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Almost half of British citizens back attempts for the UK to get closer to the EU rather than Donald Trump and the US, a major new poll has revealed.
The Ipsos Mori poll of 1,092 online British adults was taken this week as the world was plunged into economic chaos with the Trump administration threatening tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico and the EU.
With Brexit reset talks beginning properly today in Brussels, the survey showed that given a choice, Brits are far more likely to choose Europe over the USA or the Commonwealth.
Asked who they want closer ties with, 47 per cent said the EU, the highest figure since 2019, while just 21 per cent chose Trump’s America and 15 per cent the Commonwealth.
Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Politics at Ipsos noted: “Amidst political volatility in both the US and Europe, Britons are increasingly viewing Europe as the most important relationship for Britain.”
Pro-EU campaigners believe that it shows the UK government needs to be more ambitious in its Brexit reset aims and consider rejoining the EU’s customs union and single market.
Dr Mike Galsworthy, chair of the pro-EU campaign group European Movement UK, said: “This latest polling tells a very similar story to last week’s polling by YouGov – that the British public is becoming increasingly fed up with the negative impacts that leaving the EU is having on our country.
“Being outside the European Single Market is costing our economy £115 billion a year, and the public finances more than £40 billion a year. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts a 15 per cent hit to the trade intensity of our economy.
“We have seen soaring import costs, increased workforce shortages and reams of new red tape. No wonder exports to the EU by our small businesses are down by 30 per cent, and 20,000 small firms across UK have stopped all exports to the EU. Meanwhile, LSE research shows a £27 billion fall in goods exports to the EU – enough to fill a fiscal black hole or two. Politicians must now face the facts – five years on, Brexit is still an ongoing accident, and its damage is far from over.”
The polling also revealed that 48 per cent now believe that Brexit has “impacted them negatively rising from 28 percent who said the same in March 2021.
When asked about priorities for Britain’s relationship with the EU, improving trade agreements to facilitate the exchange of goods and services emerged as the top concern (32 per cent).
Other key priorities include working with the EU to address illegal immigration (26 per cent) and collaborating on crime and terrorism prevention (21 per cent).
But just one in three Britons (34 per cent) expressed confidence that Britain and the EU will work together to achieve a satisfactory outcome on their top priorities, with half (53 per cent) saying they’re not confident.
Paul Adamson, chair of the EU-UK Forum, who commissioned the poll, said: “Not just politicians but also the general public feel very strongly about the need for greater EU-UK cooperation in a whole raft of areas.
“But the absence of visible progress leads inevitably to the public feeling pessimistic about progress in strengthening the relationship. Today’s conference is an opportunity to take stock in a public setting about what is being done and what remains to be achieved.”
