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Searching in Vain? The Hunt for a Brexit Compromise

21 January 2019

For all the apparent differences between them, both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have shared one objective in common as they have developed and advocated their respective positions on Brexit. Both have been pursuing a compromise. The Prime Minister has been explicit about this. Throughout the debate on the deal she negotiated with the EU, […]


Why is the Brexit Deal so unpopular?

11 January 2019

Ever since the EU withdrawal deal was published in November, Mrs May has been struggling to persuade MPs to back it. On Tuesday, we should learn whether she has eventually managed to win them over or not. Her attempts to do so have not been helped by the fact that voters have also proved to […]


Tory MPs Decide: But what do Tory voters think about Brexit?

12 December 2018

Theresa May might have been able to put off a vote on her Brexit deal in the House of Commons yesterday, but that decision has simply precipitated a confidence vote this evening in her leadership of her party.  The argument that attempting to change the Prime Minister would upset the Brexit timetable lost much of […]


MPs Decide? Four Key Messages From The Polls

10 December 2018

At the time of writing at least, the House of Commons is scheduled to vote on Mrs May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday evening. But is there any evidence that she has had any success in winning over the country? And what do voters want to happen if, as widely expected, the deal does go down […]


Gaining Popularity? Latest Polling on Mrs May’s Deal

3 December 2018

The last ten days have been marked by the publication of the political agreement on the future relationship between the UK and the EU, the acceptance of the whole Brexit deal at a special European Council on 25 November, and further attempts by the Prime Minister to persuade both MPs and the general public about the merits of the […]


Are Leave Voters Less Knowledgeable About The EU Than Remain Voters?

23 November 2018

In a forthcoming paper, my colleagues and I report the results of a study comparing levels of EU knowledge among Leave voters and Remain voters. We gave a 15-item EU knowledge quiz to nationally representative sample of the British population via an online survey. Our quiz comprised 9 ‘ideologically neutral’ items, as well as 6 […]


Another Dose of Chequers? Voters’ Initial Reactions to the Draft Brexit Deal

19 November 2018

The announcement by the Prime Minister outside Downing St. last Wednesday that her Cabinet had collectively agreed to back the draft withdrawal agreement with the EU together with an outline political agreement on the UK’s future relationship with the EU has resulted a flurry of opinion polling. By Saturday morning, no less than six polls […]


Lessons from the ‘Brexit: What The Nation Really Thinks’ Poll

6 November 2018

Last night saw the publication of the biggest poll yet on attitudes towards Brexit to come from a non-partisan source. Survation interviewed just over 20,000 voters between 20 October and 2 November for a Channel 4 programme, Brexit: What The Nation Really Thinks, made by Renegade Productions in which voters were asked their views on […]


A Nation of Remainers and Leavers? How Brexit Has Forged a New Sense of Identity

22 October 2018

It has now become commonplace to say that attitudes towards Brexit are polarised. One reason is that the country remains more or less evenly divided between the merits of Remain and Leave, as our recently launched EURef2 Poll of Polls shows. Another is that different kinds of voters typically have very different views. Most younger […]



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