EU trying to bully us on Brexit, say two in three voters
TWO out of three voters say the EU is trying to bully Britain in the Brexit talks, a poll revealed yesterday.
Support for quitting the bloc remains similar to the level at the historic in-or-out referendum in 2016, the survey also found.
Researchers Orb International quizzed more than 2,000 adults in the latest poll about the public’s attitude towards the Brexit talks.
It found that 67 per cent of voters from across the political spectrum agreed that “the EU is trying to bully the UK” in the Brussels talks about a departure deal.
Quizzed
Thirty-one per cent of those quizzed agreed with the statement while 36 per cent strongly agreed.
Data in the poll showed that 53 per cent would back quitting the EU if a second referendum on the issue were held, while 47 per cent would vote to remain in the bloc.
The figures were little different from the historic referendum where 52 per cent voted to leave and 48 per cent to stay.
Yet a fresh legal challenge has been launched by Remain campaigners to attempt to trigger a fresh referendum.
Best for Britain, a proBrussels pressure group cofounded by Gina Miller, who is no longer a member, claims existing legislation guarantees a new poll if Theresa May pushes ahead with her proposals to retain the UK’s membership of some EU institutions such as the European Medicines Agency.
Best for Britain claims such a move would amount to a transfer of powers to Brussels that would trigger the “referendum lock” introduced under David Cameron’s coalition government. The campaign group’s Eloise Todd said: “This is not about Leave or Remain.
“It’s about making a democratic choice according to our constitution, given that many people are worried about Brexit.”
A Government source dismissed the challenge as “bogus” and “nonsensical”, pointing out that the EU Withdrawal Bill currently going through Parliament will scrap the 2011 European Union Act that introduced the referendum lock.
The poll was also released as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith attempted to kick-start the debate about post-Brexit immigration controls by publishing a report suggesting that EU migrants are claiming £4billion a year in benefits.
His paper said newcomers in work claimed more than £2billion while those out of work claimed around £1.1billion in tax credits and other hand-outs. A further £714million in child benefit payments was also claimed.
He sent his research to Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd in an attempt to influence the Government’s plans for new border controls after Britain leaves the EU.