LIVERPOOL, England — Seven out of ten voters want the government to build a closer relationship with the European Union, according to a new POLITICO Poll that shows the extent of support for overhauling the Brexit settlement. Even among voters who support Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, a majority — 51% — share the view that the current arrangement with Brussels is too distant. The poll comes at a highly sensitive moment for the U.K.’s governing Labour Party, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham facing demands from some senior colleagues to reverse Brexit and rejoin the EU.
Public First asked respondents for their views on moving the country closer to the EU and accepting EU rules. Some 31% said Britain should build a “closer” relationship with Brussels, but only if it did not mean complying with the EU’s rulebook. But 39% wanted “much closer” cooperation even if that did require the U.K. to follow some EU rules again.
The poll also confirms how the Brexit debate has carved the country into two blocs — pro and anti. Supporters of parties on the left were far more likely to back a closer EU relationship than those on the right. Green Party voters were the keenest of all: 64% said they’d support much closer EU ties even if that meant applying more EU rules.
Older voters were less keen on closer ties to Brussels. Among Reform UK voters, 51% said they want a closer relationship — twice the 25% who want more distance from the EU. That poses a potential challenge for party leader Farage, a career Euroskeptic.
The finding could also provide ammunition for Labour politicians who want Burnham to be more ambitious about his plans to upgrade the U.K.-EU relationship, potentially including a return to the bloc’s customs union, single market or even full EU membership again. As Burnham prepared to deliver his Tuesday speech to party members and activists in Liverpool, a succession of ministers and others gave their views about what kind of closer relationship with the EU he should pursue. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair published a report urging Burnham to put rejoining a reformed EU on the agenda for the next decade.
In an interview at the POLITICO Pub in Liverpool on Monday, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called on the prime minister to begin the debate about rejoining the EU immediately, saying Brexit has been “a disaster” and “the biggest act of economic self-harm any country has ever done.” “At some stage, sooner or later, we’ll be having the conversation about rejoining the European Union,” Khan said.
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