Poll shows support for second EU referendum

Almost half of voters want a second referendum on Brexit, according to a new poll released on the eve of the second anniversary of the historic vote to leave the EU.

And the survey for ITV1’s Good Morning Britain suggested that a fresh poll would produce  a very different outcome, with the UK voting to remain in the EU by a margin of 53% to 47%.

The projected result effectively reverses the referendum of June 23 2016, when Leave took 52% of votes, compared to 48% support for Leave.

Pollsters Survation found that 48% of those questioned wanted a second referendum on the final Brexit deal, against just 25% who did not. Some 18% said they did not have an opinion and 9% did not know.

Those supporting a new referendum included 35% of Leave voters and 66% of those who back Remain.

The survey found that 43% of voters back a “soft Brexit” – in which the UK would stay in both the single market and customs union – while 37% favour a “hard Brexit” in which Britain would leave both.

Some 57% of 2017 Labour voters backed a soft Brexit, against 23% who prefer a hard version.

Almost half (47%) of more than 1,000 people questioned thought leaving the EU without a deal would be bad for Britain, compared to 32% who said it would be good for Britain.

Only 35% of people said Brexit would be good for the UK economy, while 39% said it would be bad.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna, a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign for a second referendum, said:  “This new polling shows just how much momentum is building behind the campaign for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal.

“This Saturday will see tens of thousands from all over the UK marching for a People’s Vote in London and support is growing across the country.

“With the negotiations in chaos, with the Government making a total mess of Brexit and with Parliament paralysed, now is the time for people to take back control of the process.”

Eloise Todd of the Best for Britain campaign said: “MPs from all parties risk being two years out of date. It’s time to follow the will of the people and put the terms of the Brexit deal to them in a people’s vote.

“Across the country, doubts about Brexit mean people have started to change their mind – politicians must not ignore that; the public would never forgive them.”

The survey also found limited understanding among voters of some of the key issues in the Brexit debate.

Just 17% of those taking part could identify the correct definition of the customs union, while 38% chose the correct description of the single market.

Nearly two-fifths (39%) said they had a ‘limited’ understanding of the issues around the Irish border, while a further fifth (19%) said that they didn’t know anything about or hadn’t heard of the issue.

Some 40%  thought Brexit would make the relationship between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland more distant, compared to 30% who thought it would make no difference and 10% that it would make the relationship closer.

Meanwhile, 42% thought Brexit would make the relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the UK as a whole more distant, against just 8% who said it would benefit the relationship and 32% that it would be unchanged.