Voters believe the UK should prioritise relations with Europe over the US, a poll has revealed.
Some 44% of people believe the UK’s economic future lies with its immediate neighbours in the EU, compared to 19% who think the government should prioritise ties with the US, a YouGov poll commissioned by Best For Britain has revealed.
The poll, which polled more than 4,300 people, was conducted between 25 and 27 November, as President-elect Donald Trump looks set to raise trade tariffs on goods imported into the US. He has already raised the threat of tariffs with his closest neighbours, Canada and Mexico, in an attempt to curb migration, and has also imposed new duties on Chinese goods.
The blow to the previous government’s Global Britain strategy, which aimed to expand Britain’s trading partners to fast-growing economies around the world, has caused voters to view these countries unfavourably.
China, India, Saudi Arabia and Brazil all received 12 per cent or lower confidence scores from respondents.
Voters who previously supported the Tories but switched to Labour in the summer were among those who backed closer ties with Europe, suggesting the government can be confident it will not split its electoral coalition by prioritising trade with the bloc. Some 160 people surveyed were part of this group of voters.
Although polls show that the public favours closer ties with Europe over the US, Sir Keir Starmer has rejected suggestions that Britain should make that choice, recently calling them “simply wrong.” The Prime Minister sought to lay the groundwork for a warm relationship with the Trump administration by meeting the president-elect in New York in September.
Since coming to power, he has also tried to repair Britain’s relations with European countries, meeting leaders from across the continent during his five months as prime minister.
A test of whether his strategy will bear fruit will be the renegotiation of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement – the bedrock of UK-EU relations after Brexit – in 2026.
The influential commission, made up of MPs and business leaders, which made recommendations on the UK-EU relationship after Brexit, will reconvene. The UK Trade and Business Commission will sit under the new leadership of Labour MP Andrew Lewin.
