Towns line up to host their own parish polls

The grass roots campaign to force the Prime Minister to hold a referendum on the
proposed EU treaty received a huge boost last night with the news that an entire
constituency is planning its own "parish poll".

Alex Story, a prospective Tory candidate for Wakefield, West Yorks, is
organising a vote for the constituency, which has a population of more than
60,000.

"Everything is in place for the vote but we need to raise the funding, which
will be about £30,000," he said.

"I am confident I can get the money. We have to run our own vote because we
would never get a referendum if we waited for the politicians to do it."

His move came after the village of East Stoke in Dorset exploited a little-known
law to force its district council to run a parish poll.

Thursday's vote, which asked the 369 residents if they wanted a referendum,
ended with 90 per cent of participants saying yes.

Since then at least 10 more villages and parishes have contacted The Daily
Telegraph or local authorities to say they wish to hold a ballot. Mark Siggers,
who is organising a vote in the Mereworth and West Peckham parishes in Kent,
said he would have no problem getting support.

"I could get six times the number of signatures I need just by visiting the
local pub, such is the strength of feeling," he said.

Parishioners in Sidmouth, Devon; Loughton, near Milton Keynes, Bucks;
Lanteglos-by-Fowey and Mawgan-in-Meneage, Cornwall; Mortimer West End, Hants,
and Broughton, Cambs, all emailed The Telegraph to say they were in the process
of organising votes.

David Owen, a retired bank manager from Exmouth, Devon, is trying to force East
Devon district council to hold a vote.

He said: "I think it is really wrong that a government can completely ignore the
wishes of 80 per cent of the people that reside in this country."

The parish polls only add to the pressure growing on Gordon Brown to hold a
referendum. More than 96,000 people have signed up to The Telegraph's campaign
for a public vote.