Plan fails to win backing of British public – poll

THERESA May’s Brexit plan has failed to win the backing of the British public, with an opinion poll suggesting that more than four in 10 Britons oppose it.

A YouGov poll conducted yesterday after the Prime Minister’s deal with Brussels was unveiled found twice as many people oppose it as support it, 42% to 19%.

Its survey of 3,154 people found that Leave and Remain supporters had similar views on it, with 42% of Brexit supporters against it, along with 47% of proEU voters, with 22% and 20% respectively in favour of it.

More than four in 10 people (44%) believe that the Prime Minister and her team could have got a better deal out of Brussels, with less than one in five (19%) saying they thought this was the best agreement possible.

The plan has also failed to find favour among Tory voters, the survey suggests, with 41% of 2017 Conservative voters opposing it, against 28% backing the Prime Minister.

A separate poll suggested almost half of voters now back a second Brexit referendum. Support for a fresh vote on EU withdrawal was backed by 48% in a YouGov survey carried out after Mrs May’s withdrawal agreement text was published on Wednesday night.

The poll of 1,153 people, commissioned by the People’s Vote and published in the London Evening Standard, found 34% were against a new vote. With “don’t knows” removed, the ratio was 59% to 42% in favour of a new referendum.