Half of British voters said they would opt to be an EU member if there was a referendum now, putting pressure on prime minister Keir Starmer
The YouGov survey, carried out in six European countries, showed 50pc of voters in the UK would opt to be an EU member if there was a referendum now, compared to 45pc and 46pc in France and Italy. The numbers were higher in Germany (62pc), Denmark (75pc) and Spain (66pc).
It also found that in the UK, just 31pc of people said they would vote to be outside the EU – far lower than the 52pc who backed Brexit nearly a decade ago. In France, that figure was 30pc, while in Italy it was 28pc, Germany 20pc, Denmark 14pc and Spain 13pc.
Just 31pc of people said they would vote to be outside the EU
The findings will put pressure on UK prime minister Keir Starmer days after No 10 said he would stick to his EU “red lines”, despite an interview in which health secretary Wes Streeting appeared to back a customs union with the bloc.
In what was seen as a direct challenge to the prime minister, Mr Streeting said a “deeper trading relationship” with Europe would boost UK economic growth.
Mr Starmer has pledged a “reset” of UK-EU relations but has rejected calls to rejoin the group or become part of its single market or customs union.
Despite his stance, Labour ministers have begun to talk up the economic costs of Brexit more.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said a ‘deeper trading relationship’ with Europe would boost UK economic growth. Photo: Getty
Last month, it was reported that Minouche Shafik, Mr Starmer’s chief economic adviser, privately recommended rejoining the customs union in the run-up to November’s budget, arguing it would cut costs for businesses and increase exports.
The deputy prime minister, David Lammy, also suggested that rejoining the union could increase economic growth, although he stressed it was not government policy.
It comes after an analysis revealed that Brexit is costing the UK up to £90bn (€103bn) a year in lost tax revenue.
Dr Mike Galsworthy, chair of the pro-EU campaign group European Movement UK, said the new figures showed “that the majority of the UK public now knows that Brexit has damaged the UK, and continues to make almost every one of us poorer, and that rebuilding the relationship that we smashed up with the EU doesn’t mean a ‘Brexit betrayal’ – it just means closer trading and better business, to immediately kick-start our struggling economy, and bring all of us some much-needed financial relief.”
He added: “The question is, how many times will polling show our politicians that the public is sick of this failed Brexit experiment, and take real steps to grow our economy, rather than tinkering with trade deals that are the equivalent of losing £50 while finding 50p? The tide has turned, and our politicians need to catch up.”