Half of Brits want another EU referendum in five years - as Brexit support slumps
Nearly half of voters want another EU referendum in the next five years, while less than a third would back Brexit in a new vote.
Research by More in Common for the Sunday Times reveals public attitudes towards Europe have shifted over the past decade. The poll of more than 2,000 people found 29% would vote to leave the EU if the Brexit vote was repeated, compared to 52% in the referendum in June 2016.
Now, 52% would say they would back being in the EU, with 8% unsure and 11% saying they would not vote. Nearly half (49%) thought there should be a referendum on rejoining the bloc in the next five years, with more than a third, (37%) opposed. It comes as Nigel Farage appearances on Sky News sparked thousands of complaints
Keir Starmer has pursued a closer relationship with Brussels since entering Government, which includes a EU-UK deal to ease barriers to trade since Brexit.
The PM has also struck up relationships with a number of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, following years of hostility from Tory PMs towards European leaders.
But there is no appetite in Government for another referendum on EU membership after the last vote took years of Commons battles to enact.
The poll also found a majority (58%) think the UK should remain in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), compared to 28% who think quit its membership.
Nigel Farage said leaving the ECHR would be the first thing he did if he won the next election, while Kemi Badenoch has said the Tories will review it.
The pact, which Winston Churchill helped to draw up after the Second World War, has been blamed by critics for making it harder to deport migrants who have come to Britain by protecting their human rights.
Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, said: 'With fewer than three in ten saying they would vote to leave the EU in a referendum today and almost six in ten saying the UK should remain in the ECHR, the days of Europe as a political bogeyman may be on the wane and politicians might find themselves pushed on how they'll build a more constructive relationship with Europe.
"That's especially true in the face of an erratic Trump presidency, with Brits split as to whether Starmer is being too friendly to the US president or not."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Keir Starmer must let in sunlight to avoid further lobbying scandals
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton long ago predicted that lobbying would be 'the next big scandal' to hit politics, warning of the dangers of what happens behind closed doors. 'We all know how it works. The lunches, the hospitality, the quiet word in your ear, the ex-ministers and ex-advisers for hire, helping big business find the right way to get its way,' he said in 2010. It was somewhat apt that despite introducing the first real oversight for lobbyists, the former prime minister was caught in just such a scandal after he departed from office. Despite a repeated cycle of scandals involving what Lord Cameron spoke of, lobbyists have continued to work in the shadows. As this newspaper has exposed, the Starmer government is facing serious questions over 'cash for access' after businesses were approached by a Labour group offering private meetings with 'an influential Labour figure'. The Labour Infrastructure Forum (LIF), which is run by lobbyists from Bradshaw Advisory along with an advisory council of senior party figures, has offered businesses the chance to meet 'key policymakers' to help 'shape the discussion'. The forum has offered sponsorship packages for potential clients, including breakfast meetings for almost £9,500. Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has spoken at an LIF event. • Labour 'leaving public in the dark' about payments from lobbyists Although the LIF insists that the sponsorship money is used to cover costs, the group declined a request by The Times to disclose details of which companies had sponsored events at what cost until its next annual report. The Labour Party too has declined to say which senior figures had attended any LIF meetings. Yet undercover reporting has shown Gerry McFall, director of the forum alongside his leading role at Bradshaw Advisory, boasted of meetings between his clients and senior figures in government, including Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary. There is a clear problem here that must be addressed. The Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, which was set up during Lord Cameron's premiership, governs lobbying and is supposed to ensure it is transparent and open. Businesses who regularly engage in lobbying, known as 'consultant lobbyists', are required to register their activities. Yet the LIF was not required to register as it did not fall under this category: in-house lobbyists who are employed directly by companies, think tanks or 'forums' are not required to register. This must be addressed: all lobbying activity should be recorded, along with the details of who exactly is meeting which ministers. That being said, ministers should show more common sense. Mr Jones should have done due diligence before speaking at an LIF event. The same goes for Mr Reynolds, the minister most exposed to the potential influence of businesses. The lack of records charting his meeting with a Bradshaw Advisory client at a Labour conference highlights another flaw in transparency rules, which does not require ministers to report meetings at such events not deemed to be in a ministerial capacity. Even if the party insists it was instead 'held in a political capacity', Mr Reynolds should have realised that he should strive for transparency. • How we exposed Labour's cosy links to lobbyists None of this is to say that all lobbying is inherently bad, or that onerous restrictions are required. It is essential to good policy making that ministers hear from businesses — particularly a government that has as little private sector experience as this one. But it must be done in an open and transparent manner, something lacking at present. According to an analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, registered Westminster lobbyists account for just 0.5 per cent of registered lobbyists across a host of similar countries. If Sir Keir Starmer is to avoid further such scandals, he must strengthen the oversight. By letting in as much sunlight as possible, it will go some way to curtail any sense of wrongdoing, real or perceived.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Rayner asks China to explain redacted mega-embassy plans
Angela Rayner has given China two weeks to explain why parts of its plans for a new mega-embassy in London are deputy prime minister's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government sent a letter asking for further information and requested a response by 20 August, the BBC understands. Beijing's plans for the new embassy have sparked fears its location - very near London's financial district - could pose an espionage risk. Residents nearby also fear it would pose a security risk to them and attract large protests. The BBC has contacted the Chinese embassy in London for comment. A final planning decision on the controversial plans will be made by 9 September, the BBC a letter seen by the PA news agency, Rayner, who as housing secretary is responsible for overseeing planning matters, asks planning consultants representing the Chinese embassy to explain why drawings of the planned site are blacked Home Office and the Foreign Office also received copies of the notes that the Home Office requested a new "hard perimeter" be placed around the embassy site, to prevent "unregulated public access", and says this could require a further planning are concerns, held by some opponents, that the Royal Mint Court site could allow China to infiltrate the UK's financial system by tapping into fibre optic cables carrying sensitive data for firms in the City of campaigners from Hong Kong also fear Beijing could use the huge embassy to harass political opponents and even detain them. Last month, the UK condemned cash offers from Hong Kong authorities for people who help in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain. Alicia Kearns, the shadow national security minister, said: "No surprises here - Labour's rush to appease Xi Jinping's demands for a new embassy demonstrated a complacency when it came to keeping our people safe. Having deluded themselves for so long, they've recognised we were right to be vigilant."Responding to security concerns earlier this week, the Chinese embassy told the BBC it was "committed to promoting understanding and the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Building the new embassy would help us better perform such responsibilities".China bought the old Royal Mint Court for £255m in 2018. At 20,000 square metres, the complex will be the biggest embassy in Europe if it goes plan involves a cultural centre and housing for 200 staff, but in the basement, behind security doors, there are also rooms with no identified use on the application for the embassy had previously been rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 over safety and security concerns. It resubmitted an identical application in August 2024, one month after Labour came to power. On 23 August, Sir Keir Starmer phoned Chinese President Xi Jinping for their first talks. Sir Keir confirmed afterwards that Xi had raised the embassy has since exercised her power to take the matter out of the council's hands amid attempts by the government to engage with China after a cooling of relations during the final years of Conservative Party ministers have signalled they are in favour if minor adjustments are made to the plan.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Labour's homelessness minister 'threw out FOUR tenants then raised rent on her London home by £700'
Labour 's homelessness minister has been accused of 'extreme hypocrisy' after she allegedly threw out her own tenants and then raised rent by £700 a month. Landlord MP Rushanara Ali told tenants their lease would not be renewed and gave them four months' notice to get out of the £3,300-a-month property, a renter has claimed. But just four months after the group's departure, the four-bedroom townhouse, less than a mile from London 's Olympic Park, was reportedly back on the market - only this time for £4,000 per month. A source close to Ms Ali insisted the tenants were offered the chance to stay on a rolling contract prior to the house being put up for sale, after they were told the tenancy would not be renewed. They added the property was relisted only after Ms Ali did not find a buyer, the i Paper reports. But Laura Jackson, a self-employed restaurant owner and one of renters in the property, had a different view. Ms Jackson, 33, claimed she had received an email in November telling her the lease would not be renewed - and that she and the other occupiers had four months to leave. Only weeks later she saw the property back up for sale at the higher price of £700. The i said the new tenants confirmed they had moved in 'four or five months ago' and were paying the higher figure. Ms Jackson said: 'It's an absolute joke. Trying to get that much money from renters is extortion.' It comes as Labour's renters' Rights Bill, set to become law next year, prohibits landlords from relisting a property with higher rent until at least six months after tenants have moved out - where they have ended a tenancy in order to sell a property. Ms Ali has also previously spoken out against 'private renters being exploited' and insisted her Government will 'empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases'. But Conservative shadow Housing Secretary, James Cleverly, said Ms Ali ought to consider her position as the allegations 'would be an example of the most extreme hypocrisy and she should not have the job as homelessness minister'. The property had been managed on behalf of the Bethnal Green and Stepney MP by two lettings agencies - Jack Barclay Estates and Avenue Lettings. At the time the tenants' contract ended, the firms also attempted to charge the tenants nearly £2,000 for the house to be repainted and £395 for professional cleaning. Landlords are prohibited from charging tenants for professional cleaning or to repaint a home under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, unless there has been serious damage. Minor scratches or scuffs to paint work all come under the umbrella of 'reasonable wear and tear', according to the Act. Ms Jackson described the experience as 'really stressful' and claimed the property was 'not clean when [they] moved in'. But mysteriously, the charges were dropped when Ms Jackson told the agencies she was aware their landlord was a Labour MP. She said: 'If we hadn't known the charges were unlawful, we would have had to pay them. It's exploitative.' Ms Jackson, a Labour voter, added she believed it to be 'morally wrong' that MPs can be landlords, in particular in their own areas, and dubbed it a conflict of interest. It is understood Ms Ali ensured the cleaning and repainting charges were dropped when she was told about them by her agency. The property is currently listed for sale at £894,995 - more than £300,000 what Ms Ali paid for it in 2014, according to the Land Registry. It was originally put up for sale at £914,995 last November before the price was reduced in February. The rental property is one of two owned by Ms Ali, according to the MP's register of interests. Ms Ali has served as Labour's minister for homelessness since the party's election win in July 2024. The Government previously said the end of a private rental contract is 'one of the leading causes of homelessness'. Ms Ali sung the praises of the Renters Rights' Bill in March as she said it would 'tackle the root cause of homelessness'. Under the bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, landlords may only ask tenants to leave if there has been antisocial behaviour or if they need to sell the property, or if the landlord or a family member needs to move in. Fixed-term tenancies are also set to be banned under the new legislation. Ben Twomey, the chief executive of Generation Rent, called the allegations 'shocking a wake-up call'.
