Prime Minister Theresa May’s “worst deal in history” with the European Union has suffered another blow as polling reveals her party membership would prefer to leave the bloc with no deal at all.
The deal Mrs May has negotiated with the EU, which would involve a lengthy “transition” period in which Britain would essentially become a non-voting member-state, possibly followed by a “backstop” relationship in which the EU would be allowed to effectively control its customs and external trade arrangements, regulatory rulebook, and more, has found little favour in Parliament, which must ratify it for it to take effect.
She delayed a so-called “meaningful vote” on the deal before Christmas in hopes of either persuading the EU to amend it or persuading more MPs to back it — but this seems less likely than ever, with a majority of her party’s registered members saying they would prefer a clean, No Deal exit, The Telegraph reports.
YouGov found that, forced to choose between No Deal, May’s deal, or simply remaining in the EU after all — as many parliamentarians would like — an overwhelming 57 percent would opt for a clean break, with only 23 percent backing the deal and a minuscule 15 percent saying they would call Brexit off.
Professor Tim Bale of Queen Mary, University of London, who conducted te research, said: “If Theresa May is hoping that her MPs will return to Westminster having been persuaded by their constituency associations to back her Brexit deal, she’s going to be disappointed.
“It appears that those members are in no mood for compromise… the Tory rank and file, it seems, are convinced that No Deal is better than May’s deal.”
“Mrs May can’t even sell her dismal deal to her party members, let alone the rest of the country,” commented UKIP leader Gerard Batten.
“The Tory Party establishment is institutionally europhile, but the majority of their members see through the propaganda smokescreen,” he added, accusing Mrs May of championing “a surrender document to the European Union which would turn Britain into a vassal state prepped to go back in as a full member in a few short years.”
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