Sunday Mirror Brexit poll February 2018

A poll on behalf of the Sunday Mirror looking at sentiment around Brexit and political leadership.

Despite a major speech by the Prime Minister on Brexit on Friday, little appears to have changed recently in the public’s opinions about Brexit.

• Opinions on Prime Minister Theresa May remain largely unchanged over the last week; 52% say their opinion has stayed the same. However, a significant minority (27%) say that their opinion of the Prime Minister has gotten worse.

• When asked what the Prime Minister should do next the public are most likely to say that she should carry on negotiating with the EU to get the best deal for Britain (33%). Encouragingly for Theresa May this option is most popular across age ranges, for example 45% of those aged 65 and over say this, as well as 27% of those aged 18-24). The only notable exception to this is that a third (31%) of those aged 25-34 say that Theresa May should call a General Election so voters can decide whether they support the Labour or Conservative position on Brexit. Amongst this age group 23% say that she should carry of negotiating with the EU.

Asked if they feel more or less optimistic about the process of leaving the EU than this time last year, adults in Britain expressed little optimism. Only 8% say they feel more optimistic compared to 47% who say about the same and 37% who say less optimistic.

When asked about what the top priority should be in getting the best deal for Britain out of Brexit, opinion falls largely reflect how people would vote in a second referendum. Although 30% say that the top priority should be a free trade deal with Europe, this is largely driven by the 57% of those who would vote to remain in another referendum. For those who would vote leave, they are more split, with 32% control of border to curb EU migration, 28% saying that the freedom to strike free trade deals with the rest of the world is the priority, and 28% the freedom to make our own laws without Brussels interference.

Question details:

Q. Considering the last week and the speeches they have made on Brexit, has your opinion of the following people got better, worse or stayed the same?

	Jeremy Corbyn	Tony Blair	Theresa May	Sir John Major
Better	13%	4%	9%	12%
Stayed the same	45%	39%	52%	37%
Worse	29%	37%	27%	27%
Don’t know	13%	20%	12%	24%

Base: all respondents (n=1,096)

Q. Following Theresa May’s speech today, which of the following do you think that she should do?

Statement	%
Carry on negotiating with the EU to get the best deal for Britain	33%
Tell the EU we’ve had enough and Britain will leave without a deal	22%
She should call a General Election so voters can decide whether they support the Labour or Conservative position on Brexit	19%
She should resign to make way for someone who is up for negotiating Brexit	11%
She must make another speech as today’s did not clarify a lot	5%
None of the above	10%

Base: all respondents (n=1,096)

Q. The EU customs union is an agreement between EU member states and other countries to establish a trading group with external tariffs, making internal trade easier and cheaper. The EU single market refers to the free movement of goods and services within the EU. Jeremy Corbyn says Britain should stay in a permanent customs union with the EU to ensure the free flow of trade across the Irish border. Do you think …?

Statement	%
He should have ruled out a permanent customs union with the EU	19%
He has the right approach to Brexit	18%
He should have said nothing and let the Conservatives fight it out between themselves	16%
He should have gone further and said Britain should also stay in the single market as well as the customs union	15%
He should have committed Labour to a second referendum on whether to stay in the EU or not	12%
None of the above	20%

Base: all respondents (n=1,096)

Q. Are you more or less optimistic about the process of leaving the EU than you were at this time last year?

Optimism	%
More optimistic	8%
About the same	47%
Less optimistic	37%
Don’t know	8%

Q. What should our Brexit top priority be in getting the best deal for Britain?

Statement	%
A free trade deal with Europe	30%
The freedom to strike free trade deals with the rest of the world	22%
Control of our borders to curb EU migration into the UK	21%
The freedom to make our own laws without Brussels interference	20%
An open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland	7%

Base: all respondents (n=1,096)

Date Published: 03/03/2018

Categories: Europe | Politics | UK

Client: Sunday Mirror

Methodology

ComRes interviewed 1,096 adults in Britain online on the 2^nd March 2018. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults by region, gender and age. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.