Although 27% of respondents wanted a much closer relationship with the aim of rejoining and 22% want to have a closer relationship but stay out of the block, 12% want to move away from Europe . Of the 24% of respondents who approved the deal, they did so with an important warning that it was the best offer for the “foreseeable future.” 15% of respondents said they did not know.
The survey, conducted the week after the agreement came into force on January 1, is the first major temperature check on what the British think about the reality of Brexit. Although the UK formally left the EU on March 31 last year, the transition agreements ensured little consequence changed until the end of December.
But since then, trade between Britain and Northern Ireland has been disrupted, financial markets in the UK have lost business to mainland Europe and British exporters have been forced to see fresh produce rot. , as new trade barriers prevented exports from reaching European markets on time.
British sentiment towards Europe remains difficult to detach. Broadly speaking, attitudes have softened in the last twelve months. Although only a minority wants to join the bloc, most respondents said they viewed the European Union as a more important international partner for the UK than the United States.
And while many younger metropolitan voters are more pro-European than older voters, the report notes that more than a quarter of respondents who voted to leave the EU describe themselves as “European”.
The survey, which was conducted on behalf of BFPG by Opinium pollster, asked 2,002 British citizens questions ranging from what they thought of the Johnson Brexit deal to the real importance of the so-called “relationship special ”with the United States.
Most respondents were broadly positive that the UK should be active on the world stage, largely in areas that Johnson says are a priority for his government. Johnson has made it clear that he wants to use his G7 presidency this year, as well as the UK’s position as host of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, to make a statement on Britain’s commitment after the Brexit with the international order.
Uncomfortable for Johnson, the report also reveals challenges to his “global Britain” agenda among British voters. The Prime Minister has long claimed that an advantage of Brexit would be the freedom to pursue independent foreign policies on trade, environmental issues, national security, normal leadership and foreign aid.
In fact, most believe that UK spending on foreign policy should be maintained or increased, support a multilateral approach to climate change and would like the UK to show moral leadership.
But when it comes to international relations in the round, Johnson fails to pass: 49% of respondents said they did not trust the UK government in foreign policy, compared to 39% who did. 12% did not know it. Johnson could also be alarmed to find that the voters he appreciated for other parties to deliver his victory in 2019 – with his commitment to “do Brexit” – are the most isolationist.
However, he adds: “I am optimistic that a single project to bring the country together around a common vision of the UK’s role in the world can be successful, but it will be a difficult slogan to realize that ambition.”
The report, perhaps unsurprisingly, paints a picture of a nation being accepted with the most significant change in its domestic and foreign agenda for decades, not knowing what its next steps should be. And, for many, it will confirm the view that the 2016 vote to leave the EU has created a new divide in British politics that fails to be saved.