Brexit study shows we want free trade as well as immigration control

Many Britons are taking an ambitious approach to the sort of Brexit they want, with significant majorities seeking both a tough approach to EU migration and continued free trade with Europe, a study has found.

The research from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) said more than two-thirds of participants overall wanted to see arrivals from the EU treated under the same rules as people coming from non-EU nations.

However, it discovered (pdf), 88% of people also wanted free trade with the EU post-Brexit, while more than 60% supported the continuation of passporting for banks, allowing barrier-free financial transactions and transfers.

Adding yet another layer of complexity – or perhaps confusion, while such a big majority wanted free trade, 69% also supported customs checks at borders post-Brexit.

Support for free trade was similar among voters for leave and remain in last year’s referendum.

On the issue of having the same immigration rules for arrivals from the EU or elsewhere, while remain voters were significantly less likely to back this, they still did so by a majority, with 58% in favour.

There does, however, appear to be an acceptance of a reciprocal loss of the rights for UK citizens in the EU, with 70% of all participants supporting the idea of these being treated like non-EU arrivals, with a majority of remainers also backing this.

NatCen has carried out a series of in-depth studies on attitudes to Brexit since the referendum, initially based on the British social attitudes surveys. The latest study involved 2,322 people being interviewed in February and March.

It found significant support for other elements of a soft Brexit, with about two-thirds or more of people seeking the continuation of EU programmes on clean beaches, capping mobile phone roaming charges, compensation for airline delays and collaboration over university research.

The study illustrated what its author, Prof John Curtice, a senior research fellow at NatCen, called a “pick-and-mix attitude to the EU”, one he said had characterised much of the UK’s membership.

However, he noted, the opposing sides of the June referendum seemed to be hoping for similar things: “For the most part, remain and leave voters are not at loggerheads on the kind of Brexit they would like to see.

“Many remain voters would like to see an end to the less popular parts of Britain’s current membership of the EU, while many leave voters would like to retain the seemingly more desirable parts, such as free trade, cheap mobile phone calls and clean beaches.”

The study found attitudes on key issues were relatively stable, with support for measures connected to immigration, trade and other areas shifting only a few percentage points between February 2016 and this year.

The research did uncover one difference over attitudes – that connected to party affiliation.

When those interviewed were asked which party they backed, Conservative and Labour voters showed relatively small differences over their support for EU measures in areas such as trade, bank passporting and clean beaches.

However, Labour supporters were much less vehement in backing the elements associated with a hard Brexit, such as curbing freedom of movement and benefits for migrants, with the difference between the parties regularly above 20 percentage points.

While the Conservative voters’ views tied in with the government’s stated aim of both ending free movement of people and keeping close trade links, there was also a potential risk for the party, Curtice said.

“It also means that they are also the group that are most likely to be disappointed if they were to come to the conclusion that the government has failed to achieve that objective. Theresa May could be faced with political difficulties at home if she struggles to achieve her key objectives in Brussels.”

In contrast, as might be expected, those who said they were Liberal Democrat supporters backed a much softer Brexit, while Ukip voters preferred the more hardline elements.