A recent study by the European Council on Foreign Relations found that Brexit voters would accept free movement for single market access, with 68% of UK voters backing this option. Public opinion in both EU and UK appears to be more pragmatic than government stances, with a majority supporting closer relations between the two.
A recent study by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) found that a majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU would now accept free movement in exchange for access to the single market. The report highlighted that public opinion on both sides of the Channel is more pragmatic than those stances held by government officials and politicians. The study suggests that there is a remarkable consensus on both sides of the Channel that the time is ripe for a reassessment of EU-UK relations, with closer relations being the most popular option in every country surveyed.
The report found that among British voters, there was clear support for a closer relationship with the EU, with 55% saying they would back closer links with the bloc, against 10% preferring more distant ties and 22% wanting to keep them as they were now. Among all UK voters, 68% of respondents would now back free movement in exchange for single market access, with 19% opposed.
The study also found that public opinion on both sides of the Channel appears significantly different from government stances. The report concluded that there is a remarkable consensus on both sides of the Channel that the time is ripe for a reassessment of EU-UK relations, with closer relations being the most popular option in every country surveyed.
The study suggests that global events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s election as US president have ‘fundamentally changed the context’ of EU-UK relations. The ECFR director, Mark Leonard, notes that ‘the Brexit-era divisions have faded and both European and British citizens realise that they need each other to get safer.’
The report found that about half of Britons believed greater engagement with the EU was the best way to bolster the UK economy (50%), strengthen security (53%), effectively manage migration (58%), tackle climate change (48%), allow Ukraine to stand up to Russia (48%), and for Britain to stand up to the US (46%) and China (49%).
The study also found that both UK and EU citizens are open to a much more ambitious and far-reaching reset than their governments have been envisaging. The report highlights that public opinion on both sides of the Channel is significantly different from those stances held by government officials and politicians.
