Pro-remain Sir Eric Pickles has said we should not rush to formally leave the EU after the referendum result.

The Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar said he was “obviously disappointed” that 51.9 per cent of people nationwide voted for the UK to leave.

In Epping Forest, the remain camp only took 37.3 per cent of the vote.

“I don’t think we should be in any hurry to give formal notice of our departure,” Sir Pickles wrote online yesterday (June 27).

“There are some very complicated arrangements to be made, ranging from medical cover and roaming charges within the EU to more complex things like how much of the single market we want to be in and at what price.”

He claimed free trade on goods suits the EU, with an £80billion UK deficit on goods.

But he said freedom of financial services is also “vitally important”, with a current £20billion surplus nationally.

“The uncertainty over this has caused banks to transfer jobs out of the UK already.

“We need to ensure this does not become a stampede, as it will affect not just bankers but anyone in financial services.

“I will press the government hard on this as many commuter jobs are at risk locally.”

Sir Pickles said the “beauty” of the June 23 referendum was that everyone had an equal vote.

“Locally the vote was resoundingly for leave, as I suspected, but I would not be much of an MP if I tailored my views to what was popular rather than what I actually think.

“Democracy demands that I accept the will of the people and get on with dismantling our membership with the EU.

“I have received many letters from constituents demanding a second referendum: some claimed that they had not understood the full impact and regretted their decision.”

However, he added: “The referendum will not be overturned.

“The referendum was not a TV reality show: you can’t keep on voting until you get it right, votes cast for trivial reasons count equally alongside the carefully considered vote.”

He was “sorry to see” David Cameron announce his resignation, but said “it was an inevitable consequence of the referendum result.

“I hope he and Sam get to enjoy life outside high office, they both deserve to.”