Britons would be willing to accept the UK following EU customs union rules if it brought down their living costs, a new poll suggests.
Polling for the Good Growth Foundation think-tank, shared with The i Paper, found that nearly two-thirds of the public would be more willing to support the UK following EU rules if it helped cut prices of food and everyday goods in shops.
The findings come at a time when Sir Keir Starmer is pushing to get closer to Europe, but facing pressure from some in his party – including potential Labour leadership rivals – to go further.
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George Michael in 1985 during the Wham! years (Photo: Michael Putland/Getty)
music
Careless Whisper voted nation’s favourite
George Michael’s beloved 1984 hit has been ranked the number one track for the eighth year running.
His 1986 hit A Different Corner came in at number two.
I’m never gonna dance again
Careless Whisper came top of Smooth Radio’s All Time Top 500 list.
Michael’s first breakaway single from Wham!, he penned the lyrics when he was just 17-years-old.
Smooth Radio presenter Kate Garraway said: “It’s a fitting tribute to one of the greatest artists of all time.”
George Michael: Outed wil be broadcast on Channel 4 (Photo: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty)
MUSIC
7 min read
Top of the pops
- 1Careless Whisper – George Michael
- 2A Different Corner – George Michael
- 3Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
- 4Man In The Mirror – Michael Jackson
- 5Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
ROYAL FAMILY
Princess Eugenie pregnant with third child
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have moved into Frogmore Cottage, the Grade II listed home of Meghan and Harry. It is understood the Sussexes will retain the residence near Windsor Castle but Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank, who married in 2018, will share the property. (Photo: David Mirzoeff/PA Wire)
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank are “very pleased” to be expecting their third child to be born this summer, Buckingham Palace said.
The King is “delighted” with the news, while the couple’s sons August, five, and Ernest, two, are “very excited” to welcome a younger sister or brother to the family.
What you need to know
In a photograph shared by Eugenie, 36, Ernest and August can be seen holding a picture of a baby scan. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their third child together, due this summer.”
Analysis
3 min read
OPINION
3 min read
Could the new baby be king or queen?
Caption: Sarah, Duchess of York with her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie during a visit to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at University College Hospital, London. Picture date: Wednesday April 23, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL Sarah. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Photographer: Aaron Chown
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Source: PA
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- The baby, who will not be an HRH, will be born 15th in line to the throne, with the Duke of Edinburgh moving down to 16th place.
NEWS
4 min read
Fifth grandchild for Andrew
The new arrival will be the fifth grandchild of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, following the birth of Princess Beatrice’s daughter Athena Mapelli Mozzi in January last year.
Caption: (L-R) Britain’s Princess Eugenie of York, Britain’s Princess Beatrice of York and Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York leave Buckingham Palace to meet guests at the Patron’s Lunch, a special street party outside Buckingham Palace in London on June 12, 2016, as part of the three day celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II’s official 90th birthday. Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend the Patron’s Lunch along with the monarch, her husband Prince Philip, Prince William and Prince Harry. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: JUSTIN TALLIS
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been mostly laying low since his move to Marsh Farm (Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
Caption: An archive image of the cruise ship Hondius, in Vlissingen, Netherlands May 17, 2025. IMAGE OBTAINED BY REUTERS/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES VERIFICATION: – Reuters confirmed the location from the shipyard, signage and fuel depot which matched file and satellite images. – Coordinates of the shipyard: 51.461283930722175, 3.6998162498897433. – The date when the pictures were taken was verified by original file metadata.
Photographer: IMAGE OBTAINED BY REUTERS
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Source: Handout
health
What caused the fatal cruise ship outbreak?
A rare outbreak of hantavirus, transmitted by rodents, has killed three on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving one Briton in intensive care.
What’s the situation?
- A suspected hantavirus outbreak has left three people dead and one in intensive care.
- It occurred on the MV Hondius cruise liner, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.
- The ship is now grounded in South Africa, and five more suspected cases are under investigation.
- One British national is reportedly in intensive care and tested positive for the virus.
NEWS
3 min read
What is hantavirus?
- Hantavirus cases are usually linked to environmental exposure, such as contact with waste from infected rodents.
- In rare cases they can spread between people, resulting in severe respiratory illness.
- It can cause two diseases, one that primarily affects the lungs and the other that attacks the kidneys.
- Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, the respiratory illness, is most commonly found in the Americas.
What are the symptoms?
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Provider: Getty Images
So it begins
At the outset, it has flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue and fever, one to eight weeks after exposure.
Respiratory effects
Four to ten days later, coughing, shortness of breath and fluid in the lungs appear.
Caption: Adult man wearing a yellow hoodie in a living room, coughing or sneezing into elbow.
Photographer: ti-ja
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
Young women patient’s hand receiving IV drip medicine after surgery – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
No known treatment
There is no specific therapy, so treatment includes rest and fluids. Some may be put on a ventilator.
Under a “reset” deal which Starmer agreed in principle with the EU last year, the UK will follow the bloc’s agri-food rules in exchange for the majority of border checks on animal and plant shipments being dropped. The Government said this would help to keep costs down at the supermarket.
A UK-EU summit later this summer will set out the next steps for the post-Brexit relationship.
While Labour’s election manifesto ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union, some of Starmer’s leadership rivals – such as the Health Secretary Wes Streeting – have signalled that these red lines should be reconsidered.
The Good Growth Foundation polled 2,006 British adults between 27 March and 6 April on what would affect their support for an arrangement in which the UK followed some EU rules on goods to reduce cross-border paperwork and taxes but had less ability to strike its own trade deals – in effect, a partial customs union.
64 per cent of the public said they would be more likely to support such an arrangement if it cut the cost of food and everyday goods in UK shops.
Such an arrangement would represent a closer relationship with the EU than the one Starmer has currently negotiated, in which the UK will align with Brussels on food standards but retain the ability to strike trade deals with other countries.
Joining the customs union would remove the need for checks on all goods crossing between the UK and EU, but also cancel out all the trade deals signed with other countries since Brexit. A partial customs union would come with vast political complexities, as the EU has always indicated it is unlikely to give the UK special treatment because of the risks that it would encourage other member states to consider leaving.
The Good Growth Foundation – which is a member of the UK Polling Council and abides by its rules – found that nearly half of people (48 per cent) said having to make financial contributions to the EU would not weaken their support for a closer deal.
European sources have said that further access to the EU’s single market would be on a “pay-to-play” basis in which the UK would have to make cash contributions.
The EU relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said on Monday that he would judge on a “case-by-case” basis whether participation in EU schemes represented “value for money”.
However, he said he did not “recognise” a figure in The Times suggesting that further access to the single market would come with a £1bn price tag.
Last November, negotiations about Britain joining the EU’s £130bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence loans scheme broke down over a dispute over money.
Despite this, at a meeting of the European Political Community in Armenia on Monday, Starmer announced that he had opened talks on the UK joining a £78bn EU loan scheme to support Ukraine.
After a meeting with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the summit, the two leaders released a joint statement in which they said British participation in the Ukraine scheme would be a “major step forward in the UK-EU defence industrial relationship”.
In Armenia, Starmer referenced the UK and Europe’s recent disagreement with Donald Trump over America’s war with Iran, when he spoke of “tension” in Western alliances.
The unreliability of the US under Trump is seen as one of the major factors driving closer security co-operation between the UK and Europe, along with the growing threat posed by Russia to the Continent.
Starmer said: “It’s very important that we’re clear that we work very closely with the US on all issues to do with defence and security and intelligence… but clearly we also have to make sure that the European countries do more on defence and security.”
The Good Growth Foundation survey asked whether voters would be willing to pay towards various EU schemes, if it meant the UK could have access to them.
It found that 57 per cent would support paying into joint defence and security projects.
While the polling suggests the public are open to the idea of closer co-operation with the EU, any move in that direction would be seized on by the Conservatives and Reform UK as evidence that the Government is backsliding on Brexit.
Some Labour MPs – particularly those in Reform-facing seats – are also sceptical about a closer relationship with the EU.
Praful Nargund, director of the Good Growth Foundation, said: “With crisis in the Middle East, an unreliable ally across the Atlantic and a cost of living crisis at home, the public want Britain to stand strong with its closest neighbours in Europe – and they’re willing to make real trade-offs to get there.
“But they don’t want the old arguments back. Last year’s summit proved that bespoke, targeted deals are possible. Voters will accept compromises on EU rules and immigration when the prize is lower bills, stronger businesses and a more secure Britain.”