Photo by Jannes Van den wouwer on Unsplash
Most Britons now believe Brexit was a failure, according to a senior former Labour government minister.
This comes after a recent survey says 63 percent of those planning to vote Labour in the UK general election on July 4 support Britain re-joining the EU.
Another survey says most also want the issue of Brexit debated more in what is left of the election campaign in the UK. So far, very little has been heard of Brexit in a multitude of TV debates between the parties.
This has dismayed many, including those who still hope the UK might rejoin the Union at some point in the future.
The We Think voter intention poll revealed that almost six in 10 voters (58 per cent) think that Brexit and Britain’s relationship with the EU should be one of the main issues in the election.
The survey of 1,242 voters commissioned by the pro-EU European Movement UK followed a recent intervention by the former deputy prime minister Lord Michael Heseltine.
He warned no issue can be discussed without referring it to Brexit.
Speaking to this site, Denis MacShane, who served under Tony Blair as Europe Minister, said, “It is clear the British people now think Brexit is a failure and bad for the country.”
He added, “That is why the Brexit Tory prime minister and MPs are likely to be severely sanctioned in the general election.”
“But going from that to instantly rejoining the EU is a big step.”
He warned, “The EU is happy with Brexit as it has made all of the far right populists like Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni, Gets Wilders drop calls for referendums on staying in the EU in France, Italy and the Netherlands.”
“The Brexit plebiscite was won on immigration and it is not clear that the UK, its press, most parties are ready to embrace full freedom of movement or indeed the single currency which is now seen as indispensable to full EU membership.”
“After the Tory Brexit era hate-fest, there is goodwill to the likely incoming Labour government.”
“But like a very big and a rather small hedgehog deciding to reunite after a divorce it will be a very prickly process.”
Heseltine was quoted as saying, “We are now at the start of what I foresee will be the most dishonest election of modern times.”
“What are the issues this country should be discussing? The state of our economy, defence and environment, the need to level up our society, control immigration and restore Britain’s standing in the world. None of these issues can be honestly addressed in isolation from our relationship with Europe. Yet Europe is the no-go area.”
The survey showed that if there was a vote on EU membership tomorrow the result would be very different, with 48 per cent saying they would vote to rejoin and 31 per cent saying they would still opt to stay outside the EU. When “don’t knows”, “won’t votes” and “uncertains” are stripped out that would be a 61 per cent to 39 per cent victory in favour of rejoining.
