UK Voters Want Closer Relationship with EU in ‘Significant’ Shift since Brexit

THE OBSERVER: Major study finds public see ties with Europe as more important than links with US and many ‘exhausted’ by ‘toxic’ debate

Protesters gather in front of the Foreign Office and Downing Street, demanding a new election and the UK's rejoining of the EU on 25 March 2023. Photograph: Sinai Noor/REX/Shutterstock
Almost twice as many UK voters now believe a close relationship with the EU is more important for peace, prosperity and security than ties with the US, according to a major new study of post-Brexit attitudes.

The report, based on extensive polling and discussion groups with people of all Brexit persuasions, finds that attitudes towards the EU are becoming more favourable across a range of policy areas, and that the entire Brexit debate is now far less toxic and more pragmatic.

This, its authors say, will give a potential Labour government “space and permission” to work towards closer links, particularly on issues of trade, security and defence, where a clear majority of the public is now in favour. The report by the independent thinktank British Future found that 52% of the public would now like the UK to have a closer relationship with the EU, with only 12% saying it should have a more distant one, and 27% in favour of maintaining the status quo. » | Toby Helm, Political editor | Saturday, December 9, 2023