How the Remainers turned to Labour

REMAIN supporters voted for the Labour Party in the general election in the belief that it would stop a ‘hard Brexit’, a study suggested yesterday.

It found those who voted to stay in the EU in the referendum destroyed the Conservative majority in the snap election by flocking to Labour as the ‘best bet’ to avoid a fullblooded departure from the bloc.

Jeremy Corbyn won over ‘large numbers’ of Remain backers from the Tories, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats in June’s election, the study suggested. This is despite the Labour leader apparently being committed to taking Britain out of the EU and the single market.

Research by the British Election Study found more than 50 per cent of all voters who backed Remain in last year’s EU referendum gave their support to Labour in the general election.

This compared with 25 per cent for the Tories and 15 per cent for the anti-Brexit Lib Dems, who had promised a second referendum under Tim Farron’s leadership.

Academics Ed Fieldhouse and Chris Prosser said: ‘Despite an ambiguous position on the single market, Labour was seen as the best bet for those wanting to keep closer ties with our European neighbours.’

The research, based on interviews with more than 30,000 voters, concluded that Brexit was crucial on polling day, despite barely featuring in the election campaign.

More than one in three respondents identified it as the most important issue.