Fifty-fifty nation

THE government is accused of having no plan and of being divided over whether to go for a 'hard' or a 'soft' Brexit. Yet this may just reflect a division in public opinion. That is the conclusion of a new survey, 'What Do Voters Want from Brexit'', conducted by NatCen Social Research, drawing on a panel interviewed before and after the June 23rd referendum, which voted for Brexit by 52-48%. The panel itself was 51% for Leave and 49% for Remain.The panel likes to have its cake and eat it. Large majorities of Leavers and Remainers back policies that seem soft, such as letting EU migrants stay in Britain, allowing banks to sell services across Europe or maximising free trade. But large majorities also support things that look hard, like tougher migration controls, bringing back customs checks and ending free health care for EU visitors. As John Curtice of Strathclyde University, who ran the NatCen poll, puts it, voters want both a soft and a hard Brexit.Yet the EU is clear that there must be a trade-off between fuller access to the single market and greater control over EU migrants. Asked if they would accept free...Continue reading
Click here to read full news..