More than four in 10 Britons believe Labor intends to reverse Brexit and join the EU, according to a shocking new poll.
Sir Keir Starmer has sought to clarify Labour’s position of keeping the UK out of the bloc – repeatedly ruling out membership of the single market and Brussels customs union.
But the Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey found that 41% of voters still think Labor policy is about bringing Britain back into the EU.
Only 16% of voters said the Labor pollster’s policy was to stay away. While 23% said they were unaware of Sir Keir’s position, some 20% said Labor had no clear policy on Brexit.
A spokesperson for Redfield & Wilton Strategies said there was mounting evidence that the Brexit line that divided British voters had been “replaced in political importance by more traditional divisions”.
They added: ‘Therefore, while Britons may not be certain of Labour’s position on Europe at the moment, this lack of awareness comes at little cost in terms of party support.’
While Labor has ruled out the single market or joining the customs union, the party is backing a new veterinary deal with Brussels to ease the ‘mountain of paperwork’ faced by UK companies trading with the closest neighbors close to Great Britain.
Some 47% of voters say they support Labor’s position to “make Brexit work”, compared to just 14% who oppose it. But there seems to be confusion as to the meaning of Sir Keir’s rhetoric.
While 32% say Labor seeks a closer relationship with the EU, 31% say the party favors the status quo or a more distant relationship, and 39% say they don’t know or that Labor doesn’t are unclear.
Keir Starmer at the anti-Brexit rally in 2019
(PENNSYLVANIA)
Only 35% of voters think Sir Keir is sincere about his Brexit stance, while 33% think he is not genuine and 32% say they don’t know.
Labor Foreign Secretary David Lammy has hinted the party’s policy could move forward to forge closer ties with Brussels ahead of the 2025 review of Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal.
Mr Lammy told LBC last month that the idea of a veterinary agreement to facilitate sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on goods is a “floor not a ceiling” and said he wanted to “hear what companies have to say over the next few months”. .
The Labor Movement’s Europe group, chaired by MP Stella Creasy, has offered a pledge to negotiate a bespoke customs union with the EU as part of the party’s forthcoming manifesto.
The group has tabled amendments at Labour’s national policy forum, which is finalizing a political program for the manifesto ahead of the 2024 general election.
As well as ruling out joining the single market and a customs union, Sir Keir ruled out any return to the free movement of people between the UK and the EU, calling it his party’s “red line”.