terrorism.

Being in Europe keeps many jobs safe and makes sure we get lots of investment in Britain. But it also helps us in simple every day ways, for instance cutting mobile phone roaming charges and making sure we have access to medical care while on holiday.

Here in South Gloucestershire, prominent local businesses that provide jobs for local people have come out strongly in favour of a REMAIN vote. Airbus recently wrote to all employees, telling them: "Our position... is we firmly believe that it makes good economic sense to stay inside the EU which has helped make the company the global success story it is today. Apart from anything else, we simply don't know what 'out' looks like."

This is why your vote this week is crucial. The decision you make this Thursday will shape our country for years to come. We only have one chance – please make plans now for what time of day you will vote. You can vote at your usual place from 7am to 10pm. If you haven't used your postal vote yet, you can take it along to the polling station on the day.

There is still time to learn more and join our campaign by visiting www.libdems.org.uk/europe You can also let us know your views on the referendum by completing this survey.

Fact checking websites

If you feel confused by the claims and counter-claims made by the two sides in the EU referendum debate, it's worth checking out the BBC Reality Check and Channel 4 News FactCheck.

Referendum campaign in full swing

On Saturday the Focus Team was out campaigning in both Yate and Thornbury for a REMAIN vote in the EU referendum on 23rd June.

You can find out why we are campaigning for the UK to stay ‪#‎INtogether‬ here- and if you'd like to help us campaign you can sign up here.

Of course you can only vote in the referendum if you're registered to vote. You can register quickly and easily online and need to do it by 7th June to be able to vote in the referendum. If you're already registered, there is no need to register again. If you're going to be away, you can vote by post or proxy.

Make sure you're registered to vote

If you want to be able to vote for the next Police and Crime Commissioner on 5th May but are not yet registered at your current address, you can do it online at www.avonpccelection2016.org.uk/register-to-vote before midnight on Monday 18 April.

If you can’t go to the polling station on Thursday 5 May, then if you have registered by 18 April you can apply to vote by post or you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf. The deadline for postal vote applications is on 5pm on Tuesday 19 April 2016, while the deadline for proxy vote applications is 5pm on Tuesday 26 April 2016.

Registering now for the elections in May will also mean you are registered in good time before the EU referendum on Thursday 23 June.