New polling suggests British attitudes towards EU membership have shifted significantly since the vote to leave in 2016.
Opinium research has found over half (55 per cent) of UK voters would support a “Swiss-style relationship”, while just 21 per cent oppose it.
The “Swiss-style” relationship was described as involving:
- access to the European single market
- participates in EU research and education programmes
- removal of all documentary and identity checks and most physical checks on goods
- accepting some EU legislation as part of the closer relationship
- being part of the Schengen free travel area and free movement
- stay outside of the European Union
Over half (51 per cent) of Conservative voters supported this idea, vs a third who opposed it, while over two thirds (67 per cent) of Labour voters supported it, vs one in seven (14 per cent) who oppose the idea.
Looking at how support falls when considering Brexit voter lines, Remain voters supported it by 73 per cent to 9 per cent, while Leave voters supported it by 41 per cent to 35 per cent.
When looking at attitudes toward Brexit, two thirds say Brexit has gone badly so far, vs only 22 per cent who say it has gone well.
Over a third (34 per cent) want to rejoin the EU, while 25 per cent want to stay outside but have a closer relationship with them than we have now. One in seven want things to remain as they are and 14 per cent want a more distant relationship.
Adam Drummond, Head of Political and Social Research at Opinium said: “Is Brexit burning out as a divisive issue? Most people think Brexit is going badly and has been bad for a range of things like prices, incomes and the economy.
“The only age group where fewer than 60% say it’s going badly are those over 65.
“Unfortunately for the Conservatives, those that think it’s going well are a core part of their base while for Labour they are a core part of the group they are trying to win over.
“Nevertheless, the fact is that we seem to be edging towards a consensus in support of normalizing the UK-EU relationship and away from the constant conflict of recent years.”
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