Half of voters tell PM:You’re mishandling talks with EU

THERESA MAY is mishandling the Brexit negotiations and voters fear they are going to be left worse off as a result, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found.

Voters are split down the middle over whether we should still leave the EU, but are keen for Mrs May to ignore the hardliners in her party by pursuing a soft Brexit.

And while Jeremy Corbyn maintains Labour’s poll lead, neither of the frontrunners to replace Mrs May – David Davis or Boris Johnson – would beat him if an Election was held tomorrow.

The poll by Survation, the only company to correctly predict last month’s Election result, finds that just 18 per cent of voters think the Government is handling Brexit well, compared with 45 per cent who think the opposite.

People fear they will be left worse off

And while the Leave/Remain split is exactly 50-50, concerns are creeping in among voters about the complexity and cost of Brexit: only 18 per cent of people think they will be financially better off as a result of the vote to leave, compared with 39 per cent who think they will be in a worse position.

When asked if Brexit had been more ‘problematic’ than they had expected, 43 per cent agreed and just 12 per cent disagreed.

By a margin of two to one – 65 per cent to 35 per cent – voters disagree with Mrs May that leaving the EU without a deal is better than securing a ‘bad’ deal. In total, 53 per cent would prefer a soft Brexit – retaining a close association with the EU’s trading bloc – while 47 per cent would not.

Mr Corbyn is still enjoying his post-Election honeymoon, with Labour on 41 per cent – two points ahead of the Tories. He also enjoys a rating of 45 per cent when voters are asked who would make the best PM. Mrs May scored 55 per cent.

And while a majority (53 per cent) think Mrs May should resign, the figure reverses among Tory voters worried about a destabilising leadership contest. Just 17 per cent of Conservative voters want her to step down.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leads the field of candidates to replace her, with 41 per cent, compared to Brexit Secretary David Davis on 27 per cent and Chancellor Philip Hammond on 22.

But in a head-to-head contest between Mr Johnson and Mr Davis, the Brexit Secretary wins with 54 per cent.

When voters were asked what party they would support in an Election if Mr Johnson or Mr Davis became Tory leader, Labour was three points ahead.

Survation questioned 1,024 people on Friday and Saturday