Britons still divided over Brexit despite May’s ‘unity’ plea

AS Theresa May kicks off the process of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU with a plea for “unity”, a new poll has suggested that the UK remains split down the middle on the issue, with 44% saying the decision to leave was right and 43% saying it was wrong.

But the YouGov survey found little appetite for a second referendum on the deal the Prime Minister secures in Brussels, with just 21% backing the idea, against 25% who did not support Brexit but believe Mrs May should implement the referendum decision and 44% who want Britain to leave.

Some 37% said the government has been handling the Brexit negotiations badly so far, against 35% who think it is doing well. More than a third (35%) said Mrs May had been moving too slowly, compared with 20% who said she was going too quickly and 27% that she had got it right. Almost half (48%) said they had confidence in the PM to negotiate the kind of deal she wants from Brussels, while 39% did not.

As Chancellor Philip Hammond warned it will not be possible for the UK to “have our cake and eat it”, there were signs voters are still hopeful of maintaining free trade with the remaining EU while imposing controls on immigration. Despite expert warnings that the EU will not allow full access to the single market without free movement of people, 40% said it was a “false choice” and Britain would get its way on both.