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A new survey conducted on the fifth anniversary of Brexit suggests that every constituency in Britain thinks the government should give priority to trade with the EU across the US and other countries.
Research conducted by YouGov for pro-EU campaign group Best for Britainanalyzed responses from almost 15,000 people across England, Scotland and Wales.
Almost every second respondent (46 percent) says the EU should be the government’s top priority when it comes to trade. While less than half of this number (21 percent) opted for the USA.
About 4 percent believe that the government’s focus should be China, while 6 percent favored another country.
Clacton – Nigel Farage’s constituency – did not buck the trend, despite winning a seat on a pro-Trump and Eurosceptic ticket.
It is a similar story in Boston and Skegness, which recorded the strongest vote for leaving in the 2016 referendum.
The desire for closer EU-UK ties was even stronger among voters who switched from the Conservatives to Labor in the last election (57 percent).
Of all those who voted Labor at the last election, two-thirds (66 per cent) think the government should prioritize trade with the EU, compared with just 9 per cent for the US.
Best for Britain is an organization which fights to keep the UK open to EU membership and “solve the problems Britain faces after Brexit”.
The results come just a few days later Donald Trump was sworn in for the second time as the President of the USApromising tariffs on China and the EU.
While Sir Keir Starmer has rejected suggestions that the UK should make such a choiceRachel Reeves said on Sunday the government was “absolutely delighted” to be looking at joining the duty-free trade scheme with Europe.
The chancellor said the government would consider the possibility of signing the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM), as well as any “constructive ideas” in line with her “red lines” on non-return to the EU.
Labor has ruled out rejoining the customs union or single market, but has pledged to seek closer economic cooperation with Brussels as part of a reset in UK-EU relations.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčović suggested this week that Britain could join the PEM, which allows for duty-free trade in goods across Europe, as well as some North African and Levantine countries.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has also signaled an openness to continuing close ties with the UK, praise Sir Keir for “a very good job so far” and saying the couple would have a phone call “within the next 24 hours.”
Speaking to the BBC on Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said: “I get on very well with him. I like it a lot”.
“He represented his country in terms of philosophy. I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him,” he added.
It comes after insiders suggested it last week Mr Trump has Sir Keir “over the barrel” on the UK trade deal.
Andrew Hale, a senior analyst at the highly influential Heritage Foundation think tank who helped produce the Project 2025 document used by the Trump administration as a policy blueprint, said: “The UK economy is shrinking and there is no growth.
“The Starmer government has doubled down on the failed economic policies of Jeremy Hunt and past Conservative prime ministers. They must abandon their tried and failed policies of punitive taxes, borrowing and reckless spending. Great Britain is bankrupt.
“The Trump administration is in a position to offer a free trade deal that would save the British economy, but Starmer and his group … have done everything they can to offend President Trump, and now risk being labeled as a form of economic sanctions if will re-align economically with China – a foreign adversary.”
The MRP poll surveyed 14,858 adults between December 16 and December 28, 2024.
A government spokesman said: “Our number one priority is to grow the UK economy and free and open trade with our most important economic partners will be key to achieving our Agenda for Change.
“We are continuing our work with both the US and the EU to remove barriers to trade and help UK businesses grow.”