Five years after Brexit, Brits favor closer ties with EU over US

Brits want to put Brexit behind them and forge closer ties with the European Union as Donald Trump returns to the White House, two new polls suggest.

A YouGov poll found that 46% of the 15,000 surveyed across Britain want more trade with the EU than the US while just 21% want more trade with the US.

Even voters in the south England constituency of Clacton run by Euro-skeptic Reform UK leader Nigel Farage were 33% in favor of moving closer to the EU against 30% moving closer to the US.

Meanwhile, a Savanta poll, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows that 67% of those who voted the current Labour government into power are concerned about the impact on the UK of Trump’s presidency.

Any trade deal with the US will likely mean the UK having to waive through food imports such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected meat, both of which are currently against UK and EU regulations.

Not only that, Britain’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted during an interview with The Observer newspaper on January 19 that Brexit had damaged the UK economy – the first time a high-profile minister has made such an admission.

Reeves added that she was determined to reduce trade obstacles between the UK and the EU and seemed keen on the idea of joining the Pan-Euro Mediterranean convention (PEM) which would help usher in tariff-free trade with the bloc.

In the wake of the Savanta poll, Liberal Democrat Calum Miller said “We all know what Donald Trump’s leadership looked like last time: inconstant, unreliable, occasionally menacing,” The Independent reports.

“A clear majority of the people who put Labour in power want action to support our economy and security in the wake of Trump, and that means forging closer ties with Europe. Keir Starmer [UK prime minister] must listen to them and accelerate talks with Europe,” he added.

Sit Keir Starmer has been criticized for dragging his feet when it comes to addressing the downsides of Brexit; last year he rejected a Brussels-back scheme that would have allowed under-30s to live and work in the EU.

Moreover, Labour has drawn a red line when it comes to rejoining the customs union or single market while seeking to improve trade relations with the EU.

Some experts believe that Starmer’s reluctance to move faster on the issue is due to the fact that Nigel Farage’s pro-Brexit Reform UK party is polling just one percentage point behind Starmer’s governing Labour party – 26% to 25%, The Guardian reports.

The poll warning Starmer off cozying up to the US administration coincides with Donald Trump’s effusive comments about the state of his and Starmer’s relationship.

Trump told the BBC shortly before a 45-minute call with the UK PM late January that Starmer had done a “very good job thus far.”

“I get along with him well. I like him a lot. He’s represented his country in terms of philosophy. I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him,” he added.

Starmer has said he is not about to choose between the US and the EU and will try to work with both as national interests demand.

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