LONDON — The British public would vote by a sizable margin to rejoin the European Union if a new referendum was held, according to a nationwide poll.
The YouGov survey, carried out more than eight years after the U.K.’s Brexit vote, finds public support for rejoining in a hypothetical new referendum stands at 59 percent, with 41 percent saying they would be against joining the EU.
It also finds strong public support for closer ties between the U.K. and the EU — but makes clear that voters do not believe the newly elected Labour government has a mandate to try and rejoin the bloc wholesale.
Keir Starmer has stressed that Labour will not seek to rejoin the EU itself or its single market or customs union under his premiership. The 61-year-old PM has said rejoining will not happen within his lifetime.
YouGov found that a majority of voters (51 percent) believe Labour’s landslide election victory does not give Starmer a mandate to rejoin the EU — compared to a fifth (21 percent) who said it did.
However, the polling also finds voters support a closer relationship with the EU that does not involve rejoining the bloc, or its single market or customs union.
Nearly half (45 percent) of Brits felt Starmer had a mandate to seek this compared to 21 percent who said he didn’t. 2016 Brexit voters were tied on 36 percent for and against him having that mandate to push for closer ties.
Labour’s manifesto promised to reset the U.K.’s trade and investment relationship with the EU and seek a security pact. David Lammy’s first trip overseas as foreign secretary was to Germany, Poland and Sweden to try and signal a reset of relations after a fraught period under the Conservatives.
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