The majority of Brits believe Britain can retain full access to the single market whilst also having control over immigration coming from the European Union, according to a recent YouGov poll. 16% of those asked stated that immigration was more important than Free Trade, compared to 24% who argued the opposite. However, both these numbers were well beaten by those who believe that Britain can get both at the same time (a whopping 40%).
In light of these findings, it seems that a large portion of the public are following the rhetoric of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who publicly said: “Our policy is having our cake and eating it.” Unsurprisingly, many EU senior officials have argued that control over immigration would come at a cost of free trade, or vice versa. Chancellor Philip Hammond has also recently come out in disagreement over his cabinet chum’s choice of words, saying that when it came down to it: “We can't cherry pick”.
No sign of Bregret
Contrary to popular belief, YouGov also found little support for ‘Bregret’, noting that the percentage of people who believed it was right or wrong to leave the EU hasn’t changed significantly since polling began last summer.
This will no doubt be a painful blow to many in the media, who’ve spent several months carefully constructing the narrative that we’ve changed our minds and want back in.
Most Brits want Britain to leave EU – even the Remainers
The number of people wanting Brexit to go ahead is also staying steady. Ignoring the 10% of people who couldn’t muster a simple yes or no concerning one of the most important pieces of legislation to happen to this country in decades, just over one in five (21%) of voters want to see the results of last year’s referendum overturned.
With 44% of people saying they had voted leave and had no intention of backing down on it, it appears that the remain vote is split roughly down the middle.
Half of those who voted to stay in the EU are willing to honour the democratic process even if their side lost, with the other half probably still fuming about that ridiculous bus.
No deal is better than a bad deal
Finally, in a matter of 55% to 24%, the public seem to agree that Britain should walk away from a bad Brexit deal, echoing Prime Minister Theresa May’s statement that “no deal is better than a bad deal”. In fact, YouGov found that May’s doing pretty well for herself in the polls. Almost half (48%) of people polled said they were confident in her ability to negotiate a good deal from the EU, compared to 39% who said they weren’t.