Insight

Insight
Fri 01 Jul 2016

Voters react to post-Referendum world

A divided public and disunited political parties

In the wake of the Referendum result, followed by one of the most un-predictable weeks in politics, Opinium Research tried to better understand how the UK population is reacting now they are faced with the reality of Brexit and a new prime minister.

Perhaps with this volatile situation in mind, 7% of those who voted Leave feel like they did not make the right choice, compared to just 3% amongst those who voted Remain.Extricating the UK from the EUWhen it comes to the negotiations to extricate the UK from the European Union, 43% think it?s unlikely we?ll be able to stay in the single market and limit freedom of movement, including three in ten (29%) Leave voters.For a third (33%) curbing immigration is of the utmost importance in the negotiations with the EU while for 37% staying in the single market is the priority.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Leavers want to prioritise the end of free movement of labour (58%), while Remainers want to prioritise staying in the single market (65%).The UK and its new futureThe majority of Brits (60%) think we should have a general election before official negotiations begin, with just over half (55%) of all UK adults believing that the next Prime Minister needs to be pro-Brexit to get the best exit deal from the EU.However, with a Conservative government in power, there needs to be a trusted leader in place, and for a quarter (24%) of the nation, Theresa May is the favourite to take Cameron?s place in number 10 come 9th September. However, two in five (41%) think a Tory leadership election will cause uncertainty.Amongst Labour voters, although the favourite single choice of leader is Corbyn, he was the preferred choice for only a quarter (24%) of Labour voters ? a poor showing for an incumbent leader. However, a third (32%) of UK adults thinks a Labour leadership election will stop them holding the Government to account.Guiding the UK through BrexitWhen it comes to actually leading these negotiations, the Tories are the most trusted (28%) – amongst both Remainers (24%) and Leavers (34%) – followed by Labour (13%) and UKIP (11%).
Only half (50%) of Labour voters trust their own party most to lead the negotiations. Perhaps unsurprising given that half (52%) of Labour voters believe the party to be ?very divided?. This appears to be the agreed opinion towards both main parties, with 60% thinking the Tories are divided and 81% saying the same about Labour, with two thirds (63%) believing Labour to be ?very divided?.

Useful Links:
Full tables and results (PDF)
Notes to Journalists:
Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 2001 UK adults aged 18+ from 28 June to 30 June 2016. Results have been weighted to representative criteria.

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