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In a massive turnaround from the EU referendum result, the North East now wants to remain in Europe.

That is the impression given by our poll which saw an emphatic 73% to 27% margin of victory for Remain.

This compares to June 23 when the North East came out conclusively for Brexit, the Leave campaign winning 58% of the popular support.

In our survey more than 1,500 people took part of who 1,114 voted for Remain and 412 for Leave.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron the result of our poll is not just a wake up call to the Tory government and its Brexit policy - it is one to Labour too.

He said: “Newcastle voted Remain in June, though famously Sunderland and the rest of the region did not.

“Six months on it is clear that the Government has no plan on Brexit and there is a growing appreciation amongst the public of the enormity of the economic damage a Hard Brexit will bring to the NE and to the UK as a whole.

“Pro Remain North East Labour MPs should take heed of this poll - they need to stand up and be counted, and if that means breaking ranks with their floundering leadership, so be it.”

As Mr Farron said, the earliest indication that the Leave campaign was to triumph after the June 23 referendum came in the North East.

First when the Remain campaign just scraped home in Newcastle where they had expected a resounding victory.

And then Sunderland where Leave was this time expected to scrape home but ended up winning by a landslide.

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This was despite the fact that the North East appeared to have the most to leave from leaving the EU.

From 2014 to 2020, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership was earmarked to receive £433m from the EU to create jobs, help new businesses, and support research and technical development projects, one of the highest ‘per-head’ cash ratios in the UK.

Around 100,000 jobs in the North East were linked to exports to Europe while in 2015, 58% of goods exported from the North East, worth around £7bn, were sold in EU countries.

There had been fears about Nissan leaving the region but they have been allayed after the company received assurances - not yet detailed - from the government.

Could the result of our poll be the first indication that not just the North East but the UK has now changed its mind?

Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah said: “Since the referendum many constituents have expressed to me their fears and regrets. Equally though some have shared their satisfaction.

“It’s clear that many of the concerns raised before the referendum coming true and the Government’s chaotic, ad hoc Brexit non plan is making things worse.

“I’m grateful to the Chronicle for raising this issue but the vote which counts is the one that takes place in the polling booths.

“The country voted to leave the European Union and I believe I have a democratic duty to help realise what the country voted for.

“But that was not to be poorer, to have powers centralised in a Whitehall powergrab, or a bonfire of employment rights and public services. I’ll be fighting for a Brexit that works for the people of the North East.”