07 March 2017

The Independent: UK public overwhelmingly oppose Theresa May's plan to leave EU with no deal in place

The BMG Research study showed twice as many people would rather the UK stay in the EU or try and secure a different deal, if MPs and Lords do not endorse the agreement the Prime Minister returns from Europe with.

The survey for The Independent also showed the public are bracing themselves for a Brexit hit on the economy over the next two years as painstaking negotiations over future relations play out.

It comes ahead of a major stand-off between Ms May’s Government and the House of Lords, which is demanding Parliament be guaranteed in law the final say on approving her Brexit deal and given power to send her back to the negotiating table if it is rejected.

So far Ms May has only given a verbal assurance Parliament will have a vote on her deal and has warned that if MPs and peers ditch her terms, the UK will simply leave the EU without a deal and trade with the bloc on World Trade Organisation rules – something many believe will be hugely damaging to the economy.

Asked what “should happen next” if Parliament rejects Ms May’s deal, just 25 per cent said “we should leave the EU with no set future relations in place and revert to trading with the EU on World Trade Organisation rules.”

A greater proportion, 27 per cent, said Ms May should try to renegotiate a deal, 14 per cent said we should stay in the EU on new terms that Ms May should try to negotiate and 15 per cent said we should stay in on existing terms – a total of 56 per cent who favoured options at odds with the Prime Minister’s plan to quit and trade on WTO rules.

Even among Tory voters only 38 per cent backed leaving with no deal, while 38 per cent supported renegotiating and a further 18 per cent opting for staying in the EU on existing or new terms. [...]

Full article on The Independent

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