THE people of Poole should have their say on the 'super-council' merger following the overwhelming result of Christchurch's referendum, says Poole councillor Phil Eades.

Cllr Eades believes the Christchurch result - which revealed 84 per cent of the 21,022 votes cast were AGAINST the merger of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch councils - is a clear gauge of public opinion.

The Lib Dem councillor, who also poured scorn on the figures contained in last year's consultation on the merger, said "It (Christchurch referendum) has been a phenomenal result, I don't think anyone really saw that coming.

"It absolutely convinces me that I am right - that we should have a referendum in Poole.

"Firstly, I think the government cannot ignore the result. I think that would be outrageous if they ignored such a result.

"As soon as you take the consultation spin away from the matter, and you ask real people what they want - just an honest yes/no question - look at the results you get."

The councillor also says the consultation taken ahead of submitting proposals to the Secretary of State was "so biased" it was untrue.

Cllr Eades said: "It literally came from a start point where it asked, 'do you think the council should save money?' "Unsurprisingly, about 95 per cent of people said yes. Then it went immediately onto ask 'which form of merger do you prefer?'"

The turnout for Christchurch's referendum was 54 per cent.

Christchurch councillors will now meet on January 2 to decide what representations they will send to Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, who is due to make a final decision on the Future Dorset scheme early next year.

Meanwhile, Christchurch MP Christopher Chope, who wants the borough and county authorities to be kept as they are, has previously said: "How would the people of Poole or East Dorset answer the question of they were asked?"

Cllr Eades said: "I truly believe if you ask the people of Poole they will say no."