No Bregrets: Brexit More Popular Than Ever.

New polling reveals Brexit is more popular than ever, with a 'hard Brexit' now not just popular amongst Leave voters, but with Remainers, too.

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  • 08/21/2022

While arch-leftist columnist Polly Toynbee is fulminating openly in the Guardian newspaper about how Britain is "now a remain nation", polling data reveals Brexit has never been more popular.

A number of successive polls have revealed Brexit – usually under-represented by pollsters – continues to be more popular than remaining in the European Union. Crucially, a "hard" Brexit – one on World Trade Organization terms without a bespoke EU-UK trade deal – is also increasing in popularity.

In the above survey cited by Professor Matthew Goodwin at the University of Kent, not only is Brexit more popular (55.5 per cent vs 44.5 per cent) but a public will for a hard 'No Deal' Brexit appears to be increasing.

Of those polled, 33.1 per cent say they now want a hard Brexit, contrasted with 9.6 per cent who preferred Theresa May's 'Withdrawal Agreement' style of leaving, and 12.8 per cent who want to leave but in even softer terms.

Amongst Leavers, a hard Brexit commands 59.3 per cent of support, and even 6.5 per cent of Remainers say they would take a hard Brexit as their preferred option.

JE NE BREGRET RIEN

British and international media have presented the issue of "Bregret" as a key factor in deciding where the country should go following the June 23rd 2016 vote.

...nearly 20% of Remain voters now back Brexit while just 9.7% of Leave voters have switched to Remain.

According to them, Leave voters had expressed enough regret over their vote that the entire process should be nullified.

But new data actually reveals there is more regret on the Remain side, with nearly 20 per cent of Remain voters now backing Brexit, and just 9.7 per cent of Leave voters switching to Remain.

The findings are confirmed by another poll, from the Times and YouGov, which shows Brexit polling at 57 per cent, and Remain polling at 43 per cent.

Professor Goodwin asked on Twitter: "Challenge facing Remain would be to... change the message. Why is Remain not 10 points clear now?"

The question is valid, as Brexit as a process rather than as a philosophical undertaking has stymied the national debate and frustrated voters across the board for over three years now.

But instead of being less popular as an idea as a result, Brexit appears to be increasing in popularity, even with those who voted Remain.

We are getting ready to come out on October 31. Come what may. Do or die," – Boris Johnson

'DO OR DIE'

The latest machinations surrounding a choice of new Prime Minister has given many on the pro-Brexit side of the debate some hope, with likely Tory leader Boris Johnson committing to a "do or die" approach as the new October 31st leaving deadline looms.

“We are getting ready to come out on October 31. Come what may. Do or die," Johnson told the UK-based TalkRadio network – a subsidiary of NewsCorp – this week.

But Johnson is also known as being scarcely a man of his word.

Writing for the Spectator, conservative activist David Sergeant notes Boris's poor performance as London Mayor, his history of scandals, and his nasty comments about President Trump.

[caption id="attachment_178946" align="alignnone" width="5568"] Image by Stuart Mitchell/IncMonocle, used with permission[/caption]

This may go some way to explaining why many Brexit voters are continuing to support Nigel Farage's Brexit Party as a more stable and reliable alternative to Boris and his occasional supportive statements for a No Deal Brexit.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Farage said: "[Boris will] have my support if he does the right thing, but I don’t know what he’s going to do. This was the guy who twice voted against the new European treaty, and wrote in his column in The Telegraph that it was vassalage, that we become a slave state. I mean I rather agree with all that.

“And then despite having said all those things, in the third time of asking, he votes for it. So I’d love to know who the real Boris Johnson is, I’d love to know what he really, really, really truly believes. Our attitude, as the Brexit Party, is why would we trust anybody?

This could see Farage in a key cabinet position – Brexit Minister, or otherwise – with the real ability to force the government's hand on Brexit.

“The previous Prime Minister, she’s still there I guess, but she told us 108 times we were leaving on March 29, we didn’t.

“Boris now tells us four times in his column this morning that we’re leaving on October 31, and we are pretty skeptical about that."

FARAGE IN CHARGE

Failing to deliver a No Deal Brexit on October 31st, a new Conservative Party leader would likely have to circumvent Parliament with either another referendum, or "go to the country" and hold another General Election with the hope of increasing the Eurosceptic mandate in the House of Commons.

An ideal scenario for Brexiteers would be a Farage-kingmaker government, whereby the Conservative Party would need Brexit Party MPs, as well as the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to push through any of their legislative agenda.

This could see Farage in a key cabinet position – Brexit Minister, or otherwise – with the real ability to force the government's hand on Brexit.

Human Events understands that discussions are already underway about vote-sharing and tactical-voting deals between Conservative Party and Brexit Party figures, in order to stave off Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, as well as delivery the Brexit mandate needed to pull Britain out of the European Union as soon as possible.

Raheem Kassam is the Global Editor in Chief of Human Events

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