More than half the people polled in Brexit survey think EU departure will lead to UK break-up

November 2019 - Central Government

More than half the people polled in Brexit survey think EU departure will lead to UK break-up: A new piece of research conducted by the University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University has found that more than half the people polled in England (52%) and Scotland (61%) believe Brexit will result in the breaking up of the UK, with slightly less than half (47%) saying the same in Wales.

The Future of England survey looked at public attitudes towards Brexit and the European Union among people in England, Scotland and Wales. It found that the majority in all three countries believe that following Brexit, the UK will become 'substantially poorer', however, more than three-quarters of Leave voters in England (76%), Scotland (76%) and Wales (81%) said they think it will be 'worth it'.

For one of the segments, respondents were asked about what they would be willing to see happen in order to ensure they got their preferred Brexit outcome delivered.

Respondents were asked to choose whether a scenario presented was a 'price worth paying' or 'not a price worth paying'.

Alarmingly, 71% of voters in England who voted 'Leave' in the 2016 EU referendum said that 'violence towards MPs is a 'price worth paying' in order for Brexit to happen, compared to 70% in Wales and 60% in Scotland who said the same.

More than half the Remain voters said violence towards MPs was a 'price worth paying', with 58% choosing the option in England, 56% in Wales and 53% in Scotland.

The research then asked if protests, where people are badly injured, are 'a price worth paying' or 'not worth paying', with seven in ten (69%) Leave voters in England saying they are, with similar views in Wales (70%) and in Scotland (62%).

In order to stop Brexit and stay in the EU, the majority of Remain voters in England (57%) said they were willing to see protests where members of the public are badly hurt, with 56% saying the same in Sctotland and 57% in Wales.

Professor Richard Wyn Jones of Cardiff University, and also co-director of the Future of England Survey, said:

"It’s not often that one finds oneself shaken by research findings, but in this case it’s hard to not be genuinely shocked - not only by the fact that so many think that violence is a likely consequence of Brexit, but that so many on either side of the Brexit divide seem to think that such events might be ‘worth it’ in order to secure their preferred outcome."

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