LONDON: More Britons want to remain a member of the European Union than leave, according to a survey published on Sunday which also showed voters want to make the final decision themselves.
Britain is due leave the EU on March 29, but Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to get her exit deal approved by parliament, opening up huge uncertainty over whether a deal is possible, or even whether the country will leave at all.
The survey by polling firm YouGov showed that if a referendum were held immediately, 46 per cent would vote to remain, 39 per cent would vote to leave, and the rest either did not know, would not vote, or refused to answer the question.
When the undecided and those who refused to answer were removed from the sample, the split was 54-46 in favour of remaining.
That is broadly in line with other polls in recent months which show a deeply divided electorate, in which opinion has swung towards remaining in the EU. The 2016 referendum voted 52 to 48 per cent in favour of leaving.
The poll of more than 25,000 voters was commissioned by the People’s Vote campaign, which is spearheading an increasingly vocal push for a second referendum on Brexit.
On Sunday, May reiterated her opposition to holding a second referendum, saying it would be divisive and disrespectful to those who voted to leave in the initial vote, and also highlighted a lack of time available to hold a new referendum.
But, the survey showed 41 per cent thought the final decision about Brexit should be made by a new public vote versus 36 per cent who believe it should be up to parliament. Removing those who are undecided, the split was 53 per cent in favour of another referendum and 47 per cent against.
Lawmakers are due to vote on whether to accept May’s exit deal in the week beginning on January 14.
Meanwhile, the number of British citizens who are taking on the citizenship of another EU member state has risen substantially ahead of Britain’s planned departure from the bloc in March.
Germany, Ireland, Spain and Portugal have seen a marked increase in applications for passports from Britons in the past three years.
— Reuters
Many Brits are anxious about their future and their ability to work or travel in mainland Europe as the outcome of Britain’s negotiations with the EU on the terms of its departure and the economic impact of Brexit remains uncertain.
In Germany, this led to a record 7,500 naturalizations by British citizens in 2017, up from a mere 622 in 2015.
Ireland received approximately 183,000 applications for Irish passports from British citizens in 2018. The number of applications from mainland Britain - over 98,000 - represents an increase of 22 per cent compared to the previous year.
In Spain, the number of Britons who applied for citizenship tripled in the first 10 months of last year compared with 2015. The figure was nevertheless quite low - 166 - owing to the requirement that a citizenship applicant from Britain renounce his or her current passport and prove residence in Spain for at least 10 years.
Portugal saw the number of citizenship applications from Britain skyrocket in the first 11 months of 2018 to around 500. In 2015, the tiny Iberian nation recorded only 62.
Britain’s divided parliament plans to reopen its debate on Brexit on Wednesday, with a vote on a deal agreed by Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU scheduled for the third week of January.
May’s proposal is not expected to win a majority. — Reuters/dpa
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