Poll: Most Tories would back a no-deal Brexit rather than support Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement
More than half of Tory party members prefer a no-deal Brexit over Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, a new poll today suggests.
Around 57 per cent of Conservatives would support leaving the EU with no agreement compared to just 23 per cent prepared to back the Prime Minister’s vision.
The Yougov poll, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), also found that only 15 per cent of Tories would support staying in the EU.
In a two-way referendum, only 29 per cent of Tories would support May’s Brexit deal, compared with 64 per cent who would prefer the UK to crash out of the EU without a deal.
The results are yet another blow to May, who was forced to postpone parliament’s vote on her deal in December as it faced near-certain defeat.
The Prime Minister has since been canvassing EU leaders in the hope they can provide reassurances that will convince MPs to pass her deal in a vote in the week beginning 14 January.
However, European Commission president Jean Claude-Juncker confirmed again in the new year that May’s deal cannot be renegotiated, saying there will be no further talks between the UK and EU before parliament is due to vote.
“No further meetings are foreseen between the commission's negotiators and the UK negotiators as the negotiations have indeed been concluded,” a spokesperson for the president said.
That follows Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay warning that a no-deal Brexit is far more likely if parliament does decide to reject May’s deal.
“No deal will be far more likely if MPs reject the government's Brexit deal later this month," he wrote in the Daily Express.
May’s ertswhile parliament allies, the DUP, yesterday confirmed it still has “principled objections” to May’s deal.
MPs on all sides are concerned that the so-called backstop clause in May’s deal will tie the UK to EU rules indefinitely.
The arrangement is meant to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland until a permanent agreement is in place, but the UK cannot quit this unilaterally.
The DUP fears the backstop could throw up regulatory borders between the UK and Northern Ireland indefinitely, but Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has insisted the arrangement cannot be altered.