Brexit poll finds most Brits are opposed to leaving EU without deal

Theresa May faces potential backlash after poll finds most Britons oppose hard Brexit
PA
Saphora Smith13 February 2017
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Most Britons oppose a so-called hard Brexit and are not prepared to leave the European Union without a reasonable exit deal, a new poll has found.

The survey, conducted by ICM for online campaigning organisation Avaaz, found that just 35 per cent of the public said they backed Britain leaving the EU without an agreement with other nations.

If the UK reaches the end of the two-year negotiating period without a deal it would be forced to fall back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariffs, which some MPs have claimed would badly damage the economy.

The poll was conducted on the day the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to trigger Article 50, the process which formally starts the Brexit process.

It suggests Mrs May would face a significant backlash if she allowed the country to crash out of the EU without a deal. She has previously said she is willing to quit the block without reaching a deal if she does not think it is satisfactory for Britain.

It found that 54 per cent of those surveyed backed extending negotiations or calling a second referendum if a deal could not be reached. Thirty-four per cent of those people said Mrs May should return to the negotiating table if a Brexit deal was not reached.

But 20 per cent backed halting the exit process while a second referendum is held to vote on the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU.

The latter option is backed by the Liberal Democrats and a cross-party group of MPs including Labour MPs Heidi Alexander and David Lammy, as well as Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Tom Brake told the Guardian the survey proved the government’s position was indefensible.

He told the paper: “Our best hope of stopping a ruinous hard Brexit that nobody voted for and few want is if the public rally round to fight it, as Brexit grows more unpopular.

“That means uniting many who voted leave but now want to avoid the economic catastrophe of quitting the single market, and who want to protect those European citizens who contribute so much to Britain’s economy and society.”

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