Brexit’s last strongholds? Only Reform and Restore constituencies reject rejoining the EU
The polling suggests that full membership itself is becoming a mainstream preference across the country.
Britain’s political map is looking woefully out of step with Brexit.
A major new YouGov poll commissioned by Best for Britain found that restoring EU membership is the most popular option for the UK’s relationship with Europe in 628 of Great Britain’s 632 parliamentary constituencies. In the remaining four, Ashfield, Clacton, Great Yarmouth and Boston and Skegness, “don’t know” was the most popular response. Three are held by Reform UK and one by Restore Britain.
The YouGov survey of 11,927 people asked voters which EU relationship they would most like the government to propose. EU membership came first nationally, with 35 percent choosing it as their preferred option.
By comparison, 18 percent backed the government’s current approach of seeking a closer relationship with the EU while maintaining its red lines. Eleven percent wanted to loosen ties further, while only 6 percent chose the single market and 5 percent the customs union.
Brexit’s defenders have long argued that whatever the economic or diplomatic consequences of leaving, reversing it would be politically impossible. This polling suggests that assumption is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
The findings arrive as the government is signalling a desire to move closer to Europe. Andy Burnham has repeatedly said he wants a closer relationship with the EU, including during recent meetings with European leaders. On September 18, he told Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin that the UK wanted to work closely with Ireland as it seeks a closer relationship with Europe.
The question is no longer simply whether Britain wants a closer relationship with Europe. Increasingly, the polling suggests that full membership itself is becoming a mainstream preference across the country, while the strongest remaining pockets of uncertainty are concentrated in four Reform-held constituencies.
As Tom Brufatto, policy and research director at Best for Britain, told the Independent: “From the prime minister’s very own backyard, via the car manufacturers of the Midlands and the white cliffs of the Kent coastline, voters in virtually every single British constituency now back the UK restoring our place at the heart of Europe as their top choice on UK-EU relations, offering progressive politicians of all parties a roadmap to galvanise their support and see off the radical right threat from Reform UK.”
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