Brits twice as likely to say that the UK has more to lose than the EU if Brexit negotiations fail

Two in five (43%) UK adults say that the UK has more to lose than the EU if Brexit negotiations fail, compared to just a quarter who say that the EU has more to lose than the UK.

The polling by Savanta ComRes also shows that almost half of UK adults (45%) believe the UK to have a weaker negotiating position than the EU, compared to just one in five (19%) who believe the reverse.

Both of these findings are also reflected by the public being more likely to say that the UK shows more desire than the EU to get a deal done (34% vs 26%, respectively) and that the EU, rather than the UK, has the advantage in the negotiations at the moment (32% vs 27%, respectively).

Naturally, there are stark differences between those who voted Leave and Remain in 2016 but, on the whole, Leavers are less likely to be positive about the UK in this poll than Remainers are about the EU. Three in ten (29%) Leavers, compared to two thirds (65%) of Remainers say that the UK has the weaker negotiating position, whereas a third (34%) of Leavers say the same about the EU compared to just 7% of Remainers.

Similarly, two in five (41%) Leavers say that the UK has the advantage at the moment, nine points fewer than the Remainers who say the EU has the advantage at the moment (50%).

This research comes as a second poll by Savanta ComRes of UK business leaders shows half (51%) say that the Government is handling Brexit poorly compared to just a quarter (28%) who say they are handling it well. A majority (57%) of business leaders also say that the Government has not provided enough support, guidance or information to businesses about Brexit, with just a third (33%) saying that they have.

Commenting on the findings Chris Hopkins, Associate Director at Savanta ComRes said, “With the Government approaching a crunch in the Brexit negotiations, it seems that the public narrowly believe the EU to have the upper hand, something which I’m sure the Government would be keen to change. With the public also believing that the UK has more to lose, and has a weaker negotiating position, the Government will be looking to pull something of a rabbit out of the hat this autumn in order to achieve what they need, and what the public want, from a future UK-EU relationship.”