Brexit news: Half of Brits want second referendum if UK doesn't get a deal with EU
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Loading... - Hoi Angelique
- 10 Aug 2021
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Half of voters want a second Brexit referendum if talks with Brussels break down and the UK is set to crash out without a deal, a poll shows today.
The YouGov survey for the People’s Vote campaign found 50% believe the final decision on leaving the EU should be taken by the public, with a quarter opting to give Parliament the ultimate say.
And Remainers would win a fresh vote by 53% to 47% when don’t knows are stripped out, according to an online poll of 10,000 voters.
Theresa May has repeatedly insisted there will be no second referendum.
But Labour MP Chuka Umunna, of the People’s Vote campaign, said: “This significant new opinion poll shows growing and strong support for a people’s vote on the final Brexit deal.
“Politicians of all sides are increasingly trapped inside red lines of their own making, but the momentum this summer is with the campaign for a people’s vote as more and more people realise it’s the only way to take back control of the process.
“It is clear from YouGov’s findings that public opinion is moving behind a People’s Vote across the political spectrum. This poll shows that Labour voters overwhelmingly support a People’s Vote, putting them at odds with the Party’s official pro-Brexit position.”
Remainers are stepping up their fight for a second vote and deny it would be a rerun of the referendum two years ago.
Supporters of a fresh poll believe the 52% to 48% victory for Leave at the June 2016 referendum - the largest democratic exercise ever seen in Britain and which saw a 1.2 million majority wanting to quit the bloc - could now be overturned.
But a second vote would fuel claims a pro-EU elite was failing to respect the result of the original poll, and risk alienating swathes of the electorate.
Among Labour voters, 77% want to stay in the EU while just 23% want to quit the bloc, according to today’s (FRI) survey.
And 63% of those backing Jeremy Corbyn ’s party support a “people’s vote”, compared with 18% who oppose a fresh referendum. Some 19% don’t know.
Nearly three quarters of those polled - 73% - believe “many of the promises made by Leave campaign will be broken”, with only 13% disagreeing.
And 68% believe Britain “will get a bad deal from Brexit talks”, with 13% disagreeing.
Former YouGov president Peter Kellner said: “If the Brexit negotiations with Brussels break down, a two-to-one majority of voters want the public, not Parliament, to decide what happens.
“Even people who voted Leave tend to prefer a new referendum, by 39 to 34%. This is politically significant.
“There is clearly the potential for a broadly-based campaign this autumn for a people’s vote, should the Brussels talks go badly.
“Support for a new referendum would go well beyond the ranks of those who want to stop Brexit. Across the spectrum, the message from voters in this survey is clear - if the Government and Parliament can’t sort out Brexit, the people should.”
Meanwhile, business leaders today recommend scrapping targets to limit immigration after Brexit.
Firms need a new immigration policy, avoiding visas for EU citizens and putting migration on the table for trade talks, according to a Confederation of British Industry report.
Calling for “blunt targets” to be axed, deputy director-general Josh Hardie said: “This is no longer a theoretical debate.
“It’s about the future of our nation. Openness and control must not be presented as opposites.
“Scrapping blunt targets, ensuring all who come to the UK contribute and using the immigration dividend to support public services will add to public confidence.
“Many sectors are already facing shortages, from nurses to software engineers - so fast, sustainable, evidence-based action is needed.”
