A pro-European Union badge in London on March 29, 2018. Photo / Bloomberg, Washington Post
A pro-European Union badge in London on March 29, 2018. Photo / Bloomberg, Washington Post
Britons support holding a vote on the final Brexit deal secured by Prime Minister Theresa May, according to a YouGov poll for the pro-remain group Best for Britain.
Those saying the public should have the final say on whether to accept the Brexit deal or remain in the European Union exceeded opponents by 8 percentage points, according to the poll results released today by the group, whose funders include billionaire investor George Soros.
Respondents said they would opt to remain in the bloc if given a second referendum.
The survey results pose a dilemma for May, who in December was forced into conceding a vote on her Brexit deal to MPs following a rebellion by members of her own Conservative Party.
But after previous polls showed there was no appetite for a second referendum on Brexit, she's been able to fend off demands for a new vote amid tricky divorce talks with her EU counterparts.
"The possibility of Brexit is sharpening the British public's minds, and now there is a decisive majority in favour of a final say for the people of our country on the terms of Brexit," said Best for Britain Chief Executive Officer Eloise Todd.
"This poll is a turning point moment. The only democratic way to finish this process is to make sure the people of this country, not MPs across Europe, have the final say, giving them an informed choice on the two options available to them: the deal the government brings back and our current terms," Todd said.
Some 44 per cent of 813 adults polled on April 5 and 6 by YouGov said there should be a vote on May's Brexit terms.
That compares with 36 per cent who said there shouldn't be one, and it almost reverses the proportions from a similar poll in January.
In the latest survey, 44 per cent of respondents also said they'd vote to remain in the EU in the event of a second referendum, with 41 per cent opting to leave. No margin of error was given.
It's the first time YouGov has returned a result in support of a vote specifically between accepting the divorce terms and remaining in the EU.
An ICM poll for the Guardian in January found supporters of a second EU referendum outweighed those who rejected reopening the question by 16 percentage points.
May hopes to finalise a divorce deal with the EU in the northern autumn, though only the outline of the new post-Brexit trading relationship is likely to be agreed upon before departure day next March, when a 21-month transition period is due to begin.
A sign advertising a polling station being used for the general election sits on the door of the Fox and Hound pub in Christmas Common, England, on June 8, 2017. Photo / Bloomberg, Washington Post
While May and opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn both say they intend to implement the 2016 referendum result, there are still MPs on both sides of the political divide who'd like to reverse Brexit. Yesterday, Labour peer Andrew Adonis - May's former infrastructure tsar - said it isn't yet a fait accompli.
"It is absolutely not a done deal at the moment," Adonis said in a Sky News interview. "Parliament will take the final say; it can, if it chooses to do so, refer it to the people."
May today will visit her counterparts in Sweden and Denmark to discuss issues including Russian aggression, trade, investment and progress toward a Brexit deal, her office said last week.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox begins a week-long visit to the US and Canada. He's looking to drum up trade and investment opportunities with allies Britain's relying on for post-Brexit trade deals. Fox will meet with companies including Amazon.com Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., according to his office.
With Parliament in recess, Brexit has slid into the background for the past two weeks and domestic issues have come to the fore, including a surge in violent crime.
